KATHRYN CHASE MERRETT
The Canadian Encyclopedia is an all-purpose reference work, designed to document Canadian subjects to all readers--primarily perhaps to Canadians. Within this context it presents the history of Canadian Theatre. First published in a print version by Hurtig Publishers (1986), its theatre component was conceived in the early 1980s by Canadian theatre scholars working with editors. The articles, written by scholars, critics and theatre professionals and updated over the years, continue to offer readers of The Canadian Encyclopedia on CD ROM, a respected version of Canadian theatre history.
In the preface to the 1986 edition Editor-in-chief, James Marsh, anticipated a future challenge. "An encyclopedia" he wrote, "must undergo revision if it is to remain current and if it is to hold its place as a reference point amid the rapid proliferation of knowledge." At the time, Marsh probably expected to update written text for print media. The adoption by publisher McClelland and Stewart and editor Marsh of CD ROM as the medium in which to maintain The Encyclopedia created a very different and shifting context within which the updating process has been carried out.
How to revise the contents of a set of articles designed fifteen years ago for a different medium? That was the problem put before a small group of theatre scholars who agreed, in the summer of 1996, to revisit the entire theatre component of The Encyclopedia and advise me how to refashion it for a new generation and a new medium.
Despite the relative youth of The Encyclopedia, the unavailability of records dictated that the group adopt strategies of literary archaeology. No list existed of the articles on theatre published in the two print versions; any possible rationale lay buried in the non-list. Although the data-base programs were able to generate lists from the CD ROM, these lists excluded any article which had been categorized as something other than theatre. The article on mumming, for instance, discovered well after the exercise began, is categorized as Canadian folklore and did not/does not appear in the subject lists for theatre built into The Encyclopedia's search mechanisms. Magic had been categorized as craft -- not performance. Each member of the review group approached the business of list-building with his or her attitudes, interests and skills -- not so different really from the starting point of any buyer/user of The Encyclopedia .
To begin we subjected the component -- as presented in The Canadian Encyclopedia Plus, 1996 on CD ROM -- to scrutiny intended to uncover an after-the-fact rationale for a somewhat elusive article list. We asked what had been included -- what excluded? What stories did the inclusions and exclusions have to tell about the state of Canadian theatre in the early 1980s, about anticipated readership, about space availability in the print editions?
One review group member decided to subject the biographies to an exercise in accounting, toting up figures to illustrate representation by region, by period, by gender. This exercise proved either that males from central Canada had been especially favoured in the selection process or that the list reflected the research interests of the authors. Articulating the problems with the list of biographies proved easier than devising principles for revising it. Vying for consideration were factors such as: filling in historical gaps; ensuring that the centre is not over-represented at the expense of regional celebrities; responding to reader interest in contemporary stage personalities whose careers are still difficult to assess; ensuring that actors whose careers bridge film and stage, often spanning countries, are included.
Another member, taking a diametrically opposed approach from a theoretical point of view, devised a conceptual framework based on a broad definition of theatre and measured the 1996 holdings against that framework. The result? It appeared that Canadian theatre, as it had been defined and represented in the 96 CD ROM, was remarkably crisp at the edges, distinguishing itself neatly from dance, music, politics and popular culture. A single interpretation of the history of Canadian theatre emerged from the entire set of articles -- the very slow and painful birth of a national theatre which had been nourished to health by the Massey Commission, embodied in so-called 'regional theatres' across the country only to be challenged by 'alternative' groups. The review group members were agreed that contemporary research, some of which complicates or even refutes this interpretation, needed to influence the new article set.
Implicit in the judgement delivered was a new rationale, one we decided to articulate and consult as we made decisions about what to add, subtract, change.
Four 'goals' supply the rational for change. The first specifies a broad concept of theatre, one open to any performative act from a classical play performed on a proscenium stage to the scripted drama of a Canada Day celebration. Dramatic text, according to this definition of theatre, is dynamic -- not the static text we call literature. This expanded definition responds both to changes in the way theatre has developed in Canada since the mid-eighties and to the interactive possibilities of the medium which work to break down rigid barriers between fields of knowledge.
A perceived central bias in the article list is addressed by making balanced representation of regional and linguistic traditions a second goal. Regional representation, we quickly discovered, is a principle more easily accommodated than linguistic representation, which carries with it the aim to represent Canada's cultural pluralism -- so often at odds with its dualistic politics.
In an attempt to recognize the range of interests and motivations which attract Encyclopedia users, our third goal is to be comprehensive -- not exhaustive -- in our coverage of the subject. Those who consult or chance upon theatre articles in The Encyclopedia should take away a tantalizing overview of the history and practice of theatre in Canada. They should also know where to go for more specialized information should they desire or require it.
