The Military Character and the Techniques of Its Theatrical Performance

Abstract

This study examines the military character, given the distinctive traits and presence it embodies within society. However, its theatrical representation entails artistic challenges, particularly in light of some actors’ lack of the techniques required for its performance, or their portrayal of it through a stereotypical mode of acting that does not accord with its realistic and emotional nature. This often results in a superficial presentation that is inconsistent with its heroic history.
In view of its growing importance in the modern era, the theatre has shown considerable interest in how an actor’s internal and external techniques may be employed, since the actor constitutes a crucial element in the processes of communication and psychological influence involved in embodying the military character and bringing out its physical and psychological features on stage. This, in turn, contributes to deepening the audience’s understanding of this character and its symbolic dimensions.
The study also discusses the role of theatre directors in emphasizing the importance of performance techniques and the multiple challenges involved in fully inhabiting this character. On this basis, the researcher divided the topic of the study, The Military Character and the Techniques of Its Theatrical Performance, into four chapters. The first chapter presents the methodological framework, the research problem and the need for the study, the objective of the study, its limits, and the definition and specification of terms. The researcher formulated the problem of the study through the following question: To what extent do theatrical performance techniques affect the embodiment of the military character?
The significance of the study lies in highlighting the artistic dimension of embodying the military character and in developing the tools of the stage actor by shedding light on the importance of both internal and external techniques, proceeding from the objective of the study, which is to explain how theatrical performance techniques may be employed in presenting the military character convincingly. The researcher relied on operational definitions of the terms character and military. In the theoretical framework, the researcher addressed two sections: the first concerns the concept of the military character historically, and the second addresses theatrical performance techniques.
The third chapter presents the research population, the research instrument, the research methodology, and the model for analyzing the research sample in light of the findings of the theoretical framework. The fourth chapter presents the results reached by the researcher, followed by the conclusions, proposals, and recommendations. The study concludes with a list of sources and a summary of the research in Arabic.