In this week’s class we’ll focus on translating drama and the specific challenges associated with it. I have translated numerous Danish plays into English and have several perspectives I’d like to share, but first, let’s start by considering the various approaches a translator faces when dealing with drama. In his essay, ”The Performability and Speakability Dimensions of Translated Drama Texts,” Suh Joseph Che discusses how drama distinguishes itself from other literary genres. Two of the most important features to consider are the ”performability” and ”speakability” aspects of drama. Performabilty refers to the gestural dimension of the theater piece which often isn’t described in the theater manuscript and is, therefore, concealed. If anything, it is cultural specific, that is, the gestural aspects will differ all depending on what language/culture the translated piece will be performed in. But since performability is non-verbal, the translator has hardly, if any, influence on the performability aspect except in some instances which I will address later.
Then there is the aspect of speakability, which pertains to everything spoken in the theater piece and which Geraldine Brodie goes into depth with in her piece, ”Translating for Theater.” She explains how there is an extra dimension to consider with regard to the speakability aspect of translated theater in that not all translated drama is intended for a theater audience, but rather silent readers, as in most other literary genres. In which case, the translation may be more foreigniznng than domesticizing since a translation intended more for silent reading may retain certain details and what might be considered awkward, quirky-sounding phrases as opposed to a translation that has to actually be performed. One example of this is my translation of H. C. Andersen’s play, Horatio which was originally written in a stylistic, antiquated version of Danish using an iambic pentameter/heroic couplet rhyme scheme which was not uncommon for theater performance in Denmark at that time (mid 19th century). I chose to let go of the strict form because I prioritized the content and I was concerned that it might be compromised if I retained the iambic pentameter/heroic couplet rhyme scheme. However, I tried to retain the Shakespearean style of the text by translating it into a more antiquated version of English and tried to make the lines rhyme wherever I could without compromising the content. I was hoping that it could be used for a performance, or at least a reading, but an excerpt of it ended up being published in an online journal, and it was never performed, and years later I now realize that if it were ever to be performed it would have to be modified to resonate with a modern audience because there are far too many details and references which would disturb their experience. On the other hand, Thomas Markmann’s play, Twenty Minutes After Death (Død mands kvinde), a contemporary piece which I translated and which was selected for a reading by Scandinavian American Theater Company in NYC was never published or intended for a silent reading audience. The experience I had translating that play was completely different from the H.C. Andersen’s piece and I was invited to NYC to partake in the rehearsals where my input and suggestions in terms of making the lines flow better and finding suitable gestures were highly appreciated especially by the actors (because, in their eyes, I was representing the opinions of the Danish playwright who had been unable to join us). Which brings me to the point I wanted to make earlier, that the translation of theater texts intended for performance often involves making revisions that actors/directors/translators may find necessary in order for the play to work better, but those revisions are typically discovered during the rehearsals. Compare the two translations which I mentioned earlier (the HC Andersen piece which is more suitable for a reading audience and the Thomas Markmann play which was translated to be performed, you will find excerpts from both plays below) – which do you prefer? List your reasons. Try translating the Thomas Markmann play into another language (2nd language or language of your preference) or the first page of Oscar Wilde’s play The Importance of Being Earnest (see link below). Do you notice anything different about translating drama – do you enjoy working with dialogue? Why? List or explain your reasons. Now try experimenting with writing drama (you could, for example, start out by composing a short dialogue). Do you find it easier to approach now that you’ve already tried translating in that genre?
Theory:
Ref: Microsoft Word – 12 – The Performability and Speakability Dimensions of Translated Drama Texts
Microsoft Word – Brodie_Translating for the Theatre_chapter_AAM.docx
Excerpt from Twenty Minutes After Death
Scene 1
Collin and Helena step forth. Look out. Turn towards one another. Kiss each other. And they continue to kiss each other. Very carefully and very quietly. As though time has stopped or slowed considerably down. What will happen next? No, nothing. They just continue. They have got to stop! They don’t. It’s now getting embarrassing. It’s getting boring. It’s getting inconceivable. They can’t just stand there, without explanation, without anything else occurring – but they do. And how much time has now passed? It’s hard to say, but it’s as though we’ve moved past the state of embarrassment and boredom. And so a lot of time has probably now passed. Hey! Now they’ve stopped just as suddenly as they began. Helena looks out.
Helena:
It didn’t start this way. It didn’t end this way either. It was, in fact, never this way.
Collin:
What was it then?
Helena:
Yes, what was it then?
Collin:
It was… it.
Helena:
But it was worth everything.
Collin looks at her head. Smiles.
And then he had to go. Just lay there, waiting.
Collin:
There isn’t much more to say, then, other than—
Looks out at the audience.
Thank you for a very pleasant evening.
Helena:
He couldn’t shut his eyes the whole night.
Collin:
How about a little music while we wait?
Helena:
And then it happened. He heard it. And it wasn’t music.
The sound of footsteps may be heard in the far distance. The steps echo through the long hallway.
Collin:
Wonderful. Can you hear it? Let’s throw a party. Let’s blow up some balloons. Let’s put on some funny hats. To hell with life, that old whore. She isn’t worth paying for, anyway. You stick it into her. You give it all you’ve got. And that’s that.
Collin finds a “funny” hat and puts it on. Starts blowing up a balloon.
Helena:
The music he heard was the sound of the security guard’s steps. The guard that came to accompany him from the cell to the chamber. Where they will strap him to a gurney. Where the man in the white coat will put the needles in and wait for the first sign. Where the guard will ask him if he has anything more to say.
Collin looks out. Pause. Lets go of the balloon and lets it fly swiftly away.
Collin:
PARTY!
The sound of the footsteps increases. Comes closer. Gets louder. Collin starts to dance. Ungracefully, awkwardly and slightly desperately.
Helena:
The guard nods to the man in the white coat who then begins the procedure. The first dosage will make him lose consciousness. The second dose will paralyze his respiratory system. The third and last dose will block electric impulses from entering his brain. All of it seemingly undramatic when seen from the outside, but internally – it’s like an eruption from hell.
All is quiet. They both stand paralyzed, though still alive and looking out. Far in the distance a heart is heard, still beating.
Link to excerpt from H.C. Andersen’s Horatio in the Brooklyn Rail:
Horatio by Hans Christian Andersen | InTranslation
Here is a link to the original Danish version of H.C. Andersen’s play:
https://share.google/TQdBtfwyKRtRXwGVj
Or, if you prefer translating Oscar Wilde’s play The Importance of Being Earnest here is a link:
https://www.wilde-online.info/the-importance-of-being-earnest.html
Extra reading (Article from the Guardian on the challenges of translating Ibsen to English : https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2014/oct/29/the-master-linguist-the-problem-with-translating-ibsen