Dramaturgias en el teatro actual de las Antillas. Cartografía de poéticas en movimiento: Teresa Hernández y Josefina Báez

This dissertation aims to explore the contemporary Caribbean and its dramaturgy through the study of the artistic work of two remarkable artists: the Puerto Rican Teresa Hernández and the Dominicanyork Josefina Báez. Both artists are currently generating a lot of attention due to the internationalization of their creations, but still their work deserves even more consideration. These skilled stage artists connect various islands through their artistic work: Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and the islands within New York City. The different cultures that converge and coexist in these places exemplify the process of hybridization that characterizes our modern world. Teresa and Josefina illustrate in their plays the plurality of the Caribbean, depicting a true multiplicity of languages and cultures that makes it impossible to adopt a fixed and unique conception of a national identity. They engage in the difficult task of finding out what it means to be a Puerto Rican, a Dominican or a New Yorker. Both performers clearly criticize the notion of an identity that pretends to fuse and include all the possible voices of every Caribbean nation under a sole definition. Therefore, one must consider the heterogeneity that surrounds us as the basis to approach the work of these two artists when evaluating the Caribbean, as well as the dramaturgical procedures these great performers employ. To begin with, how can we talk about the Caribbean? How can we talk accurately about dramaturgical procedures? Furthermore, how can we express with words the ephemeral aspect of the theatrical event? How can we use words to address a Caribbean reality, which contains European and American standards, but does not necessarily follow them? These are the questions that the present investigation seeks to answer; however, it is not an easy task. Thus, the real challenge of this dissertation is to offer a rigorous response to these questions...

La adaptación teatral de textos narrativos en España, 1972-2012

Novel or story adaptations and also dramatic texts versions, that need to be translated and updated to modern audiences are quite frequent in today`s theatre. This study aims to show the state of contemporary stage adaptation of narrative texts and, specifically, its evolution in Spain in the last forty years (1972-2012). To do this, I have tried to gather, first, all the terminology associated with the concept of stage adaptation: version, dramaturgy, rewriting, translation, interpretation, updating and consolidation. The theoretical part of the work begins with the various definitions of the concept of dramatization. All the positions reflected by theorists and specialists in the field come together when explaining the term adaptation or theatre version: the intervention on the original text is based on the transformation or change, radical or superficial, for its effective representation in the theatre. In contemporary times, the concept of adaptation applies to any kind of intervention, from the translation of the original (and rewriting) to the dramaturgical work involved in creating a new sense. In turn, any theatre adaptation requires a dramaturgical operation and supports all possible moves: reorganization of the story, breakage, reduced characters, dramatic concentration, incorporation of foreign texts, installation and collage, changes to the plot, etc. Although there is no definitive model for the theatre adaptation of works, several authors and theatrical theorists propose guidelines and types of adaptation to the transformation of a work into another or one genre into a different one; and regarding narrative texts, provide criteria for interpreting the original text. The issue for many authors is the danger of modifying or betraying the sense or the form of the original text, considering it as simple material for the play. Finally, it follows that there is affinity of thought among authors finding that there is no differentiation between adaptation and version: both terms refer to the same in the theatrical event and are also terms used equally for the countless film adaptations of novels and plays...

El teatro cómico de Enrique García Álvarez

Enrique García Álvarez (Madrid, 1883-1931) belonged to the group of writers who stood out in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth in what was known as “género chico”, label used to oppose this kind of theater to the dramaturgy considered serious. It was composed of brief and comic works whose intention was to generate a fun time for the spectators. Our author was one of the leading representatives and his numerous creations appeared profusely in the posters of the theaters per hour. In the twentieth century, he adapted to the new forms imposed on the scene. Despite his enormous fame at the time, nowadays Enrique García Álvarez remains completely unknown, not only in the eyes of the general public but also to the more knowledgeable circles of our literature. Studies of his dramatic work are almost nonexistent and basically limited to their collaborations with other authors who had more luck as Arniches or Muñoz Seca. The purpose of this thesis is, therefore, to complete a thorough study of the figure and production of Enrique García Álvarez, as well as its impact on the literature. The opening chapter is a reconstruction of the life and work of the author. In the following chapters, we proceeded to the analysis of structural features such as theme, time, space, and characters of his dramatic world. At the end of these pages, we have included a photographic appendix that illustrates some moments of his personal and professional career. We have also developed appendices to classify his librettos chronologically, by collaborator and by genre...