Related to closet drama, a closet screenplay is a

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, fe ...

intended not to be produced/performed but instead to be read by a solitary reader or, sometimes, out loud in a small group. While any published, or simply read, screenplay might reasonably be considered a "closet screenplay," 20th- and 21st-century Japanese and Western writers have created a handful of film scripts expressly intended to be read rather than produced/performed. This class of prose fiction written in screenplay form is perhaps the most precise example of the closet screenplay. This genre is sometimes referred to using a romanized Japanese neologism: "Lesescenario (レーゼシナリオ)" or, following Hepburn’s romanization of Japanese, sometimes “Rezeshinario.” A portmanteau of the German word ''Lesedrama'' ("read drama") and the English word ''scenario,'' this term simply means "closet scenario," or, by extension, "closet screenplay."

Critical interest

Brian Norman, an assistant professor at Idaho State University, refers to

James Baldwin James Arthur Baldwin (August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987) was an American writer. He garnered acclaim across various media, including essays, novels, plays, and poems. His first novel, '' Go Tell It on the Mountain'', was published in 1953; de ...

's '' One Day When I Was Lost'' as a "closet

." The screenplay was written for a project to produce a movie, but the project suffered a setback. After that, the script was published as a literary work. Lee Jamieson's article "The Lost Prophet of Cinema: The Film Theory of

Antonin Artaud Antoine Marie Joseph Paul Artaud, better known as Antonin Artaud (; 4 September 1896 – 4 March 1948), was a French writer, poet, dramatist, visual artist, essayist, actor and theatre director. He is widely recognized as a major figure of the E ...

" discusses Artaud's three Lesescenarios (listed below) in the context of his "revolutionary film theory." And in ''French Film Theory and Criticism: 1907–1939'', Richard Abel lists the following critical treatments of several of the Surrealist "published scenario texts" (36) listed in the example section below: * J. H. Matthews, ''Surrealism and Film'' (U of Michigan P, 1971), 51–76. * Steven Kovács, ''From Enchantment to Rage: The Story of Surrealist Cinema'' (Associated UP, 1980), 59–61, 157–76. * Linda Williams, ''Figures of Desire: A Theory and Analysis of Surrealist Film'' (U of Illinois P, 1981), 25–33. * Richard Abel, "Exploring the Discursive Field of the Surrealist Film Scenario Text," ''Dada/Surrealism'' 15 (1986): 58–71. Finally, in his article "Production's 'dubious advantage': Lesescenarios, closet drama, and the (screen)writer's riposte," Quimby Melton outlines the history of the Lesescenario form, situates the genre in a historical literary context by drawing parallels between it and Western " closet drama," and argues we might consider certain instances of closet drama proto-screenplays. The article also argues that writing these sorts of "readerly" performance texts is essentially an act of subversion whereby (screen)writers work in a performance mode only to intentionally bypass production and, thereby, (re)assert narrative representation's textual primacy and (re)claim a direct (re)connection with their audience. The comments section of Melton's article also has an ongoing discussion of the Lesescenario cano

The list of examples below is based on "Production's 'dubious advantage,'" that discussion, and Melton's "Lesecenario Bibliography" at Google Docs. The bibliography contains additional critical works concerned with individual Lesescenarios and/or the canon at large.

Examples

''Alphabetical by author last name. For a full list, please se
Melton's aforementioned Google Docs bibliography
''

A

*'' The House (closet screenplay), The House'', '' Man's Fate,'' '' Dedication Day'' (by

James Agee James Rufus Agee ( ; November 27, 1909 – May 16, 1955) was an American novelist, journalist, poet, screenwriter and film critic. In the 1940s, writing for ''Time Magazine'', he was one of the most influential film critics in the United States. ...

) *''

Asakusa Park is a district in Taitō, Tokyo, Japan. It is known as the location of the Sensō-ji, a Buddhist temple dedicated to the bodhisattva Kannon. There are several other temples in Asakusa, as well as various festivals, such as the . History Th ...

'', '' The Life of a Stupid Man'', '' Shadow'', and '' Temptation'' (by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa) *'' Divine Comedy'' (by Haruhiko Arai, based on

Kyojin Onishi was a Japanese novelist and critic. He was born in 1916 in Fukuoka Prefecture and dropped out of Kyushu University. He was a Marxist throughout his life. Works * Divine Comedy (novel) See also * Shoichi Watanabe – He and Onishi argued about ...

