You Always Forget Something: Can Practice Make Theory?

Abstract

When it comes to the multi-layered process of making a translated play work for the stage (Johnston 1997:7), does translation theory have a role to play? In the collaborative world of theatre, where a play is proved through practice, what room if any is there for theory in the rehearsal room? Might it best be forgotten about entirely? Or left to academics to use when analysing the translation? What are the practical steps that the stage translator might employ to prepare the translated play text for performance? How can the act of translation itself become the research methodology?

By taking a sideways glance at Cuban dramatist Virgilio Piñera’s absurdist one-act play Siempre se olvida algo (1964) and my own recent translation of it as You Always Forget Something, I shall seek to find answers to the above questions. I shall also evaluate how workshops with professional and student actors have come to form a vital stage in developing both my translations of Piñera’s plays and my understanding of his work.