This dissertation examines the influence of modernist aesthetics and ideologies on contemporary, European and U.S. experimental theatre. I argue that modernist and contemporary experimental theatres offer competing notions of reality, fiction, and temporality, which I interrogate through Vegard Vinge and Ida Müller’s Ibsen-Saga. I illuminate this tension by reading current modes of performance against the Saga’s productions and work practices, as well as their aesthetic and ideological foundation in three modernist sources: the artificiality of Ibsen’s realism, the utopianism and totality of Richard Wagner’s Gesamtkunstwerk, and the temporal provocations of the historical avant-gardes. I contend that the Saga reanimates Ibsen, Wagner, and the avant-gardes’ modernist forms and ideas to reject the conventions of twenty-first century practice.
","abstract_html":"<p>This dissertation examines the influence of modernist aesthetics and ideologies on contemporary, European and U.S. experimental theatre. I argue that modernist and contemporary experimental theatres offer competing notions of reality, fiction, and temporality, which I interrogate through Vegard Vinge and Ida Müller’s <em>Ibsen-Saga</em>. I illuminate this tension by reading current modes of performance against the <em>Saga</em>’s productions and work practices, as well as their aesthetic and ideological foundation in three modernist sources: the artificiality of Ibsen’s realism, the utopianism and totality of Richard Wagner’s <em>Gesamtkunstwerk</em>, and the temporal provocations of the historical avant-gardes. I contend that the <em>Saga </em>reanimates Ibsen, Wagner, and the avant-gardes’ modernist forms and ideas to reject the conventions of twenty-first century practice.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Friedman, Andrew L"],"institution":"The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy","degree_level":"Doctoral","degree_discipline":"Theatre","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Marvin Carlson"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":["Jean Graham-Jones","David Savran"],"year":2016,"date_issued":"2016-06-03T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2016-06-03T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:59:21Z","subjects":["Cultural History","Dramatic Literature, Criticism and Theory","European History","German Literature","Performance Studies","Scandinavian Studies","Theatre and Performance Studies","Theatre History","Henrik Ibsen; Richard Wagner; Historical Avant-Gardes; Modernism; Experimental Theatre; Modern Drama"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/1247","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Marvin Carlson"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Jean Graham-Jones","David Savran"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Friedman, Andrew L"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2018-04-18T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Theatre"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Doctoral"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Cultural History","Dramatic Literature, Criticism and Theory","European History","German Literature","Performance Studies","Scandinavian Studies","Theatre and Performance Studies","Theatre History","Henrik Ibsen; Richard Wagner; Historical Avant-Gardes; Modernism; Experimental Theatre; Modern Drama"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/1247"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This dissertation examines the influence of modernist aesthetics and ideologies on contemporary, European and U.S. experimental theatre. I argue that modernist and contemporary experimental theatres offer competing notions of reality, fiction, and temporality, which I interrogate through Vegard Vinge and Ida Müller’s Ibsen-Saga. I illuminate this tension by reading current modes of performance against the Saga’s productions and work practices, as well as their aesthetic and ideological foundation in three modernist sources: the artificiality of Ibsen’s realism, the utopianism and totality of Richard Wagner’s Gesamtkunstwerk, and the temporal provocations of the historical avant-gardes. I contend that the Saga reanimates Ibsen, Wagner, and the avant-gardes’ modernist forms and ideas to reject the conventions of twenty-first century practice.
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