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

of the same name) *''France America, or the Interrupted Film'' (by

Robert Aron Robert Aron (1898–1975) was a French historian and writer who wrote a number of books on politics and European history. Early life and career Robert Aron was born in Le Vésinet on 25 May 1898 to an upper-class Jewish family from eastern France ...

) *'' Eighteen Seconds, a screenplay'', ''

The Seashell and the Clergyman ''The Seashell and the Clergyman'' (french: La Coquille et le clergyman) is a 1928 French experimental film directed by Germaine Dulac, from an original scenario by Antonin Artaud. It premiered in Paris on 9 February 1928. Synopsis The film fo ...

'', '' Thirty Two'', '' The Solar Plane'', '' Two Nations on the Borders of Mongolia'', '' The Master of Ballantrae'' (after the Robert Louis Stevenson novel of the same name), '' Flights'', and '' The Butcher's Revolt'' (by

) *''Lost Children'' (by Marcel Aymé)

B

*''The Reader from Ames'' (by André Berge) *''The Initiation (A Story of Adventure)'' (by

François Berge François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, King o ...

) *''The Second Departure'' (by Maurice Betz) *''Le Dernier Empereur'' (by Jean-Richard Bloch) *''Beautiful Weddings in the Street: A New Scenario on a Banal Theme'' (by Jacques Bonjean) *'' One Day, When I Was Lost: A Scenario Based on Alex Haley's The Autobiography of Malcolm X'' (by

) *"Une Girafe" (by Luis Buñuel) *''

Mozart and the Wolf Gang ''Mozart and the Wolf Gang'' is a 1991 novel by Anthony Burgess about the life and world of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Published in the U.K. under this title, in the U.S. it was published as ''On Mozart: A Paean for Wolfgang, Being a Celestial Col ...

'' (by Anthony Burgess) *'' The Last Words of Dutch Schultz'' (by William S. Burroughs)

C

*'' Secrets on the Island'' and '' Arletty, Young Woman from Dauphine'' (by Louis-Ferdinand Céline) *''The End of the World, Filmed by the Angel of Notre Dame'' and ''Atlantis'' (by Blaise Cendrars) *''A Broken Foot: A Documentary'' (by Hendrik Cramer)

D

*"The Reefs of Love," ''Midnight at Noon: A Study of Marvelous Modernity,'' and "There Are Bugs in the Roast Pork" (by Robert Desnos) *''Pierre, or The Demon Unmasked'' (by André Desson and André Harlaire) *''Savoir Vivre'' (by Jean-Paul Dreyfus and Bernar Lahy-Hollebecque)

F

*"Eyes Wide Open" ("Paupières mûres"), "Horizontal Bar," and "Mtasipoj" (by Benjamin Fondane)

G

*''News'' (by Paul Gilson) *''Figures'' (by Ramon Gomez de la Serna) *''Descent to the Lower Depths'' (by Maxim Gorky)

H

*''For Rent''　( Sakutaro Hagiwara) *''Slaughterhouses of the Night'' (by Maurice Henry) *'' The Girl in Harmagedon'' (by Kazumasa Hirai) * ''

Ape and Essence ''Ape and Essence'' (1948) is a novel by Aldous Huxley, published by Chatto & Windus in the UK and Harper & Brothers in the US. It is set in a dystopia, as is ''Brave New World'', Huxley's more famous work. It is largely a satire of the rise ...

'' (part II: "The Script") (by Aldous Huxley)

J

*'' Negrophobia'' (by

Darius James Darius James (aka Dr. Snakeskin, born 1954) is an African-American author and performance artist. He is the author of ''That's Blaxploitation: Roots of the Baadasssss 'Tude (Rated X by an All-Whyte Jury)'', an unorthodox, semi-autobiographical h ...

ka Dr. Snakeskin

K

*'' Lom Long'' (by

Chart Korbjitti Chart Korbjitti ( th, ชาติ กอบจิตติ; ; born 25 June 1954) is a Thai writer. He first came to prominence with the publication of his novel ''Khamphiphaksa'' (''The Judgment'') in 1981. Named as Book of the Year by Thailan ...

) *'' The True Story of Ah Q'' (by

Fuyuhiko Kitagawa (3 July 1900 – 12 April 1990) was a Japanese poet and film critic. His real name was . While born in Shiga Prefecture, he was raised in Manchukuo in China due to his father's work on the South Manchurian Railway, and then graduated from To ...

, based on Lu Xun's

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) facts ...

