Related to

closet drama A closet drama is a play (theatre), play that is not intended to be performed onstage, but read by a solitary reader. The earliest use of the term recorded by the Oxford English Dictionary is in 1813. The literary historian Henry Augustin Beers, H ...

, a closet screenplay is a

screenplay A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...

intended not to be produced/performed but instead to be read by a solitary reader or, sometimes, out loud in a small group. While any published, or simply read, screenplay might reasonably be considered a "closet screenplay," 20th- and 21st-century Japanese and Western writers have created a handful of film scripts expressly intended to be read rather than produced/performed. This class of prose fiction written in screenplay form is perhaps the most precise example of the closet screenplay. This genre is sometimes referred to using a romanized Japanese

neologism In linguistics, a neologism (; also known as a coinage) is any newly formed word, term, or phrase that has achieved popular or institutional recognition and is becoming accepted into mainstream language. Most definitively, a word can be considered ...

: "Lesescenario (レーゼシナリオ)" or, following Hepburn’s romanization of Japanese, sometimes “Rezeshinario.” A

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

of the German word ''Lesedrama'' ("read drama") and the English word ''scenario,'' this term simply means "closet scenario," or, by extension, "closet screenplay."

Critical interest

Brian Norman, an

assistant professor Assistant professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States, Canada, Japan, and South Korea. Overview This position is generally taken after earning a doct ...

Idaho State University Idaho State University (ISU) is a Public university, public research university in Pocatello, Idaho, United States. Founded in 1901 as the Academy of Idaho, Idaho State offers more than 250 programs at its main campus in Pocatello and locations ...

, refers to

James Baldwin James Arthur Baldwin (né Jones; August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987) was an American writer and civil rights activist who garnered acclaim for his essays, novels, plays, and poems. His 1953 novel '' Go Tell It on the Mountain'' has been ranked ...

's '' One Day When I Was Lost'' as a "closet

." The screenplay was written for a project to produce a movie, but the project suffered a setback. After that, the script was published as a

literary work Literary work is a generic term for works of literature, i.e. texts such as fiction and non-fiction books, essays, screenplays''.'' In the philosophy of art and the field of aesthetics there is some debate about what that means, precisely. What a ...

. Lee Jamieson's article "The Lost Prophet of Cinema: The Film Theory of

Antonin Artaud Antoine Maria Joseph Paul Artaud (; ; 4September 18964March 1948), better known as Antonin Artaud, was a French artist who worked across a variety of media. He is best known for his writings, as well as his work in the theatre and cinema. Widely ...

" discusses Artaud's three Lesescenarios (listed below) in the context of his "revolutionary film theory." And in ''French Film Theory and Criticism: 1907–1939'', Richard Abel lists the following critical treatments of several of the Surrealist "published scenario texts" (36) listed in the example section below: * J. H. Matthews, ''Surrealism and Film'' (U of Michigan P, 1971), 51–76. * Steven Kovács, ''From Enchantment to Rage: The Story of Surrealist Cinema'' (Associated UP, 1980), 59–61, 157–76. * Linda Williams, ''Figures of Desire: A Theory and Analysis of Surrealist Film'' (U of Illinois P, 1981), 25–33. * Richard Abel, "Exploring the Discursive Field of the Surrealist Film Scenario Text," ''Dada/Surrealism'' 15 (1986): 58–71. Finally, in his article "Production's 'dubious advantage': Lesescenarios, closet drama, and the (screen)writer's riposte," Quimby Melton outlines the history of the Lesescenario form, situates the genre in a historical literary context by drawing parallels between it and Western "

," and argues we might consider certain instances of closet drama proto-screenplays. The article also argues that writing these sorts of "readerly" performance texts is essentially an act of subversion whereby (screen)writers work in a performance mode only to intentionally bypass production and, thereby, (re)assert narrative representation's textual primacy and (re)claim a direct (re)connection with their audience. The comments section of Melton's article also has an ongoing discussion of the Lesescenario cano

The list of examples below is based on "Production's 'dubious advantage,'" that discussion, and Melton's "Lesecenario Bibliography" at Google Docs. The bibliography contains additional critical works concerned with individual Lesescenarios and/or the canon at large.

