Closet screenplay
Encyclopedia
Related to closet drama
, a closet screenplay is a screenplay intended not to be produced/performed but instead to be read by a solitary reader or, sometimes, out loud in a small group.
While any published, or simply read, screenplay might reasonably be considered a "closet screenplay," 20th and 21st century Japanese and Western writers have created a handful of film scripts expressly intended to be read rather than produced/performed. This class of prose fiction written in screenplay form is perhaps the most precise example of the closet screenplay.
This genre is sometimes referred to using a romanized Japanese
neologism: "Lesescenario (レーゼシナリオ)" or, following Hepburn’s romanization of Japanese
, sometimes “Rezeshinario.” A portmanteau of the German word Lesedrama ("read drama") and the English word scenario, this term simply means "closet scenario," or, by extension, "closet screenplay."
, refers to James Baldwin
's One Day When I Was Lost as a "closet screenplay
." The screenplay was written for a project to produce a movie, but the project suffered a setback. After that, the script was published as a literary work.
Lee Jamieson
's article, "The Lost Prophet of Cinema: The Film Theory of Antonin Artaud
" discusses Artaud's three Lesescenarios (listed below) in the context of his "revolutionary film theory." And in French Film Theory and Criticism: 1907-1939, Richard Abel lists the following critical treatments of several of the Surrealist "published scenario texts" (36) listed in the example section below:
Finally, in his article "Production's 'dubious advantage': Lesescenarios, closet drama, and the (screen)writer's riposte," Quimby Melton outlines the history of the Lesescenario form, situates the genre in a historical literary context by drawing parallels between it and Western "closet drama
," and argues we might consider certain instances of closet drama proto-screenplays. The article also argues that writing these sorts of "readerly" performance texts is essentially an act of subversion whereby (screen)writers work in a performance mode only to intentionally bypass production and, thereby, (re)assert narrative representation's textual primacy and (re)claim a direct (re)connection with their audience.
The comments section of Melton's article also has an on-going discussion of the Lesescenario canon.http://scriptjr.nl/issues/1.1/productions-dubious-advantage.php#comments The list of examples below is based on "Production's 'dubious advantage,'" that discussion, and Melton's "Lesecenario Bibliography" at Google Docs. The bibliography contains additional critical works concerned with individual Lesescenarios and/or the canon at-large.
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Closet drama
A closet drama is a play that is not intended to be performed onstage, but read by a solitary reader or, sometimes, out loud in a small group. A related form, the "closet screenplay," developed during the 20th century.-Form:...
, a closet screenplay is a screenplay intended not to be produced/performed but instead to be read by a solitary reader or, sometimes, out loud in a small group.
While any published, or simply read, screenplay might reasonably be considered a "closet screenplay," 20th and 21st century Japanese and Western writers have created a handful of film scripts expressly intended to be read rather than produced/performed. This class of prose fiction written in screenplay form is perhaps the most precise example of the closet screenplay.
This genre is sometimes referred to using a romanized Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
neologism: "Lesescenario (レーゼシナリオ)" or, following Hepburn’s romanization of Japanese
Hepburn romanization
The is named after James Curtis Hepburn, who used it to transcribe the sounds of the Japanese language into the Latin alphabet in the third edition of his Japanese–English dictionary, published in 1887. The system was originally proposed by the in 1885...
, sometimes “Rezeshinario.” A portmanteau of the German word Lesedrama ("read drama") and the English word scenario, this term simply means "closet scenario," or, by extension, "closet screenplay."
Critical interest
Brian Norman, an assistant professor at Idaho State UniversityIdaho State University
Idaho State University is a public university located in Pocatello, Idaho. It has outreach programs in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Falls, Boise, and Twin Falls....
, refers to James Baldwin
James Baldwin (writer)
James Arthur Baldwin was an American novelist, essayist, playwright, poet, and social critic.Baldwin's essays, for instance "Notes of a Native Son" , explore palpable yet unspoken intricacies of racial, sexual, and class distinctions in Western societies, most notably in mid-20th century America,...
's One Day When I Was Lost as a "closet screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
." The screenplay was written for a project to produce a movie, but the project suffered a setback. After that, the script was published as a literary work.
Lee Jamieson
Lee Jamieson
Lee Jamieson , is an English author, journalist and lecturer.-Biography:Jamieson graduated with a first-class BA honours degree from DeMontfort University and a MA with Distinction from University of Warwick...
