Framing The Book of Jessica: Transformation and the Collaborative Process in Canadian Theatre

Abstract

FRAMING THE BOOK OF JESSICA: TRANSFORMATION AND THE COLLABORATIVE PROCESS IN CANADIAN THEATRE JENNIFER ANDREWS University of Toronto D e s p i t e the emergence of feminist theatre criticism in North America, little attention has been given to the topic of feminist collaborative projects, which form an integral part of the contemporary theatre scene in Canada and the United States. This paucity is particularly apparent given the popularity of theatre projects that challenge the conventional attribution of authorship to an individual, as the writer, producer, or director of a performance.1 Within English Canada, a number of feminist theatre troupes have emerged over the past two decades, including Nightwood, formed in 1978,2 and the Company of Sirens, founded in 1985.3 While these troupes are certainly not the only collaborative theatre organizations in the country, the lack of doc­ umentation on this topic makes it difficult to determine how many groups actually exist and manage to survive.4 Nevertheless, the processes and prod­ ucts of these companies play an important role in demonstrating how notions of authorship are complex and usually politically bound. In an effort to change structures built into the theatre that favour the recognition of in­ dividual contributions to a final product,5 collectives like Nightwood have favoured the equal billing of everyone involved in the project in order to ac­ knowledge that “theatre depends on the energies of many people — actors, technicians, [and] audience members” (“Fragments” 172). Similarly, the Company of Sirens has called upon those watching the performance to work with the troupe in the creation of new scenes, thereby breaking down the bar­ riers that traditionally separate the actors from audience members. Diane Bessai’s book on collective creation in Canada is devoted to what is perhaps the most prominent experimental theatre group in the country as well as the site of a feminist project that has formed the subject of recent scholarly debate, Toronto’s Theatre Passe Muraille. Jessica, a play co-authored by Native Canadian writer Marie Campbell and Anglo-Canadian actress Linda Griffiths, was published in 1989 as The Book of Jessica in the form of a text that contains not only the playscript but also a lengthy commentary by both women on the process of their own theatrical and textual collabo­ ration. Questions of transformation and framing continue to be raised by English Stu d ie s in Ca n a d a , 22, 3, September 1996 feminist theatre troupes in English Canada. Moving away from standard notions of authorship and the authority of the printed text is central to the work of Nightwood and the Company of Sirens, among others. Yet, Jes­ sica is unique, because of its lengthy and varied history in the forms of a playscript, performance, and part of a published book. Discussions of Jessica have focussed on the issue of collaboration as manifested textually,6 and on “the voices and genres of autobiography” (Egan 24) as constructed in The Book of Jessica.7 In contrast, I want to consider how the transformations of Jessica and the frames through which it has been expressed contribute to a reading of the broader feminist collaborative process undertaken by Campbell and Griffiths. The contents of the published text entitled The Book of Jessica: A The­ atrical Transformation demonstrate a substantial shift from the project’s beginnings. The book consists of a chronological “history” of the play’s development, two chapters of taped conversations between Griffiths and Campbell that are mediated by Griffiths’s own commentary, and, finally, the playscript of Jessica.8 Even the notes to Jessica indicate the fluctuation of creative input and the variety of authorial voices involved in this project: “Written by: Maria Campbell, Linda Griffiths, Paul Thompson” becomes “Written by: Linda Griffiths, in collaboration with Maria Campbell” in a later production (Book 115). Thus, transformation is an integral part of the various versions of Jessica’s story, as a collaborative project, dramatic production, and chapter of a book. Moreover, in each case Jessica is placed within a framework or context that demarcates the possible variations that can be made to the work.9 The theatre, in particular, offers a unusual set of...