Examples

''Alphabetical by author last name. For a full list, please se
Melton's aforementioned Google Docs bibliography
''

A

*'' The House (closet screenplay), The House'', ''

Man's Fate ''Man's Fate'' (French: ''La Condition humaine'', "The Human Condition") is a 1933 novel written by André Malraux about the failed communist insurrection in Shanghai in 1927, and the existential quandaries facing a diverse group of people asso ...

,'' '' Dedication Day'' (by

James Agee James Rufus Agee ( ; November 27, 1909 – May 16, 1955) was an American novelist, journalist, poet, screenwriter and film critic. In the 1940s, writing for ''Time'', he was one of the most influential film critics in the United States. His autob ...

) *'' Asakusa Park'', '' The Life of a Stupid Man'', ''

Shadow A shadow is a dark area on a surface where light from a light source is blocked by an object. In contrast, shade occupies the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross-section of a shadow is a two-dimensio ...

'', and ''

Temptation Temptation is a desire to engage in short-term urges for enjoyment that threatens long-term goals.Webb, J.R. (Sep 2014). Incorporating Spirituality into Psychology of temptation: Conceptualization, measurement, and clinical implications. Sp ...

'' (by

Ryūnosuke Akutagawa , art name , was a Japanese writer active in the Taishō period in Japan. He is regarded as the "father of the Japanese short story", and Japan's premier literary award, the Akutagawa Prize, is named after him. He took his own life at the age ...

) *''

Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' (, ) is an Italian narrative poetry, narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun and completed around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of ...

'' (by

Haruhiko Arai is a Japanese screenwriter. He is also a publisher and an editor of the ''Eiga Geijutsu'' magazine and a professor of the Japan Institute of the Moving Image. Career Arai won the Mainichi Film Award for best screenplay for the film ''W's Tragedy ...

, based on Kyojin Onishi's

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

of the same name) *''France America, or the Interrupted Film'' (by

Robert Aron Robert Aron (; ; 25 May 1898 – 19 April 1975) was a French historian and writer who wrote several books on politics and European history. Early life and career Robert Aron was born in Le Vésinet on 25 May 1898 to an upper-class Jewish family f ...

) *'' Eighteen Seconds, a screenplay'', '' The Seashell and the Clergyman'', '' Thirty Two'', '' The Solar Plane'', '' Two Nations on the Borders of Mongolia'', ''

The Master of Ballantrae ''The Master of Ballantrae: A Winter's Tale'' is an 1889 novel by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, focusing upon the conflict between two brothers, Scottish noblemen whose family is torn apart by the Jacobite rising of 1745. He wo ...

'' (after the

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...

novel of the same name), '' Flights'', and '' The Butcher's Revolt'' (by

) *''Lost Children'' (by

Marcel Aymé Marcel Aymé (; 29 March 1902 – 14 October 1967) was a French novelist and playwright, who also wrote screenplays and works for children. Biography Marcel André Aymé was born in Joigny, in the Burgundy region of France, the youngest ...

)

B

*''The Reader from Ames'' (by André Berge) *''The Initiation (A Story of Adventure)'' (by François Berge) *''Hummingbird – Adventures of a Freshman Girl''　(by Nora Blake)　 *''The Second Departure'' (by Maurice Betz) *''Le Dernier Empereur'' (by Jean-Richard Bloch) *''Beautiful Weddings in the Street: A New Scenario on a Banal Theme'' (by Jacques Bonjean) *'' One Day, When I Was Lost: A Scenario Based on Alex Haley's The Autobiography of Malcolm X'' (by

) *"Une Girafe" (by

Luis Buñuel Luis Buñuel Portolés (; 22 February 1900 – 29 July 1983) was a Spanish and Mexican filmmaker who worked in France, Mexico and Spain. He has been widely considered by many film critics, historians and directors to be one of the greatest and ...

) *'' Mozart and the Wolf Gang'' (by

Anthony Burgess John Anthony Burgess Wilson, (; 25 February 1917 – 22 November 1993) who published under the name Anthony Burgess, was an English writer and composer. Although Burgess was primarily a comic writer, his Utopian and dystopian fiction, dy ...