's article, "The Lost Prophet of Cinema: The Film Theory of Antonin Artaud
Antonin Artaud
Antoine Marie Joseph Artaud, more well-known as Antonin Artaud was a French playwright, poet, actor and theatre director...
" discusses Artaud's three Lesescenarios (listed below) in the context of his "revolutionary film theory." And in French Film Theory and Criticism: 1907-1939, Richard Abel lists the following critical treatments of several of the Surrealist "published scenario texts" (36) listed in the example section below:
- J.H. Matthews, Surrealism and Film (U of Michigan P, 1971), 51-76.
- Steven Kovács, From Enchantment to Rage: The Story of Surrealist Cinema (Associated UP, 1980), 59-61, 157-76.
- Linda Williams, Figures of Desire: A Theory and Analysis of Surrealist Film (U of Illinois P, 1981), 25-33.
- Richard Abel, "Exploring the Discursive Field of the Surrealist Film Scenario Text," Dada/Surrealism 15 (1986): 58-71.
Finally, in his article "Production's 'dubious advantage': Lesescenarios, closet drama, and the (screen)writer's riposte," Quimby Melton outlines the history of the Lesescenario form, situates the genre in a historical literary context by drawing parallels between it and Western "closet drama
Closet drama
A closet drama is a play that is not intended to be performed onstage, but read by a solitary reader or, sometimes, out loud in a small group. A related form, the "closet screenplay," developed during the 20th century.-Form:...
," and argues we might consider certain instances of closet drama proto-screenplays. The article also argues that writing these sorts of "readerly" performance texts is essentially an act of subversion whereby (screen)writers work in a performance mode only to intentionally bypass production and, thereby, (re)assert narrative representation's textual primacy and (re)claim a direct (re)connection with their audience.
The comments section of Melton's article also has an on-going discussion of the Lesescenario canon.http://scriptjr.nl/issues/1.1/productions-dubious-advantage.php#comments The list of examples below is based on "Production's 'dubious advantage,'" that discussion, and Melton's "Lesecenario Bibliography" at Google Docs. The bibliography contains additional critical works concerned with individual Lesescenarios and/or the canon at-large.
Examples
Alphabetical by author last name.A
- The House, Man's Fate, Dedication Day (by James AgeeJames AgeeJames Rufus Agee was an American author, journalist, poet, screenwriter and film critic. In the 1940s, he was one of the most influential film critics in the U.S...
) - Asakusa Park, The Life of a Stupid Man, Shadow, and Temptation (by Ryūnosuke AkutagawaRyunosuke Akutagawawas a Japanese writer active in the Taishō period in Japan. He is regarded as the "Father of the Japanese short story". He committed suicide at age of 35 through an overdose of barbital.-Early life:...
) - Divine Comedy (by Haruhiko AraiHaruhiko Araiis a Japanese screenwriter who is also publisher and editor of Eiga Geijutsu , one of Japan's longest-running film magazines. He won the Mainichi Film Award for best screenplay for the film W's Tragedy.-As screenwiter:...
, based on Kyojin Onishi's novel of the same name) - France America, or the Interrupted Film (by Robert AronRobert AronRobert Aron was a French writer who authored a number of works on politics and history.-Early life:...
) - Eighteen Seconds, a screenplay, The Seashell and the Clergyman, Thirty Two, The Solar Plane, Two Nations on the Borders of Mongolia, The Master of Ballantrae (after the Robert Louis StevensonRobert Louis StevensonRobert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....
novel of the same nameThe Master of BallantraeThe Master of Ballantrae: A Winter's Tale is a book by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, focusing upon the conflict between two brothers, Scottish noblemen whose family is torn apart by the Jacobite rising of 1745...
), Flights, and The Butcher's Revolt (by Antonin ArtaudAntonin ArtaudAntoine Marie Joseph Artaud, more well-known as Antonin Artaud was a French playwright, poet, actor and theatre director...
) - Lost Children (by Marcel AyméMarcel AyméMarcel Aymé was a French novelist, children's writer, humour writer and also a screenwriter and theatre playwright.- Biography :...
