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Project in Theatre/Modern Theatre
History
Theatre Department, Slippery
Rock University, Pennsylvania
Dr. Kenneth Harris (supervisor)
kenneth.harris@sru.edu
A play that depends on a positive response from the audience to be successful is not necessarily a good play. "The Great Machine" challenges the Aristotelian order of entertainment theatre to stir questioning and changes in the mind of those involved in its "construction."
About the author and the play
"The Great Machine" (or "A Grande Máquina", original Portuguese title) was written in 1977 by the Brazilian author Roberto A. Martins. During that time he was a professor of physics and philosophy at the Paraná Federal University, Brazil.
Though it seems that his main activity is dedicated to scientific purposes, Martins has produced several literary works out of his interest and passion for the art of writing. His first involvement with literature was at the age of 15 (1965), winning the prize "Assis Chateaubriand" promoted by Diários Associados, a newspaper organization that owned publications in the States of Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Though at first that had made him very excited about writing literature, his interests quickly changed to physics.
It was during the period he began teaching at the State University of Londrina (1973) that, after meeting an artist (Henrique de Aragão), his interests sparked back to literature and arts. Martins then joined a theatre group at the Aragão’s art school, doing light and sound production for some of the plays. Later on he started directing a few productions such as "Computa, Computador, Computa" by Millor Fernandes and "The Shadowy Waters" [the Portuguese title was "Águas Sombrias"] by William Butler Yeats. He also translated "Murder in the Cathedral" ["Crime na Catedral", in Portuguese] by Thomas Sterns Eliot and other works.
In 1976 Martins moved to the city of Curitiba (Paraná State, Brazil) and it was there that "The Great Machine" was written and produced. During that time Martins also wrote other plays such as "O Auto do Nascimento da Criança" ["The Solemnity of the Child’s Birth"], a religious piece based on the apocryphal gospels, a heretical interpretation of the birth of Christ; "O Evangelho Segundo São Mateus" ["Saint Matthew’s gospel"] also of religious connotation, a non-orthodox interpretation of the gospel according to Saint Mathew; "O Dia em que Deus Morreu" ["The Day When God Died"] which deals with witchcraft in the Middle Ages, defending a favorable position for the rituals; "Andro Sai do Tempo" ["Andro Gets Out of Time"] written in partnership with Eduardo T. A. de Souza, a play for "puppets and an almost human character"; "O Depósito" ["The Storage Yard"] a fiction about homeless people who gather around a dumpster and change the universe, also written in partnership with Eduardo de Souza.
Martins’ works were never published or registered. They used to be typed, and then copied and distributed among friends and theatre-related people. The productions were hardly heard of and weren’t regulated since Martins didn’t join the protective institution of the Brazilian Society of Playwrights.
Since Martins moved from Curitiba to Campinas, 16 years ago, he has never got involved in theatre again. In the beginning of this year Laerte Ortega, who played the main role in the original production of "The Great Machine" died, and that made Martins review his old theatrical production and to post the text of "The Great Machine" in the Internet.
According to Martins, that first production was "fairly successful, but nothing exceptional". First presented in Curtiba (a large city located in the State of Paraná, Brazil) it stirred extreme reactions from the conservative majority living in the city; also during that period the country was under a military dictatorship and censorship: people didn’t agree with the semi-nude scenes, swearing and the strong provocative subject of the play. Two participants of the production were arrested and tortured by the federal police.
"The Great Machine" – workshop creation of the text
It all started with the independent Group of Liberal Studies [Grupo de Estudos Livres] created by professors, students of the Federal University of Paraná and other people not related to that same university. The Group of Liberal Studies (GLS) was a discussion group, even though not officially associated to the Federal University of Paraná, that worried about alternatives to the traditional educational system, which primary function had become to produce graduates and find them jobs in the market place.
According to the GLS the students had lost their interest in learning and developing themselves. On the other side, the professors seemed to be no longer interested in teaching and upgrading themselves. Following Platonic modes, the objective of the GLS them became to be a substitute community of studies for the ones perusing their interests freely and thoroughly with the collaboration of colleagues and professors, but not aiming to grant any degrees to those interested in it.
Subjects such as society, individuals and values were constantly discussed and out of those meetings there came the idea of producing something concrete: a theatre piece. Until that time the GLS was formed mostly by people related to the University but soon people related to the amateur theater also joined in to collaborate with the work.
The production of the play was based on the group effort to reach self-knowledge and collective development. It started with a laboratory work in which the individuals in the group exposed and discussed their lives, values and feelings towards the society. Behind all that was considered invalid by the group, they found a constant called "fragmentation". The human being lives a divided life, built of non-communicating compartments – family and work are distinct and have no relationship; between life and the individual’s highest aspirations there are gaps that can’t be transposed. It was observed that such contradictions are the cause of our internal struggles, in which man blindly tries to eliminate his fragmentation just to find out that he has just created a new one.
