紙上劇場：莎士比亞戲劇海報創作論述

Abstract

戲劇海報是劇場演出的臉，一張傑出的戲劇海報不僅具體而微地說明一齣戲的精華之外，還能展現設計師個人對劇本的解讀。本研究以戲劇分析的文本觀點與劇場／符號學觀點為基礎，整合亞里斯多德（Aristotle）的戲劇六大元素後提出：劇本主題、角色人物、戲劇場景三大類型，並根據法國戲劇符號學者安娜．于貝斯菲爾德（Anne Ubersfeld）的研究成果，建立戲劇海報的創作構思與意義三角模式。

從探討戲劇與視覺藝術之間的關係得知，劇場中的視覺藝術在當代受到高度重視的原因，不僅來自於寫實主義與自然主義戲劇的追求，更與非寫實戲劇和導演一職的發展息息相關；另外，十七世紀之後，莎士比亞戲劇入畫，初期深受劇場演員與表演影響，後期則朝向畫家個人對劇本的直接閱讀觀感，藉由莎劇表達個人情感而創作；十九世紀彩色石版印刷技術進步，現代海報發展出多元風格，主要有兩條脈絡：一為以藝術繪畫著稱的法國新藝術與波蘭觀念形象風格，另一為抽象表現的德國包浩斯與瑞士國際風格，設計師的個人特色也同時被強調。

據本研究戲劇海報案例分析發現，悲劇作品因皆以主要角色人物為劇名，且劇本主題較明顯可辨，案例海報多以此兩項為設計策略；反觀喜劇作品，劇名即顯示整體的戲劇行動，戲劇場景的意義被轉化為劇本主題，並以此作為發想源頭；而從台灣的莎劇海報案例研究指出：演出製作與劇種之差異等劇場因素，會連帶影響戲劇海報之設計。

由本研究成果顯示：一、戲劇分析式的戲劇海報研究，能準確地探索海報圖像與劇本文字之間的關聯；二、戲劇海報中以角色人物為主體的圖像生成，有其藝術史和平面設計史脈絡可追溯；三、劇本主題、角色人物、戲劇場景三大類型並非平行結構，而是「劇本主題」統領「角色人物」與「戲劇場景」；四、以戲劇分析式的設計發想，因創作者對於劇本的詮釋差異，而展現多樣且深具個人特色的海報風景。海報之所以為平面設計之王，乃因其高度的藝術性，有紙上劇場之稱的戲劇海報，因其圖像如同劇場符號一般具有多義性的特質，因此提供創作者和觀者皆有無限的可能性，而其藝術價值於是誕生。

A theatrical poster is the face of performance. An outstanding theatrical poster not only conveys the essence of a play but also displays the individual interpretation and the unique taste of the designer. Based on the play analysis and theatrical semiology, this study integrates Aristotle’s six elements of drama and proposes three main categories: “theme”, “character”, and “scene”. According to the research of a French theatrical semiologist, Anne Ubersfeld, this study also establishes the meaning triangle and creative conception. Moreover, by probing into the connection between drama/theatre and visual arts, several findings are presented in this study.

First of all, visual arts in theatre being highly respected are due to the visualization of Realism and Naturalism plays, the development of non-realism theatre, and the formulation of directors in the theatre. Second, from seventeenth century, Shakespearean plays became the theme of the paintings. At early times, the styles of paintings were affected by actors and acting techniques which were constrained by the ‘symbol of the emotion’. Later, some of the artists began to read the playscript, by which they were inspired, and thus they expressed their individual perspectives toward the play. At last, by the advance of chromolithography, modern posters have displayed diverse possibilities since nineteenth century. There are two main streams. The first one is the French Art Nouveau and the Polish Conceptual Image Style; their composition and skills are inherited from modern art, such as Surrealism, Futurism, and Expressionism. The second is the German Bauhaus and the Swiss International style; they present the spirit of Modernism──‘form follows function’. Meanwhile, the individuality of the poster designer is enhanced as well.

According to the case analysis, the name of the main character is always used as the title of tragedy and the thought of the play is quite obvious. Therefore, the “character” and “theme” are utilized as the strategies for the theatrical poster design. On the contrary, the title of comedy has already reveals the whole theatrical action, and themeaning of the scene has changed into the theme of the script. The poster design for comedy is thus developed. From the study of theatrical posters of Shakespearean dramas in Taiwan, the design of posters is affected by different productions and the form of theatre.

To conclude, by the aid of play analysis, the connection between images of posters and texts of plays could be precisely investigated. Additionally, the graphs of the theatrical posters can be traced back thorough the history of art and graphic design. Furthermore, the “theme”, “character”, and “scene” form a triangle structure, in which the “theme” commands the other two elements. Finally, due to the application of play analysis and designers’ personal interpretations of the plays, the theatrical posters display wide variety.