PMA Professor J. Ellen Gainor has co-authored an academic article with Comparative Literature Visiting Lecturer John Un called “Jacques Copeau's “The Spirit in the Little Theatre”: Contexts and Texts” in the May 2024 edition of Theatre Survey.
Read the article here through Cambridge University Press.
Read our interview with Professor Gainor:
What inspired you to create "Jacques Copeau's “The Spirit in the Little Theatre”: Contexts and Texts"?
From my work on American writer Susan Glaspell, I had long been aware of French director Jacques Copeau’s brief comments on her acting (she also performed in several of her own plays), which he made in the speech of this title while in residence in New York City in 1917-18—the only lecture he gave in English during his residency. But the original source of those remarks was held, I had read, in a private collection. However, I recently learned that the private collection had been donated to the French National Library, and that allowed me to track down Copeau’s speech, which had never been published in English (the French version had been published shortly after his death). And that made this research historically important, given Copeau’s significance as a leading figure in the modernist theatre.
What was your approach in crafting this academic publication?
Because the archival documents demonstrated that Copeau had written his speech in French, but then had assistance (we don't yet know whose) translating it to English, I felt it was important to work with a colleague in French studies to understand more about the text on a linguistic level; John Un in Comparative Literature was recommended to me, and he agreed to join me as co-author of this piece. John and I worked together to analyze the speech as a text reflecting Copeau’s modernist sensibilities, and John also provided important commentary on interpretive nuances with Copeau’s language and issues of translation. We also worked together to position the speech in its historical context for its original New York City and Little Theatre movement audience.
What would you like readers of this publication to know about you and your work?
I describe myself as a cultural historian who focuses on theatre and performance. I believe there's always an integral relationship between artistry and the moment in which it emerges. As a scholar, I seek to explore that relationship and the dynamics underlying it.
Read more about Ellen’s work
Read more about John’s work