The group believed that an ideal, whole person would be the one who doesn’t experience the inconsistencies and conflicts of life, a mind-and-emotion unified man. At first the group couldn’t describe such a man in rational terms, yet he could be intuitively felt and demonstrated in concrete situations. It was something that went beyond their conceptions, like a symbol; something that analyzed from the point of view of "commonsense" would be called a madman.
The idea of the play was now to show the absurdity of commonsense, to call attention to the fragmentary state in which we live in, and that has become part of our lives. Then the play would move on to criticizing and rejecting commonsense and values that lead to conflicts. The final part would show the reconstruction of man after the breakdown and loss of his vices.
Some parts of "The Great Machine" were suggested by members of the group, while the final writing and editing was done by Martins. Once the text was finished the group worked on several exercises based on situations imported from the play. At first there was no set casting: everyone had the chance to play with all characters and get a through knowledge of the meaning of the play. There was no "director" either; after every exercise the group discussed the results in equal terms.
Moving from informality to a dedicated work, the group created its own name: Grupo Mandala. The casting was finally decided and the rehearsals started on a scheduled basis, but still not having interference from a director. The group also decided the blocking, scenery, light and sound design on a democratic manner.
"The Great Machine" was first performed in December 1977 at the "Centro de Criatividade de Curitiba" (Center for Creativity of Curitiba). After that it went on small tour in Paraná State and later reached the famous Teatro de Arena in São Paulo, where Augusto Boal developed his Theatre of the Oppressed.
"The Great Machine" – quick synthesis of the play
The story starts with two carriers transporting parts of a machine which are to be delivered at a village. The village is a fictional place isolated from the world and the universe. It has not been able to communicate with any foreigners or foreign places for a long time; for that reason the inhabitants haven’t been able to participate in the great cosmic evolution, remaining stagnated in time. In a greater analogy, the village represents the planet Earth and the villagers the human beings isolated from God.
When the carriers arrive to the village they are welcomed as madmen, since it is believed by the villagers that all foreigners who would arrive there belonged to the Other World, a mysterious place inhabited by strange creatures. The Professor and the village Master are the ones who welcome the strangers and realize that they must have brought good news, the parts of a "Great Machine" that once constructed will free the village form isolation.
The problem is how to construct that machine and find out its exact function in order to reach happiness to all. Several discussion parties are formed and even a university is established to study all subject relevant to the construction and functioning of "The Great Machine". No consensus is reached and the village is lost in conflicts among different ideals.
The Professor is the first one to realize that everything is wrong and a conclusion can never be reached through logical and rational analysis of the machine. The allusion to existentialism is clear at this part: the world is meaningless, nothing makes any sense, and never will. The Professor realizes and exposes his frustration towards human kind in a dramatic monologue found in the second act.
From this point on, the play becomes subjective and exposes the inner conflicts of such characters as the Professor and Anita, a young passionate woman. They reach the depths of human minds and existence, breaking social rules and rebelling against their sufferings in life. The reconstruction of a unified, peaceful and happy man begins: the engine of the Great Machine is turned on.
"The Great Machine" – dramatic quality
The play is divided into four acts of approximately thirteen scenes each. The scenes are fairly short but not to the point of being fragmentary, except for a few ones. In the first two acts the characters don’t have much of an individualistic nature but are yet representative of stereotypes. As the play evolves they discover their individual nature and change their names as seen in the lines; for example the first one to do that is the Professor becoming Asclepio.
There is also the use of Buffoons who work as jokesters, informants to the audience and slightly narrate the story. They usually appear at the beginning of the acts, and sometimes in the middle or end too. Also in the second act they are transformed in Villagers who take dialogue with the Professor. The Buffoons are not restricted to only talking to the audience either, for example in the second Act they directly dialogue with Marta.
The play was written in 1977 and may be associated to other theatre movements in order to make it easier to understand it. There is influence of expressionism to the extent of displaying representative characters learning about their individuality, expressing their inner feeling in a non-logical, non-Aristotelian way.
The play is inquisitive, and many times the characters turn around to verbally harass the audience. This interactive practice became world-wide known through The Theatre of the Oppressed where the objective is to engage the audience in the development of the play and work with its input. By such means, the characters question not only their conflicts but also transpose them to the audience asking participation in the resolution.
There is the use of banners in the beginning of the acts saying what is to happen in the course. This also resembles the placard system used and popularized by Brecht. The intent is to keep the audience aware of the theatre production, emotionally detached from the development of the story since the action is already foretold by the banners.
"The Great Machine" is a play calculated to provoke and stir changes in the quality of life of those who watch it. The questioning of happiness, freedom and meaning of life is struggled on stage by the characters and them towards the end is transposed to the audience. This transposition gets rather verbally aggressive at some times and emotionally daring at others. For such interaction of the actors with the audience, it is recommendable to only present it to mature people.
