13.2 Documentary and Verbatim Theater

Documentary and verbatim theater bring real-life stories to the stage. These forms use interviews, court transcripts, and other primary sources to create powerful, fact-based performances that shed light on important social issues.

From The Laramie Project to Anna Deavere Smith's groundbreaking work, these plays give voice to marginalized communities. They challenge audiences to confront difficult topics and promote empathy and understanding through authentic storytelling.

Documentary and Verbatim Theater Forms

Fact-Based Performance Styles

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Top images from around the web for Fact-Based Performance Styles

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  “The Set and the Script” in Architecture: The Manhattan Transcripts (1976-1981) by Bernard ... View original

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  Recalling Memories Through Reminiscence Theatre | Nordic Journal of Art and Research View original

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• 

  Too Much Theater: "Bars and Measures" at Mosaic Theater Company View original

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  “The Set and the Script” in Architecture: The Manhattan Transcripts (1976-1981) by Bernard ... View original

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  Recalling Memories Through Reminiscence Theatre | Nordic Journal of Art and Research View original

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• Documentary Theater presents factual information and historical events through theatrical performance, often using primary sources (court transcripts, interviews, news reports) to create the script
• Verbatim Theater is a form of documentary theater that uses the exact words spoken by people interviewed about a particular event or topic, creating a script from these interviews and presenting it on stage
• Ethnodrama is a form of documentary theater that dramatizes the findings of ethnographic research, presenting the lived experiences and perspectives of a particular community or culture
• Testimonial Theater presents the personal stories and experiences of individuals who have witnessed or been affected by significant events (war, oppression, social injustice), often with the goal of raising awareness and promoting social change

Interview-Based Performance Techniques

• Interview-Based Theater involves conducting interviews with individuals about a particular topic or event, then using their words to create a script that is performed on stage, allowing the voices and experiences of real people to be heard
• Recorded Delivery Technique is a method used in Verbatim Theater where actors listen to recorded interviews through earpieces and repeat the words exactly as they hear them, including every pause, stumble, and non-verbal utterance, creating a highly authentic performance

Techniques and Notable Works

Influential Verbatim Theater Productions

• The Laramie Project is a notable example of Verbatim Theater, created by Moisés Kaufman and the Tectonic Theater Project, which explores the aftermath of the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay college student in Laramie, Wyoming
  • The play was based on hundreds of interviews conducted with residents of Laramie and presented a complex portrait of the community's response to the hate crime
  • The Laramie Project has been widely performed and adapted into a film, raising awareness about homophobia and hate crimes and promoting tolerance and understanding

Ethnodrama and Testimonial Theater Examples

• Fires in the Mirror is a one-woman play by Anna Deavere Smith that explores the 1991 Crown Heights riot in Brooklyn, New York, using verbatim excerpts from interviews with individuals involved in or affected by the event
  • The play presents a wide range of perspectives and experiences, from community leaders to victims of violence, creating a complex and nuanced portrait of the racial tensions and social issues underlying the riot
• The Exonerated is a play by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen that tells the true stories of six individuals who were wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death, but later exonerated and freed
  • The play uses the actual words of the exonerees, taken from interviews and court transcripts, to create a powerful and moving testimony about the flaws in the criminal justice system and the human impact of wrongful conviction

Influential Practitioners

Anna Deavere Smith's Contributions to Documentary Theater

• Anna Deavere Smith is an American actress, playwright, and professor who is known for her pioneering work in documentary theater and her one-woman plays that explore social and political issues
• Smith's plays, such as Fires in the Mirror and Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992, are based on extensive interviews with individuals involved in or affected by particular events (Crown Heights riot, Los Angeles riots), which she then performs verbatim on stage
• Through her work, Smith has developed a unique style of performance that combines journalism, ethnography, and theater, using the power of storytelling to shed light on complex social issues and promote understanding and empathy
• Smith's plays have been widely acclaimed for their ability to give voice to marginalized communities and to create a space for dialogue and reflection about difficult topics (race, identity, social justice)
• In addition to her work as a playwright and performer, Smith is also a professor at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and has taught and lectured at universities around the world, inspiring a new generation of documentary theater artists