Place in Iranian Contemporary Theatre with an Emphasis on " Cinderella": A Semiotic Approach

This study explores place as a semiotic layer in contrast and coordination with other semiotic systems and textual layers in theatrical performances. It aims to recognize the interrelations between place, time, character, situation and action in the dramatic text and on stage and to identify the role of codes of place in creating dramatic possible worlds and moving in these worlds we have studied “Cinderella”, written and directed by Jalal Tehrani. It also attempts to illustrate the wide network of elements contributing to the codes of place and the mutual effect of other layers on place. The impact and position of place as a structured semiotic system entering various levels of signification is also examined. Place is merged with different semiotic levels and leads to coaction with the world and others. Place semiotic system, therefore, interacts with other semiotic systems. As a result, a meaningful correlation emerges in performance. First, layer semiotics as the theoretical framework is introduced, then a brief overview of place semiotics is presented and then the semiotic functions of the layer of place is examined in contrast with other elements and systems of drama in performance. Tehrani, through creation of influential places, forms the space in a significant correlation with other semiotic layers of the play. In Tehrani’s works there is a meaningful relation between place and other sign systems. Place in his works is an aesthetic device which works in a mutual relation with other textual layers. Place has its impacts on other layers of performance and at the same time is under the significant impact of other layers. The actors does not move that much, and the change in place is created through change in the audience point of view. Therefore in most of his works the actors are fixed and this is the place which moves around them. Change in place in his works leads to change in dimensions. In the present study place is considered a cultural sub-code and the research is based on stratificational semiotics as its theoretical framework. This study is descriptive- analytical, and library sources and the film of performance are used.