)
B
- The Reader from Ames (by André Berge)
- The Initiation (A Story of Adventure) (by François Berge)
- The Second Departure (by Maurice Betz)
- Le Dernier Empereur (by Jean-Richard Bloch)
- Beautiful Weddings in the Street: A New Scenario on a Banal Theme (by Jacques Bonjean)
- One Day, When I Was Lost: A Scenario Based on Alex Haley's The Autobiography of Malcolm X (by James BaldwinJames Baldwin (writer)James Arthur Baldwin was an American novelist, essayist, playwright, poet, and social critic.Baldwin's essays, for instance "Notes of a Native Son" , explore palpable yet unspoken intricacies of racial, sexual, and class distinctions in Western societies, most notably in mid-20th century America,...
) - "Une Girafe" (by Luis BuñuelLuis BuñuelLuis Buñuel Portolés was a Spanish-born filmmaker — later a naturalized citizen of Mexico — who worked in Spain, Mexico, France and the US..-Early years:...
) - The Last Words of Dutch SchultzThe Last Words of Dutch SchultzThe Last Words of Dutch Schultz is a novel by Beat Generation author William S. Burroughs, first published in 1970. Rather than use traditional chapters and text, however, Burroughs wrote the book in the form of a convoluted film screenplay....
(by William S. BurroughsWilliam S. BurroughsWilliam Seward Burroughs II was an American novelist, poet, essayist and spoken word performer. A primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodernist author, he is considered to be "one of the most politically trenchant, culturally influential, and innovative artists of the 20th...
)
C
- Secrets on the Island and Arletty, Young Woman from Dauphine (by Louis-Ferdinand CélineLouis-Ferdinand CélineLouis-Ferdinand Céline was the pen name of French writer and physician Louis-Ferdinand Destouches . Céline was chosen after his grandmother's first name. He is considered one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century, developing a new style of writing that modernized both French and...
) - The End of the World, Filmed by the Angel of Notre Dame and Atlantis (by Blaise CendrarsBlaise CendrarsFrédéric Louis Sauser , better known as Blaise Cendrars, was a Swiss novelist and poet naturalized French in 1916. He was a writer of considerable influence in the modernist movement.-Early years:...
) - A Broken Foot: A Documentary (by Hendrik Cramer)
D
- "The Reefs of Love," Midnight at Noon: A Study of Marvelous Modernity, and "There Are Bugs in the Roast Pork" (by Robert DesnosRobert DesnosRobert Desnos , was a French surrealist poet who played a key role in the Surrealist movement of his day.- Biography :...
) - Pierre, or The Demon Unmasked (by André Desson and André Harlaire)
- Savoir Vivre (by Jean-Paul Dreyfus and Bernar Lahy-Hollebecque)
G
- News (by Paul GilsonPaul GilsonPaul Gilson was a Belgian musician and composer.-Biography:Gilson was born in Brussels. In 1866, his family moved to Ruisbroek in the Belgian province of Brabant. There he studied theory with the organist and choir director Auguste Cantillon, and began writing works for orchestra and choir...
) - Figures (by Ramon Gomez de la SernaRamón Gómez de la SernaRamón Gómez de la Serna Puig was a Spanish writer, dramatist and avant-garde agitator. He strongly influenced surrealist film maker Luis Buñuel....
) - Descent to the Lower Depths (by Maxim GorkyMaxim GorkyAlexei Maximovich Peshkov , primarily known as Maxim Gorky , was a Russian and Soviet author, a founder of the Socialist Realism literary method and a political activist.-Early years:...
)
H
- Slaughterhouses of the Night (by Maurice Henry)
- The Girl in HarmagedonThe Girl in Harmagedon (closet screenplay)The Girl in Harmagedon is a literary work written in the form of closet screenplay by Japanese science fiction novelist, Kazumasa Hirai. It was published from Tokuma Shoten in 1980's. The original title is "Harumagedon no shojo（ハルマゲドンの少女）"...
(by Kazumasa HiraiKazumasa Hirai (author)is a Japanese novelist from Yokosuka, Kanagawa. He graduated from Yokosuka Industrial High School and the law department of Chuo University. Hirai is well known for his SF-manga work...
) - Ape and EssenceApe and EssenceApe and Essence is a novel by Aldous Huxley, published by Chatto & Windus in the UK and Harper & Brothers in the US. It is set in a dystopia, similar to that in Brave New World, Huxley's more famous work...
(part II: "The Script") (by Aldous HuxleyAldous HuxleyAldous Leonard Huxley was an English writer and one of the most prominent members of the famous Huxley family. Best known for his novels including Brave New World and a wide-ranging output of essays, Huxley also edited the magazine Oxford Poetry, and published short stories, poetry, travel...
