보성전문학교 연극부와 프로연극 -보전 연극부 제1회 공연 <삼등수병 마틴>을 중심으로-

Abstract

The first performance of the Boseong College Drama Club in 1932 is noteworthy due to its deep connection with the proletarian theatre movement of the KAPF (Korean Artists Proletariat Federation) Drama Club in the early 1930s. It is also highly interesting that during the establishment of the Boseong College Drama Club in 1932, Kim Seong-su acquired the Boseong College, and as a result, Yu Jin-oh was appointed as a professor and became the supervising professor(director) of the drama club. Yu Jin-oh had created proletarian plays such as <Malje(The Last Empire)>(1930) and <Park Cheom-ji>(1932) and was affiliated with playwriting departments of the Moving Stage Theater in 1931 and the Theatre Company Megaphone in 1932. Additionally, the fact that Im Hwa and Na Ung, who were affiliated with the KAPF Drama Club, directed the first performance of <Pincher Martin O.D.> and <Hacha(The Wagon)> indicates a significant connection between the Boseong College Drama Club and the KAPF Drama Club. Another critical point to consider is the relationship between Shin Go-song and the Boseong College Drama Club's performances. Although on the surface it might not seem that Shin Go-song and the Boseong College Drama Club had a deep connection, the fact that the repertoire of the first performance at the Boseong College Drama Club included <Pincher Martin O.D.> and <Hacha(The Wagon)> serves as evidence that Shin Go-song's planning was involved in the performances. The inclusion of the play <Pincher Martin O.D.> in the first issue (July 1932) of the magazine “Theatre Movement”, edited by Shin Go-song, and the planned publication of <Hacha(The Wagon)> in the second issue indicate that the Boseong College Drama Club's performance was carried out according to Shin Go-song’s plans for proletarian theatre performances. Furthermore, the fact that Shin Go-song’s own theatre company, Shingeonseol(August 1932), selected <Pincher Martin O.D.> for its inaugural performance but could not proceed due to a lack of official approval supports this argument. Originally, <Pincher Martin O.D.> was a repertoire to which Shin Go-song was most attached, and when the performance by a proletarian theatre company was thwarted, it was achieved through the college's theater instead. This demonstrates that, amidst the suppression of legitimate performances by proletarian theatre companies due to government censorship, the KAPF Drama Club utilized the relatively less controlled space of college theatre. Around 1931-32, Shin Go-song was highly trusted within the Japanese proletarian theatre community and played a pivotal role in linking Korean and Japanese proletarian theatre movements, naturally guiding the KAPF Drama Club's proletarian theatre activities. During this period, the Japanese proletarian theatre movement was focusing on the "Bolshevization of the theatre movement," concentrating on setting the agenda for anti-imperialist and anti-war plays following the Manchurian Incident of 1931, which was particularly led by Shin Go- song within the Korean proletarian theatre movement. The fact that the anti-war play <Pincher Martin O.D.> was included in the magazine “Theatre Movement”, edited by Shin Go-song, and selected as a repertoire for the Shingeonseol’s inaugural performance, and that when this performance was cancelled, another anti-war play, <All Quiet on the Western Front>(based on the novel by Erich Maria Remarque), was staged, reflects Shin Go-song’s strong commitment to anti-war theatre performances during 1932-33. This is why it is essential to view the 1932 performance of <Pincher Martin O.D.> by the Boseong College Drama Club within the broader context of Shin Go-song’s anti-war theatre planning.