메이예르홀트 연극 양식의 ‘낯설게 하기’ 미학적 양상 고찰

초록

The purpose of this study was to examine the theatrical experiments of Meyerhold, who led the Avant-garde, a genre of early 20th-century Russian theatre, from the perspective of 'Defamiliarization', and to analyze how the characteristics and aspects of his theatre aligned with the aesthetics of 'Estrangement'. He criticized the mode of audience reception in naturalistic theatre, which was based on representational conventions and empathy, and perceived theatre as a thoroughly fictional and formalized art, not as an imitation of reality. Considering this perception, his theatrical experiments may be seen as a process of departure from representational theatre, which renders the audience passive, and restoration of the inherent theatricality of theatre. Uslovnyi theatre, the foundational concept of Meyerhold's theatrical experiments, refers to a stylized form—comprising staging and acting techniques—that makes theatre ‘theatrical’. Constructivist staging, the acting technique of Biomechanics, and the acting style of the grotesque and the mask—the practical aesthetics of Uslovnyi theatre—create a psychological distance between the audience and the stage and transform the audience into an observer of the theatre. Meyerhold, through this theatrical stylization, intentionally defamiliarizes the perception of the audience—who are accustomed to naturalistic conventions—and leads them to actively participate in the process of generating theatrical meaning. This aspect is consistent with, in part, the ‘Estrangement effect’, a concept established by Bertolt Brecht. Meyerhold’s firm critical awareness, based on the belief that the perception of ‘Defamiliarization’ generates new meanings for the audience, provided the essential point of departure for his theatrical experiments to restore inherent theatricality. This study, accordingly, categorized Meyerhold’s theatrical experiments into pre- and post-revolutionary periods and examined how his strategies for dismantling naturalistic conventions evolved; in doing so, it sought to elucidate the specific manifestations and aesthetic significance of ‘Defamiliarization’ within his theatre.

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