“Ask the Author”: notes on authorial philology and contemporary playwriting

Correspondence between the company and the playwright, different versions of the script, rehearsal notes, prompt books: a theatre’s archive can preserve the traces of a creative workshop ideally characterized by an ongoing dialogue, of which the recurring reminder “ask the author” can be a telltale...

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Main Author: Vera Cantoni
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Milano University Press 2020-01-01
Series:Altre Modernità
Subjects:
Online Access:https://riviste.unimi.it/index.php/AMonline/article/view/12948
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author Vera Cantoni
author_facet Vera Cantoni
author_sort Vera Cantoni
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description Correspondence between the company and the playwright, different versions of the script, rehearsal notes, prompt books: a theatre’s archive can preserve the traces of a creative workshop ideally characterized by an ongoing dialogue, of which the recurring reminder “ask the author” can be a telltale sign. Additions, changes and cuts, in the case of a text intended for performance, are generally negotiated by the writer and other members of the creative team according to their respective style choices, knowledge and needs, so the analysis of the resulting palimpsest can help not only to unveil the story of a single play and to assess the role of variants and variations (when present), but also to reconstruct such complex artistic practices as those of contemporary theatre. In the present paper I mean to illustrate and discuss opportunities and problems of authorial philology applied to contemporary playwriting with particular reference to the new texts produced by Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and the documents held by its archive.
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spelling doaj.art-51bfa48a8e404d17ad6b7edd48d0610f2023-09-02T09:22:47ZengMilano University PressAltre Modernità2035-76802020-01-01“Ask the Author”: notes on authorial philology and contemporary playwritingVera Cantoni0Università degli studi di PaviaCorrespondence between the company and the playwright, different versions of the script, rehearsal notes, prompt books: a theatre’s archive can preserve the traces of a creative workshop ideally characterized by an ongoing dialogue, of which the recurring reminder “ask the author” can be a telltale sign. Additions, changes and cuts, in the case of a text intended for performance, are generally negotiated by the writer and other members of the creative team according to their respective style choices, knowledge and needs, so the analysis of the resulting palimpsest can help not only to unveil the story of a single play and to assess the role of variants and variations (when present), but also to reconstruct such complex artistic practices as those of contemporary theatre. In the present paper I mean to illustrate and discuss opportunities and problems of authorial philology applied to contemporary playwriting with particular reference to the new texts produced by Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and the documents held by its archive.https://riviste.unimi.it/index.php/AMonline/article/view/12948authorial philology; drama; variants; theatre archives; Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre
spellingShingle Vera Cantoni
“Ask the Author”: notes on authorial philology and contemporary playwriting
Altre Modernità
authorial philology; drama; variants; theatre archives; Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre
title “Ask the Author”: notes on authorial philology and contemporary playwriting
title_full “Ask the Author”: notes on authorial philology and contemporary playwriting
title_fullStr “Ask the Author”: notes on authorial philology and contemporary playwriting
title_full_unstemmed “Ask the Author”: notes on authorial philology and contemporary playwriting
title_short “Ask the Author”: notes on authorial philology and contemporary playwriting
title_sort ask the author notes on authorial philology and contemporary playwriting
topic authorial philology; drama; variants; theatre archives; Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre
url https://riviste.unimi.it/index.php/AMonline/article/view/12948
work_keys_str_mv AT veracantoni asktheauthornotesonauthorialphilologyandcontemporaryplaywriting