Translating for actors: Strategies derived from incorporating the actor's approach to text into the art and craft of drama translation (Jean Cocteau)

Translations of foreign drama are rarely subjected to intense scrutiny in this country but instead are simply accepted by actors and audiences alike, a practice which has resulted in a lack of respect for drama translation as an artistic and scholarly pursuit and has led to an alarming absence of translated playtexts geared to the needs of the American actor. This study is the first to approach the subject of drama translation from the perspective of an actor, who is the ultimate purveyor of the translated play. By understanding how actors think about and work with scripts, and appreciating the extent to which the actor's response to text contributes to the overall perceived meaning of the play, translators can produce texts that preserve both the semantic and theatrical viability of the original play. Chapter One examines the production history and reception of five French plays from their Paris premieres through their various English-language incarnations in London and New York. Critical reviews are examined which document problems encountered when plays travel across geographic and linguistic boundaries. Chapter Two is comprised of the complete text of my own translation of Cocteau's Les Parents terribles which serves to anchor my observations throughout the discussion in the concreteness of a text in which I have participated rather than simply examined externally. My translation is based on the complete and original version of play, with all subsequent changes made by the author clearly demarcated in order to provide monolingual American actors with the closest possible English equivalent of the French text. Chapter Three is devoted to a critical analysis of the English translation by Jeremy Sams entitled Indiscretions. This chapter seeks to establish a model for translating foreign drama with actors in mind that insures faithful reproduction of the original work without denying the creative contributions of either the translator or the actors. The dissertation concludes with an exploration of the similarities between the actor's process and the translator's process. Specific guidelines are formulated for producing scripts that function for the actor as well in translation as they did in the original language.