) *'' The Last Words of Dutch Schultz'' (by

William S. Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist. He is widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major Postmodern literature, postmodern author who influen ...

)

C

*'' Secrets on the Island'' and '' Arletty, Young Woman from Dauphine'' (by

Louis-Ferdinand Céline Louis Ferdinand Auguste Destouches (27 May 1894 – 1 July 1961), better known by the pen name Louis-Ferdinand Céline ( ; ), was a French novelist, polemicist, and physician. His first novel '' Journey to the End of the Night'' (1932) won the ' ...

) *''The End of the World, Filmed by the Angel of Notre Dame'' and ''Atlantis'' (by

Blaise Cendrars Frédéric-Louis Sauser (1 September 1887 – 21 January 1961), better known as Blaise Cendrars (), was a Swiss-born novelist and poet who became a naturalized French citizen in 1916. He was a writer of considerable influence in the European ...

) *''A Broken Foot: A Documentary'' (by Hendrik Cramer)

D

*"The Reefs of Love," ''Midnight at Noon: A Study of Marvelous Modernity,'' and "There Are Bugs in the Roast Pork" (by

Robert Desnos Robert Desnos (; 4 July 1900 – 8 June 1945) was a French poet who played a key role in the Surrealist movement. Early life Robert Desnos was born in Paris on 4 July 1900, the son of a licensed dealer in game and poultry at the '' Halles'' ma ...

) *''Pierre, or The Demon Unmasked'' (by André Desson and André Harlaire) *''Savoir Vivre'' (by Jean-Paul Dreyfus and Bernar Lahy-Hollebecque)

F

*"Eyes Wide Open" ("Paupières mûres"), "Horizontal Bar," and "Mtasipoj" (by Benjamin Fondane)

G

*''News'' (by Paul Gilson) *''Figures'' (by Ramon Gomez de la Serna) *''Descent to the Lower Depths'' (by

Maxim Gorky Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (; – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (; ), was a Russian and Soviet writer and proponent of socialism. He was nominated five times for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Before his success as an aut ...

)

H

*''For Rent''　( Sakutaro Hagiwara) *''Slaughterhouses of the Night'' (by Maurice Henry) *'' The Girl in Harmagedon'' (by Kazumasa Hirai) * '' Ape and Essence'' (part II: "The Script") (by

Aldous Huxley Aldous Leonard Huxley ( ; 26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. His bibliography spans nearly 50 books, including non-fiction novel, non-fiction works, as well as essays, narratives, and poems. Born into the ...

)

J

*'' Negrophobia'' (by Darius James ka Dr. Snakeskin

K

*'' Lom Long'' (by Chart Korbjitti) *''

The True Story of Ah Q ''The True Story of Ah Q'' is an episodic novella written by Lu Xun using third-person narration perspective, first published as a serial between December 4, 1921 and February 12, 1922. It was later included in his first short story collectio ...

'' (by Fuyuhiko Kitagawa, based on

Lu Xun Lu Xun ( zh, c=魯迅, p=Lǔ Xùn, ; 25 September 188119 October 1936), pen name of Zhou Shuren, born Zhou Zhangshou, was a Chinese writer. A leading figure of modern Chinese literature, he wrote in both vernacular and literary Chinese as a no ...

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most novelettes and short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) ...

)

L

*'' The Escape of Mr. McKinley'' (by Leonid Leonov)

M

*Trial of the warlock (by

Norman Mailer Nachem Malech Mailer (January 31, 1923 – November 10, 2007), known by his pen name Norman Kingsley Mailer, was an American writer, journalist and filmmaker. In a career spanning more than six decades, Mailer had 11 best-selling books, at least ...

, based on " La-bas" by

Joris-Karl Huysmans Charles-Marie-Georges Huysmans (, ; 5 February 1848 – 12 May 1907) was a French novelist and art critic who published his works as Joris-Karl Huysmans (, variably abbreviated as J. K. or J.-K.). He is most famous for the novel (1884, pub ...

