Sam Shepard and the Aesthetics of Performance WHAT IS THEATRE? Edited by Ann C. Hall Given the changing nature of audiences, entertainment, and media, the role of the- atre in twenty-first century culture is changing. The WHAT IS THEATRE? series brings new and innovative work in literary, cultural, and dramatic criticism into conversation with established theatre texts and trends, in order to offer fresh inter- pretation and highlight new or undervalued artists, works, and trends. ANN C. HALL has published widely in the area of theatre and film studies, is presi- dent of the Harold Pinter Society, and is an active member in the Modern Language Association. In addition to her book A Kind of Alaska: Women in the Plays of O’Neill, Pinter, and Shepard, she has edited a collection of essays, Making the Stage: Essays on Theatre, Drama, and Performance and a book on the various stage, film, print, and television versions of Gaston Leroux’s Phantom of the Opera. Published by Palgrave Macmillan: Theatre, Communication, Critical Realism By Tobin Nellhaus Staging Modern American Life: Popular Culture in the Experimental Theatre of Millay, Cummings, and Dos Passos By Thomas Fahy Authoring Performance: The Director in Contemporary Theatre By Avra Sidiropoulou Readings in Performance and Ecology Edited by Wendy Arons and Theresa J. May Theatre and War: Theatrical Responses since 1991 By Jeanne Colleran (Re)Constructing Maternal Performance in Twentieth-Century American Drama By L. Bailey McDaniel Sam Shepard and the Aesthetics of Performance By Emma Creedon Sam Shepard and the Aesthetics of Performance E C MMA REEDON SAM SHEPARD AND THE AESTHETICS OF PERFORMANCE Copyright © Emma Creedon, 2015. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2015 978-1-137-53057-8 All rights reserved. First published in 2015 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN® in the United States— a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke , H a m p s hire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-70857-4 ISBN 978-1-137-52741-7 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9781137527417 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Creedon, Emma, 1984– Sam Shepard and the aesthetics of performance / by Emma Creedon. pages cm.—(What is theatre?) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-349-70857-4 (alk. paper) 1. Shepard, Sam, 1943–—Criticism and interpretation. I. Title. PS3569.H394Z6685 2015 812(cid:25).54—dc23 2015004658 A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Knowledge Works (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First edition: July 2015 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 To Michael Byrne This page intentionally left blank Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction xi 1. Surrealism and Sam Shepard’s Early Plays: 1964–1967 1 2. Myth, Ritual, and a Search for Selfhood: 1969–1972 21 3. Surrealism and Sam Shepard’s Family Plays: Representing Gender 43 4. A Comparative Study of Sam Shepard’s Angel City and Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí’s Un chien andalou 79 5. T ongues, Savage/Love, and The War in Heaven: Angel’s Monologue: Joseph Chaikin and Sam Shepard in Collaboration 105 6. States of Shock and Simpatico: Performances of Waste 135 7. Conclusion: Through the 1990s and Beyond 163 Notes 171 Index 195 This page intentionally left blank Acknowledgments I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the staff at the Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley, for assisting me in my consultation of the Magic Theatre Archives. Additionally, I would like to thank Professor Rush Rehm for inviting me to speak at the Stanford Summer Theatre annual symposium in July 2012 at Stanford University. This trip would not have been possible without the generous support of University College Dublin’s Seed Funding Scheme, and I thank the college wholeheartedly. I would also like to extend my heartfelt thanks to the following: Jimmy Fay for being so kind and so generous with his time, the Signature Theatre in New York, particularly the Executive Director Erika Mallin and the Artistic Assistant Kathryn Kozlark, and Shepard’s agent Judy Boals. I would also like to thank the members of my PhD doctoral panel Dr. Ron Callan and Professor Frank McGuinness for their invaluable advice. Equally, Professor Steven Watt has been incredibly generous in endorsing this research and was instrumental in the publication of this book. I would also like to thank Professor Ann C. Hall, the series editor of this collection, for her enthusiasm and commendation. Furthermore, I could not have completed this book without the vast knowledge, the unwavering support, and the guidance of Professor Anthony Roche. Thank you. I am privileged to have the most generous and supportive family and thank you for all that you have done for me. I am eternally indebted to you in so many ways. Finally, I would like to thank my husband Michael Byrne for his incredible encouragement and love. This book is for us.