Course: THEATRST 202S Introduction to Performance Studies, Duke University
Instructor: Alex Ferrone, Ph.D.
The judicial system is a crucial part of our world that is organized by the logic of play. It includes all four theatrical elements constructed by Richard Schechner: drama, script, theater, and performance.
First, laws serve as the “drama” of the play. They are the foundation of our judicial system. Today, most laws are enacted by the discretion of an authority (such as a monarch or legislature) and crystallized in graphic or written formats. These are the drama, “a written text, score, scenario, instruction, plan, or map,” of the entire system (Schechner 71). The laws are the smallest circle of the judicial system and independent of the time and place as well as the interpretation of the judges. They are regarded as the most stable part of the system, thus any change to them must be scrutinized and often subject to controversies and criticisms.
How laws should be interpreted and enforced is the “script”. Judges, usually trained to know everything about the laws, determine the enactment of the “dramas”. Therefore, the judges act as directors of a show and instruct the citizens on how they perform. These interpretations and enforcements become the “basic judicial code” of our society: the citizens adjust their performance to these enactments of the “dramas”. For example, the outdoor masking requirement is not “performed” by many Duke students because, although written rules are clear, the university administration decides not to stringently enforce it.
The judicial procedures constitute the “theater” part of the show. Trials are excellent examples. While laws and judicial interpretations are often not concrete and immediate actions, trials are the actual “productions” consisting of a series of “events enacted by a specific group of performers” (71). All trials must be based on laws and judicial interpretations, but it is the application and manifestation of them that makes each trial different from others, whether in process or outcome. Whereas the judge issues a final verdict that dictates the immediate outcome of the trial—the impression of the show, skillful lawyers are adequate performers on stage that enhances the attractiveness of the show.
Finally, public reactions to judicial procedures add up to the “performance,” the “broadest disc” of the show (71). While a few people participate the judicial procedures as “actors” on stage, the rest of the public observes and interacts with the judicial procedures as the “audience”. They ultimately conclude whether the “theater” adequately represents the “drama” and “script”—whether a trial exhibits and defends the principles of laws and judicial interpretations. For a “fair” trial, the public sometimes demonstrates support and celebration through public gatherings, mass media, and the internet; on the other hand, the public often criticizes and protests “improper” judicial procedures. For example, the conviction of Officer Derek Chauvin led to large-scale demonstration celebrating the result and denouncing police violence. The interactions between the formal judicial institutions and public reactions constitutes a responsive and dynamic judicial system. Therefore, public reactions are vital to the judicial system, just as audiences being indispensable to theatrical productions.
In summary, the judicial system is organized by the logic of play, with the laws as “dramas,” the judicial interpretation as “scripts,” the judicial procedures as “theaters,” and the public reactions as the final touch to the broadest sphere of “performance”.
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