Playbill – Text directed to the public (Translation by Juliano Siqueira)
This play was written and produced to be presented in an ordinary playhouse, like this one; to an ordinary theatre audience, like you. We hope you are a person with a cultural level above the average. Maybe of university level (5% of the Brazilian population). People who have great ideas of what man and society should be; people who talk, listen and read about such things; and above all, people who are manipulated by the schemes of our society. You are a fragmented person, whose ideals and life don’t mach; whose family and work are hermetically compartmented; where the means and ends are distinct. Even though you might not agree with it, this is just a play about the social structure.
Most of us are also like that, and we are also used by the system. But we’re not just standing still; we are in constant mutation, an uninterrupted struggle for freedom and integration. For a new result, a new method is needed; and one of the mandatory aspects of this path is art. Not the art as recreation, but as life and involvement. Therefore, since we all live together, it is necessary that you get involved in this process.
We would like to invite you to stand next to us. If it is necessary for you to criticize us, please do it. Not so that we segregate but so that you may understand the road we have traveled and to arrive at the same point we are now.
We know that you also would like to build the Great Machine. We think that it is possible and we present our opinion of a viable pathway. This is not the only one, but we believe in ours. If you’d like to pursue it with us, we invite you to join us.
Comments and reactions to the original production of "The Great Machine"
Even though "The Great Machine" was written and produced during the military dictatorship in Brazil, and has a tone of revolution into the text; the play doesn’t deal with political activism in its restricted form in order to bring about social changes.
The play rather works on broader senses, carrying a philosophical message about the present chaotic condition of humankind. Unfortunately that is not an interesting subject to be dealt by newspapers’ theater reviewers and critics. The reaction in the media was small and focused on complimenting the actors and parts of the text, all from a theatrical point of view. For the frustration of the author and original cast, the reviews never touched on the meaning of the play, which was to bring positive changes to society.
After every performance the audience was invited to discuss the construction of the "Great Machine". This meeting was not scripted, but intended to be a continuation of the play. It was meant to be taken home, for the audience to continue the mission of the characters in their lives outside the theatre.
At first many students and professors from the University got involved with the production. New friends were made and deep relationships were established. According to the author, it was clear that many of those people needed an extra "push" in their lives to search new meanings and sense for it.
In one occasion in Curitiba, at the end of the performance, the actors and audience were gathered as usual, discussing the construction of the "Great Machine". There was a woman who identified herself with the play, and who wanted to "say" something about it in silence, using body expression – and so she did. According to Martins "that involved the whole group in a unexpected and beautiful way. Things like that used to happen very often".
In another performance in Porto Alegre, a very exciting group of the audience gathered after the play. The discussion was so prolonged that they had to be kicked out from the theatre building. "We had to take all the people to a public square and continue the meeting for the construction of the machine up to early hours in the morning – it was very nice", says Martins.
The presentation at the Teatro de Arena in São Paulo was "not as exciting", according to the author. The Teatro de Arena is famous for its avant-garde productions in the 1970’s and for being the stage for new movements such as Theatre of the Oppressed by Augusto Boal. "The Great Machine" seemed to be a relevant play to be performed there and could generate interesting reactions from the audience. For the surprise of the actors, the people in São Paulo were only concerned about discussing the dramatic qualities of the play instead of joining the "game" for the construction of the machine. "It was unpleasant for all of us in the sense that we didn’t reach our primary goal of the play", says Martins.
Probably the ones who were most affected by "The Great Machine" were the actors themselves: "None of them left the same way they were before joining the group." The production of the play was the result of intense workshops that dealt with the personal problems of all the actors and the rebuilding of those in positive manners by the group. Something commonly practiced in the 1970’s, which was called Theatre Therapy, but in that case it was mixed with theatre production.
"One actress had the play trigger chaos in her life: unfortunately she was an unstable person with lower self-confidence than other members in the group. At that time, she was a married woman living an average life but willing and afraid of taking new steps. She was hanging in the middle of the road, and was caught and shattered by the play. She couldn’t fit her new experiences with the group in her life, got divorced and couldn’t substitute her old life for something new and rich".
"All the other members in the group benefited positively from the play", says the author. "A few accepted the changes the project would bring, and incorporated positive aspects of the characters in their lives".
The balanced man, with a non-fragmentary mind is far beyond our conceptions but indeed a vision of peacefulness and a non-suffering individual. The social games we play, the concerns about our desires and satisfactions generating a world of individuals fooling themselves to be greater and more special than others. By constructing the machine, assembling the pieces, we would also be assembling our world and constructing it in a unified manner: a machine where all the pieces have their function or purpose for the whole – "The Great Machine".
References:
Martins, Dr. Roberto; A Grande Máquina; http://www.geocities.com/broadway/wing/3755/index.htm
Wilson, Edwin & Goldfarb, Alvin; Living Theatre; McGraw Hill: Boston, 1999
Moorthy, Rani; Rehearsal for Reality: Theatre and Education; http://www.happening.com.sg/commentary/rehersal.html
Boal, Augusto; Brief Introduction to Augusto Boal; http://www.artswire.org/highperf/hp/hpmags/HP72texts/boalintro.html
Martins, Roberto; E-mail personal interviews; Juliano Siqueira: September – December 1999.
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