Pirandello's meta-theatrical plays beyond the trilogy

grantor: University of TorontoThe discussion of the evolution of Luigi Pirandello's process of revision of the very nature of the theatrical experience is the focus of the present study. The Sicilian's internal debate, on the one hand his essays on theatre and theatricality, on the other his plays, are the focal point of the study. Since Pirandello, the essayist, strongly defended the importance of the text and saw its staging only as a necessary evil, an outline of Edward Gordon Craig's position, in Pirandello's initial stance, is central to the first chapter. The comparison between Craig, who is commonly considered the forefather of contemporary stage directing and Pirandello, who is often only considered a great playwright, is essential to shed new light on the Italian's role in the development of Twentieth century theatre theory. The second chapter deals with Pirandello's theoretical writings on the theatre vis-a-vis an analyses of Enrico IV, Ciascuno a suo modo and Sagra del Signore della Nave. The third chapter deals with the various re-writings of Sei personaggi in cerca d'autore and centers on the differences between the 1921 text and the 1925 version of the play. Pirandello's various attempts as capocomico to pragmatically give new vitality and vigor to the theatrical experience are also the focus of this chapter. His interaction with the actors while director at the Teatro d'Arte are also closely scrutinized as they influenced his vision of the theatre and his subsequent play writing. Lazzaro and La nuova colonia are seen as the product of Pirandello's failure to revive the theatre while director of the Teatro d'Arte. The fourth chapter centers on Pirandello's attempt to find "another stage," that of the mind in Sogno (ma forse no), and a purely mythical stage in I giganti della montagna. In conclusion, the present work studies Pirandello's role in defining and proposing a resolution to the theatrical impasse in which the stage had found itself the beginning of the Twentieth century. It proposes a new perspective on Pirandello's plays as theory of the theatre.Ph.D