유치진의 도쿄 구상 실천과 극예술연구회의 <포기>(Porgy)

Abstract

This report is aimed at analyzing the process and result of performance of Porgy by Gukyesulyeonguheo, the theatrical group in colonized Chosun in 1937, relating it with Yoo Chijin’s practicing his theatrical ideas in Tokyo. Yoo Chijin embodied his theatrical ideas in Tokyo, namely the ways to develop modern drama in colonized Chosun while he had stayed in Tokyo from May in 1934 until he came back home next April. The core of his ideas can be summarized three points ; first the theme of drama should never be revealed on stage directly, dealing with the real problems in colonized Chosun, secondly the dramas with comic mood should mainly be created to catch the audience’s interest, and last the foreign dramas which are interpreted in the way of Chosun should be performed. Yoo Chijin who had come back home from Japan began to practice his ideas, managing the performances as the executive secretary of practice department of Gukyesulyeonguheo. His trials including the performance of So, the first creative drama based on his ideas in Tokyo were cut off by Japanese censorship of performance which was strengthened at that time. To practice his theatrical ideas well, he had to search the way to cope with two conditions (the reflection of reality in colonized Chosun and passing Japanese censorship) at the same time. After thinking over two ways to find the subject matter of drama from history and to create satirical dramas, he chose historical dramas and the result of such pursuit was the performance of Chunhyangjeon. In the performance of Chunhyangjeon, he perceived the possibility of “romanticism based on realism”, tried to find foreign dramas with such tendency and finally selected Porgy. In Porgy there are the romantic love and the criticism of reality in the story and the stage with many thing to see, consisting of songs and dances like Chunhyangjeon. Through the performance of Porgy, he believed firmly that performing dramas of “romanticism based on realism” in big theater would be the future of modern drama of colonized Chosun. It is also very important that Yoo Chijin suggested Porgy, the drama of “romanticism based on realism” as substance of performing foreign dramas centered on audiences. Nevertheless it is his limitation that he could not practice continuously the dramas of “romanticism based on realism” hardened through the performance of Porgy. The reason is outlined as two causes. First he could not afford to apply himself to creating works, owing to the reality of theatrical world much more worsened like Gukyesulyeonguheo’s being broken up. Second he explained three conditions such as the performance in big theater, romantic dramas and the criticism of reality as a matter of course, but had not enough creative discussion on how to structure them. So the ambiguity of methodology appeared and this ambiguity caused Resurrection, the work having little to do with Gukyesulyeonguheo to be performed by Seo Hangseok’s direction in 1937. To Yoo Chijin, Porgy is one of ideal dramas of “romanticism based on realism”. So he tried to perform it repeatedly after the 1945 liberation, which showed that he did not give up practicing dramas of “romanticism based on realism” and tried to keep on practicing them continuously.