From Inarticulacy to Art: Normal Non-Fluencies in Verbatim Theatre

This article begins with an outline of the characteristics of verbatim theatre. Section 2 then compares the normal non-fluencies of spontaneous speech with the contrived non-fluences of fictional discourse. In Section 3 we analyze the non-fluencies evident in five extracts from a specific work of the genre: Alecky Blythe's Cruising. While interpretation of the planned non-fluencies of scripted dialogue is usually straightforward, the authentic non-fluencies of verbatim theatre are difficult to interpret since they are indicative of complex emotional states. It emerges that normal non-fluencies are often not "normal" at all in that they are not the product of genuine inarticulacy. Sometimes they are verbal signals that a speaker consciously employs; on other occasions they are unconscious, but in these cases they seldom comply with the rather formulaic link between verbal stumble and emotional state frequently adopted in created dialogue. In the hands of a skilled verbatim playwright, these simulated or genuine non-fluencies can have great dramatic efficacy. Indeed, the naturally occurring speech of authentic communicative events has the potential to be as dramatically dynamic, as psychologically complex and as linguistically inventive as any script crafted by the most skilled of playwrights. In short, real or apparent inarticulacy becomes art.