)

L

*'' The Escape of Mr. McKinley'' (by Leonid Leonov)

M

*Trial of the warlock (by

Norman Mailer Nachem Malech Mailer (January 31, 1923 – November 10, 2007), known by his pen name Norman Kingsley Mailer, was an American novelist, journalist, essayist, playwright, activist, filmmaker and actor. In a career spanning over six decades, Mailer ...

,based on " La-bas" by Joris-Karl Huysmans)

N

*"L'Amazon des cimetières" (by Georges Neveux)

O

*''The Revolutionary Woman'' ( Kenzaburo Oe)information about a book of Oe's essays titled "The Last Novel" including the work in Kodansha book club
/ref> *'' The Birth of the Emperor/Record of Ancient Matters'' (by

Hideo Osabe Hideo (ひでお) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: * Hideo Den (田英夫, 1923–2009), Japanese politician and news presenter * Hideo Fujimoto (藤本英雄, 1918–1997), Japanese baseball player * ...

)

R

*''Donogoo-Tonka, or The Miracles of Science'' (by Jules Romains) *"La Huitème Jour de la semaine" and ''The Banker, or Fortune is Blind'' (by

Georges Ribemont-Dessaignes Georges Ribemont-Dessaignes (June 19, 1884 – July 9, 1974) was a French writer and artist associated with the Dada movement. He was born in Montpellier and died in Saint-Jeannet. In addition to numerous early paintings, Ribemont-Dessaignes wro ...

)

S

*''The Evening Murder'' (by Haruo Sato) "A Thought on Junichiro Tanizaki's Whispering Moon - from aspects of writing/reading a film -" by Mioko Sato
（

Doshisha , mottoeng = Truth shall make you free , tagline = , established = Founded 1875,Chartered 1920 , vision = , type = Private , affiliation = , calendar = , endowment = €1 ...

National Literature Vol.83 ） *''Don't Put a Dog Outside: A Film without Words'' (by

Claude Sernet Claude may refer to: __NOTOC__ People and fictional characters * Claude (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Claude (surname), a list of people * Claude Lorrain (c. 1600–1682), French landscape painter, draughtsman and etcher ...

)

T

*''Whispering Moon,'' (by

Jun'ichirō Tanizaki was a Japanese author who is considered to be one of the most prominent figures in modern Japanese literature. The tone and subject matter of his work ranges from shocking depictions of sexuality and destructive erotic obsessions to subtle por ...

)　 *''The Unconquerable People,'' ''The Doctor and the Devils,'' ''Rebecca's Daughters,'' ''The Beach of Falesá,'' ''Twenty Years A-Growing,'' ''Suffer Little Children,'' ''The Shadowless Man,'' and ''Me and My Bike'' (by

Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer whose works include the poems "Do not go gentle into that good night" and "And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Under ...

)

W

*'' Reality Is What You Can Get Away With'' and '' The Walls Came Tumbling Down'' (by Robert Anton Wilson)

References

External links

* Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, ''Asakusa Park'' (Trans. Seiji M. Lippit. nycBigCityLit.com, February 2004. https://web.archive.org/web/20080820223841/http://www.nycbigcitylit.com/feb2004/contents/longerdraughts.html 0 May 2009. * Antonin Artaud, ''Les Dix-huits seconds'' (Google Books, n.d. https://books.google.com/books?id=hdhR9dmPah0C&lpg=PP1&dq=antonin%20artaud%20selected&pg=PA113#v=onepage&q&f=false January 2011. * Louis-Ferdinand Céline, ''Secrets dans l'îsle'' (Trans. Mark Spitzer. Cipher Journal, n.d. http://www.cipherjournal.com/html/celine.html 0 May 2009. * Seiji M. Lippit, “The Disintegrating Machinery of the Modern: Akutagawa Ryunosuke's Late Writings” (''Journal of Asian Studies

58:1 ebruary 1999 27-50). * {{cite news, first=David, last=Peace, title=Last words, work= The Guardian, date=2007-09-08, url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/sep/08/featuresreviews.guardianreview13, access-date=2009-05-10 * Hiroo Yamagata ( esescenarioTranslator, ''Negrophobia'' and ''The Last Words of Dutch Schultz''), Interview (SCRIPTjr.nl 1.2. une 2010 http://scriptjr.nl/issues/1.2/hiroo-yamagata-interview-1-2.php 1 January 2011.
Lom Long as a Lese-scenario
A professor of Tokyo University of Foreign Studies,Seiji Udo’s paper on

's Lesescenario Literary genres Screenplays Film Drama eo:Legdramo#legscenaro