The Rebel City

Jose Rivera is a Puerto Rican American playwright.As his first prize-winning work,Marisol earned him a 1993 Obie Award for Outstanding Play,making him quickly well-known as one of the most remarkable dramatists.In virtue of Henri Lefebvre's spatial theory,this thesis intends to interpret the text and staging of Marisol from the perspective of spatial construction,which includes three levels:urban space,psychological space and theatrical space.Rivera not only shows how space is used as a dominant tool in the process of urban construction,but also focuses on how urban residents cope with space control,thus eventually condensing the rebel city in his theatre.To begin with,this thesis explores the history of New York City from the perspective of urban space,and tries to find the roots of its urban problems,that is,to answer the question:why it is the rebel city.Various "abnormalities" in the play reflect a series of urban construction strategies in New York City in the 1980s.Based on these strategies,this thesis speculates on the political objectives of space management.Through the absurd depiction of an immigrant elite who ended up settling in the streets,a middle-class woman who was sent to prison and a white man who almost gave birth to a new life,Rivera emphasizes the significant role of space as a tool of governance and the heavy pressure it brings to citizens.In addition,the research intends to clarify the process of the urban revolution through the analysis of their psychological space,which is to demonstrate how citizens rebel against the city.Under the pressure of existence,the lower-class citizens,such as Marisol and Man With Scar Tissue,have been transformed into docile bodies.At the same time,new spatial practices have also prompted an emerging revolutionary community.Typical characters psychological spaces constructed in the play enriches the theme of "rebel" and gives the audience a clear understanding of the process of urban revolution as well as its practical significance.Finally,the thesis analyses the stage presentation in theatrical space within and without,and explores how the playwright condenses the rebel city in his sociospatial theatre.On the one hand,Rivera juxtaposes and contrasts some stage settings,and uses montage to cut and collage,overlapping of celestial war and civil resistance.On the other hand,he relies only on spoken language to shape diegetic characters and to reveal the past memories of main characters,thus effectively developing empathy.The staging methods of epic theatre regard landscape as the "subject of scrutiny",seamlessly connecting on-stage space and off-stage space with certain stage properties like the brick wall and an apple.All these dramatic techniques grant the theatre with stronger impact and educational meaning.The rebel city depicted in this play shows Rivera's concern over urban crises and revolution and serves as a warning for all policy-makers,city planners and even some residents.Generally speaking,the thesis has certain academic value and practical significance in excavating the connotation of physical space and social space in New York City and analyzing the function of stage art on exhibiting the theme of space.