The Impact of Socio-Regulatory Restrictions on Executive Creativity in Iranian Theater

Socio-regulatory restrictions in Iranian theater have made it difficult for artists to capture some of the scenes in their plays; scenes such as hugging, kissing, rape, etc., or scenes with an ideological or political approach. However, sometimes theater directors, having eliminated such scenes, try to find a suitable alternative with a similar impact. This is an analytical-descriptive paper aims at identifying executive equivalents used by play directors, in the meantime focusing on alternative solutions and models extracted from the creativity of Iranian play directors in response to imposed socioregulatory restrictions. The researchers have comparatively analyzed five selected theatrical films. The current paper identifies elimination and replacement strategies applied to the original text plays scripts in response to imposed regulations seen as restrictions on plays while analyzing the director’s alternative solutions in the five present theatrical films. Moreover, the current paper proves that artists, in the face of restrictions and obstacles, use their artistic creativity to present themes, analysis, and aesthetic points. The findings of the current paper elaborate eight creative executive models developed by directors including the use of symbols, visual elements rather than auditory elements, narrative function, scene design, mise en scène, clothing design, stage objects, and woman’s wears. In using the symbol, the director is required to define the function of a symbolic element for the audience and then bypass that restriction in an instant. Therefore, replacing a visual message with an auditory one in a sense may also act as an effective way to creatively remove imposed restrictions. In this way, the director narrates a moment that is subject to visual restrictions in sentences. In addition, proper use of the narrative functions in the theater makes it possible to set certain contracts for audiences, thus the moment impossible to be shown in a realistic play is easily may be narrated in a narrative play. Directors also may creatively use scene design that helps them create a creative moment by providing spaces for characters to hide, creating iconic structures, and the like. Mise en scène design is also an effective element in removing restrictions, including the relationship, distance and meaningful fit of bodies. Many of the artistic restrictions include physical contact between the two sexes, so a creative mise en scène may even, in addition to restricted moment compensation; create a much deeper impact on the audience. Some clothes in every culture include symbols and meanings, both direct and indirect. The director can convey the desired effect by using a particular outfit or color. The meaningful and creative combination of scene objects together can be a good way to remove restrictions. If the director is able to draw meaningful contracts from the presence of objects for the audience, he or she can benefit from these contracts during the show. The use of woman’s wears has long had a special place in Iranian plays. A male actor can play the role of a woman and thus lift restrictions.