And finally, recognizing the historical role of encyclopedias in providing solid, reliable information, the fourth measure of the revised set of articles will be their collective emphasis on information over analysis. This is not to stipulate absence of point of view. All articles published in The Canadian Encyclopedia carry their authors' names and the imprint of their views. The review group however, wanted to ensure that new articles were defined around practice, not issues.
Divergent views held by review group members co-exist within the boundaries set by these goals, leaving room for editorial judgement in the naming and commissioning of articles. Still undecided, for instance, is the best way to incorporate into the current and revised list of articles the theatrical energy generated in the 1980s and 1990s by so-called 'gay' and 'feminist' theatre. Would the addition of articles dedicated to gay or feminist theatre imply that gay theatre is not -- or could not be -- mainstream or that feminist theatre is confined within the boundaries of a political definition? Similarly, would the addition of an article on 'native theatre' force the issue of definition and prove self-limiting.
Unresolved too are practical problems arising from long and mostly separate traditions of French-language and English-language theatre. Although major articles are split to provide distinctive coverage of French- and English-language theatrical and dramatic traditions, this separation has not been extended to articles on education, children's theatre, stage and costume design. Where are the scholars who can authoritatively and comprehensively cover these subjects for both French and English Canada? How far should the list go in recognizing distinct linguistic, cultural or even regional traditions?
The year set aside to re-plan the theatre articles did not yield a neat blueprint for a revised component. It did create limited scope for action. Where a measure of consensus was reached among review group members, articles are being commissioned and revisions undertaken. Where there was inadequate debate or a notable lack of consensus stalemate prevails. Although yearly releases appear to favour this on-going project, the perpetual motion makes it impossible to get one steady view of the end product to which one is aspiring. The elusive list will always be in process.
The electronic format in which The Encyclopedia is produced annually, which now allows for direct on-line connections to the internet (both the Encyclopedia home page to which updates and new articles can be posted and web sites related to the contents of the articles), re-situates a general purpose reference work within its intellectual and cultural milieu. If the 1988 four volume print version represented a specific and authoritative "take" on Canadian society, the CD ROM versions, enhanced by The Columbia Encyclopedia of America, dictionaries, thesaurus, and a variety of other visual, audio and text features, presents any subject (theatre history, for example) kaleidoscopically. The inconsistencies which undermined authority in print confer power on readers accustomed to constructing understanding from multiple sources. Who will mind that the Columbia Encyclopedia carries a biography of Marie Dressler while The Canadian Encyclopedia refers to her in an article on 'Expatriot Canadians in Showbusiness'? Who will object to a Macleans Magazine article on stage designer Michael Levine being made available before a biography is thought of or commissioned? Will it matter that new articles such as Collective Creation, Fringe Theatre and Festival Theatre challenge, however subtly, the line adopted in the historical overviews?
Planned and commissioned changes to the list reflect the review group's understanding of the country's vital but fragmented and confusing theatrical scene and their knowledge of the scholarship which can be conscripted to present it. For example, the addition of entries on fringe and festival theatre, collective creation and theatrical touring as well as on new companies, directors and actors, will expand and fill out the encyclopedic rendering of Canadian theatre history. Other planned expansions -- expanded coverage of performing arts spaces, for example -- offer opportunities to blend architectural and theatrical history in a new form of hybrid article. The desire to expand coverage of stage and costume design would incorporate into articles on theatre history technological topics previously ignored.
Other list changes have been conceived more in response to the demands of the medium. The addition of a new menu-driven introductory article to the theatre component, the increasing use of The Encyclopedia web site to update articles, the introduction of more direct connections from The Encyclopedia to the internet and the move to think of illustrations which are integral--not peripheral--to the text are facilitated -- even demanded -- by the electronic format. Users comfortable with the interactivity of the medium will not be limited by the concept inherent in any one set of articles.
Many issues remain unresolved. In seeking to increase regional representation and to reflect the cultural and political diversity which create so much of contemporary theatre's energy, it is difficult to name and commission entries which do not carry in their labels immediate obsolescence or prejudice. How far can we go in presenting Canadian theatre history in relation to the competing and overlapping histories of its constituencies? How do we increase the relevance of visual and audio texts without devaluing the written texts? How far can we expand the definition of theatre without infringing on the definitions of other related subjects? Is the fourth goal above -- the emphasis on information analysis -- consistent with a technology which demands attention grabbing initiatives to 'capture the market'?
And finally, outside the direct sphere of the advisory group's mandate, there is the issue of scholarly resources for this on-going project. The small 'n' nationalist vision behind the initiative of the 1980s drew committed and knowledgeable consultants and authors. The very forces which are behind the changes to the list -- cultural fragmentation and technological change -- have altered both fields of research and the priorities of researchers.