)
J
- Negrophobia (by Darius JamesDarius JamesDarius James is the black American author of That's Blaxploitation: Roots of the Baadasssss 'Tude , an unorthodox, semi-autobiographical history of the blaxploitation film genre, and Negrophobia: An Urban Parable, a satiric novel written in screenplay form. His work is influenced by the Voodoo...
[aka Dr. Snakeskin])
K
- Lom Long (by Chart KorbjittiChart KorbjittiChart Korbjitti is a Thai writer.He first came to prominence with the publication of his novel Khamphiphaksa in 1981. Named as Book of the Year by Thailand's Literature Council, the book won him the S.E.A. Write Award. He received a second S.E.A. Write Award in 1994 for Wela...
)
L
- The Escape of Mr. McKinley (by Leonid LeonovLeonid LeonovLeonid Maximovich Leonov was a Soviet novelist and playwright. He has been dubbed the 20th-century Dostoyevsky for the deep psychological torment of his prose.-Early life:...
)
N
- "L'Amazon des cimetières" (by Georges NeveuxGeorges NeveuxGeorges Neveux was a French dramatist and poet.Neveux's first notable work was the play Juliette ou la clé des songes , written in 1927 and produced in 1930...
)
O
- The Birth of the Emperor/Record of Ancient Matters (by Hideo OsabeHideo Osabeis a Japanese author. He has published novels as well as essays on movies and Osamu Dazai. He won the prestigious Naoki Prize in 1973 for Tsugaru jongara bunshi and Tsugaru yosare bushi. He was born in Aomori Prefecture, where Dazai was also born. He also once directed a movie...
)
R
- Donogoo-Tonka, or The Miracles of Science (by Jules RomainsJules RomainsJules Romains, born Louis Henri Jean Farigoule , was a French poet and writer and the founder of the Unanimism literary movement...
) - "La Huitème Jour de la semaine" and The Banker, or Fortune is Blind (by Georges Ribemont-DessaignesGeorges Ribemont-DessaignesGeorges Ribemont-Dessaignes was a French writer and artist associated with the Dada movement. He was born in Montpellier....
)
S
- Don't Put a Dog Outside: A Film without Words (by Claude Sernet)
T
- Whispering Moon, (by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki)
- The Unconquerable People, The Doctor and the Devils, Rebecca's Daughters, The Beach of Falesá, Twenty Years A-Growing, Suffer Little Children, The Shadowless Man, and Me and My Bike (by Dylan ThomasDylan ThomasDylan Marlais Thomas was a Welsh poet and writer, Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 11 January 2008. who wrote exclusively in English. In addition to poetry, he wrote short stories and scripts for film and radio, which he often performed himself...
)
W
- Reality Is What You Can Get Away With and The Walls Came Tumbling Down (by Robert Anton WilsonRobert Anton WilsonRobert Anton Wilson , known to friends as "Bob", was an American author and polymath who became at various times a novelist, philosopher, psychologist, essayist, editor, playwright, poet, futurist, civil libertarian and self-described agnostic mystic...
)
External links
- Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, Asakusa Park (Trans. Seiji M. Lippit. nycBigCityLit.com, February 2004. http://www.nycbigcitylit.com/feb2004/contents/longerdraughts.html [10 May 2009]).
- Antonin Artaud, Les Dix-huits seconds (Google Books, n.d. http://books.google.com/books?id=hdhR9dmPah0C&lpg=PP1&dq=antonin%20artaud%20selected&pg=PA113#v=onepage&q&f=false [01 January 2011]).
- Louis-Ferdinand Céline, Secrets dans l'îsle (Trans. Mark Spitzer. Cipher Journal, n.d. http://www.cipherjournal.com/html/celine.html [10 May 2009]).
- Seiji M. Lippit, “The Disintegrating Machinery of the Modern: Akutagawa Ryunosuke's Late Writings” (Journal of Asian Studieshttp://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=jas 58:1 [February 1999]: 27-50).
- Hiroo Yamagata ([Lesescenario] Translator, Negrophobia and The Last Words of Dutch Schultz), Interview (SCRIPTjr.nl 1.2. [June 2010]. http://scriptjr.nl/issues/1.2/hiroo-yamagata-interview-1-2.php [01 January 2011[).