Citation tomorrow, I promise (or the next day, or the day after…)

An excerpt from the paper I am typing:

The Oberiu theater, as described in Zabolotsky’s article, is at its base, a resurgence in the importance of the subordinate elements of theater. These elements, of which include the movements of a man on stage, a canvas with a town painted upon it, and a shepherd playing a pipe, have traditionally been subordinated by dramatic plot, often through the story told by the stage actors. He goes on to define any action, even if it does not advance the dramatic plot, as theater, saying, “The scenery, the movements of the actors, a bottle thrown down, the hem of a costume are just as much a part of the action as the people who are shaking their heads and speaking words and phrases.”

My citations are missing, and I apologize, but I believe this is from Daniil Kharms and the Poetics of the Absurd: Essays And Materials, edited by Neil Cornwell. I have to dig through my notes tomorrow morning to find out which essay specifically, but I promise you, I’m not making this up.

This paper is slow going, mostly due to my not working on it.

UPDATE: I am loosing my mind. The quote is from The Oberiu Manifesto, translated by George Giban (I think that’s who translated). It was more of an article than a real manifesto, and it is only believed to have been written by Zabalotsky, there is no definitive answer.