)

N

*"L'Amazon des cimetières" (by Georges Neveux)

O

*''The Revolutionary Woman'' ( Kenzaburo Oe)information about a book of Oe's essays titled "The Last Novel" including the work in Kodansha book club
/ref> *'' The Birth of the Emperor/Record of Ancient Matters'' (by Hideo Osabe)

R

*''Donogoo-Tonka, or The Miracles of Science'' (by

Jules Romains Jules Romains (born Louis Henri Jean Farigoule; 26 August 1885 – 14 August 1972) was a French poet and writer and the founder of the Unanimism literary movement. His works include the play '' Knock ou le Triomphe de la médecine'', and a cyc ...

) *"La Huitème Jour de la semaine" and ''The Banker, or Fortune is Blind'' (by

Georges Ribemont-Dessaignes Georges Ribemont-Dessaignes (June 19, 1884 – July 9, 1974) was a French writer, poet, playwright, and painter associated with the Dada movement. He was born in Montpellier and died in Saint-Jeannet. In addition to numerous early paintings, R ...

)

S

*''The Evening Murder'' (by Haruo Sato) "A Thought on Junichiro Tanizaki's Whispering Moon - from aspects of writing/reading a film -" by Mioko Sato
（ Doshisha National Literature Vol.83 ） *''Don't Put a Dog Outside: A Film without Words'' (by Claude Sernet)

T

*''Whispering Moon'', (by

Jun'ichirō Tanizaki was a Japanese author who is considered to be one of the most prominent figures in modern Japanese literature. The tone and subject matter of his work range from shocking depictions of sexuality and destructive erotic obsessions to subtle portr ...

)　 *''The Unconquerable People,'' ''The Doctor and the Devils,'' ''Rebecca's Daughters,'' ''The Beach of Falesá,'' ''Twenty Years A-Growing,'' ''Suffer Little Children,'' ''The Shadowless Man,'' and ''Me and My Bike'' (by

Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer, whose works include the poems " Do not go gentle into that good night" and " And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Un ...

)

W

*'' Reality Is What You Can Get Away With'' and '' The Walls Came Tumbling Down'' (by

Robert Anton Wilson Robert Anton Wilson (born Robert Edward Wilson; January 18, 1932 – January 11, 2007) was an American writer, futurist, psychologist, and self-described agnostic mystic. Recognized within Discordianism as an Episkopos, pope and saint, Wilson ...

)

References

External links

* Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, ''Asakusa Park'' (Trans. Seiji M. Lippit. nycBigCityLit.com, February 2004. https://web.archive.org/web/20080820223841/http://www.nycbigcitylit.com/feb2004/contents/longerdraughts.html 0 May 2009. * Antonin Artaud, ''Les Dix-huits seconds'' (Google Books, n.d. https://books.google.com/books?id=hdhR9dmPah0C&dq=antonin%20artaud%20selected&pg=PA113 January 2011. * Louis-Ferdinand Céline, ''Secrets dans l'îsle'' (Trans. Mark Spitzer. Cipher Journal, n.d. http://www.cipherjournal.com/html/celine.html 0 May 2009. * Seiji M. Lippit, “The Disintegrating Machinery of the Modern: Akutagawa Ryunosuke's Late Writings” (''Journal of Asian Studies

58:1 ebruary 1999 27-50). * {{cite news, first=David, last=Peace, title=Last words, work=

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

, date=2007-09-08, url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/sep/08/featuresreviews.guardianreview13, access-date=2009-05-10 * Hiroo Yamagata ( esescenarioTranslator, ''Negrophobia'' and ''The Last Words of Dutch Schultz''), Interview (SCRIPTjr.nl 1.2. une 2010 http://scriptjr.nl/issues/1.2/hiroo-yamagata-interview-1-2.php 1 January 2011.
Lom Long as a Lese-scenario
A professor of

Tokyo University of Foreign Studies , often referred to as TUFS, is a specialist National university, national research university in Fuchū, Tokyo, Fuchū, Tokyo, Japan. TUFS is primarily devoted to foreign language, international relations, international affairs and area studies. ...

, Seiji Udo’s paper on Chart Korbjitti's Lesescenario Literary genres Screenplays Drama eo:Legdramo#legscenaro

Critical interest

Examples

A

B

C

D

F

G

H

J

K

L

M

N

O

R

S

T

W

See also

References

External links