En mettant en scène Warten auf Godot en 1975 au Schiller Theater, Beckett déclare : « Je ne connaissais rien au théâtre quand j’ai écrit cette pièce. » Constat précieux : l’auteur parle au passé. Entre l’écriture et la mise en scène, un savoir a été acquis. Le défaut de savoir constaté concerne la dimension pratique du théâtre. C’est le théâtre tel qu’il se fait auquel Beckett s’est peu à peu confronté, jusqu’à assumer la mise en scène de ses propres pièces. Devenu praticien, l’auteur s’empare de se première œuvres, les reprend : dans cette reprise lui apparaissent les failles et les manques initiaux. Loin de relever d’une continuité ou d’une évidence, la mise en scène par l’auteur de son premier théâtre et les réécritures auxquelles elle donne lieu offrent un aperçu sur la façon dont l’intériorisation par Beckett de deux fonctions qui ont joué un rôle fondamental dans l’histoire du théâtre au XXe siècle soumet ses pièces à une dynamique de création seconde qui fait évoluer sa poétique initiale. Beckett ne considère pas l’œuvre écrite comme une partition dont il faudrait assumer l’exécution. Au contraire, au fil de sa pratique scénique, il les dramatise et les théâtralise, témoignant de l’évolution même de sa conception du théâtre. Il passe d’un « théâtre rêvé » à un « théâtre pratiqué ». Dans ce passage se dévoilent les méandres et les détours d’une écriture dramatique façonnée initialement dans un creuset romanesque, qui va progressivement acquérir une théâtralité plus marquée. La pratique soumet alors la poétique à une dynamique de reprise et d’ajustements dévoilant en définitive un « Beckett en mouvement », qui allie pratique scénique et poétique du drame pour fonder une poétique théâtrale complexe. / While staging Warten auf Godot in 1975 at the Schiller Theater, Beckett says : « I knew nothing about theater when I wrote this. » The use of the past tense points out the fact that between the writing process and the staging process, something has been learnt. What he did ignore is theater as an artistic practice, as a performance. He will discover it progressively during the 1950’s and the 1960’s and eventually will become the director of his own plays. Our work aims at showing how this shift from desk to stage will lead him to rewrite them, carrying on the creative process directly from the theatre, and, in return, how his very conception of directing is shaped by the singularity of these plays. Far from considering stage directing as a mere execution of the stage directions, Beckett dramatizes and theatricalises his works. Thus, his very conception of theater evolves from an abstract vision, drama as it appears in a literary form, to very a practical one, transforming the very theatricality at stake in his plays. Stage directing and theatre writing are then offering a constant interface, which leads to the emergence of what may be called a theatrical creation in which practical standpoint and literary creation are linked together.

Among the Voices Voiceless is a composition for flute (doubling piccolo), clarinet (doubling bass clarinet), viola, cello, percussion, piano, and electronics, based on the poem "What would I do without this world faceless incurious" by Samuel Beckett. The piece is a setting for disembodied voice: the vocal part exists solely in the electronics. Having no physical body, the voice is obscured as the point of empathy for the audience. In addition, instrumental solos compete for focus during the work's twenty minute duration. In passages including a soloist, the soloist functions simultaneously as antagonist and avatar to the disembodied voice. Spoken word recordings and electronic manipulation of instrumental material provides further layers of ambiguity. The companion critical essay "Among the Voices Voiceless": Setting the Words of Samuel Beckett proposes the distillation of Beckett's style into the elements of prosaicness, repetition, fragmentation, ambiguity, and symmetry. Discussions of Beckett's works such as Waiting for Godot and Molloy demonstrate these elements in his practice. This framework informs the examination of two other musical settings of Beckett's poetry: Neither by Morton Feldman and Odyssey by Roger Reynolds. Finally, these elements are used to analyze and elucidate the compositional decisions made in Among the Voices Voiceless.

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This thesis is an attempt to de-construct the linear way in which I describe my work. I am attempting to deal with my family’s background in the theater and identity as a Texan. In addition I am attempting to address my interest in phenomenological concerns. This document was created in Microsoft Word 2000. The video portions of the video were edited on Imovie HD and Final Cut Pro, while the audio text was recorded from TextEdit’s text to speech program.

Questo studio riguarda le rappresentazioni letterarie del rifiuto del lavoro nei testi di Herman Melville, Joseph Conrad e Samuel Beckett. Nell'introduzione mi occupo della definizione del rifiuto del lavoro quale tema letterario e delle questioni metodologiche connesse a tale problema. Al fine di situare l'analisi del tema in un più ampio contesto, i tre capitoli successivi si concentrano ciascuno su un autore in relazione a un 'sottotema': rispettivamente malinconia, degenerazione e abitudine. Il rifiuto del lavoro in Herman Melville, e in particolare in "Bartleby", emerge come una reazione contro la malinconia e il Romanticismo. "The Nigger of the 'Narcissus'" di Joseph Conrad appare invece quale un modo di affrontare degenerazione e decadenza. Infine, l'abitudine si rivela un tema centrale dell'opera di Samuel Beckett: un'analisi delle fonti e dell'evoluzione di esso nelle sue opere offre una prospettiva d'interpretazione della sua produzione letteraria. L'ultimo capitolo affronta infine il modo in cui queste diverse traiettorie creative costituiscono diversi aspetti o fasi dello stesso fenomeno, e rappresentano manifestazioni di simili processi creativi. / This study concerns the literary representations of the refusal of work in the works of Herman Melville, Joseph Conrad, and Samuel Beckett. In the introduction I deal with the definition of refusal of work as a literary theme and with the methodological issues of the chosen approach to the topic. In order to situate the analysis of the main theme in a broader context, each of the following three chapters focuses on one of the authors in relation to a sub-theme: melancholia, degeneration, and habit, respectively. The refusal of work in Herman Melville, and particularly in Bartleby, emerges as a reaction against melancholy and Romanticism. I read Joseph Conrad's The Nigger of the "Narcissus" as a way of approaching a theory of degeneration and decadence. Finally, I identify the centrality of habit to Samuel Beckett's oeuvre: an examination of the sources and evolution of this theme in his oeuvre, provides a more nuanced understanding of his aesthetic project. My final chapter addresses how these very different aesthetic trajectories function as different facets, or stages, of the same phenomenon, and as manifestations of very similar creative processes.

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