Translation Think Tank
The Translation Think Tank was founded in 2004 by Marie-Louise Miller and Sarah Cameron Sunde after a successful translation collaboration. Since then, they have led or participated in ‘think tank’ sessions on the complex art of translation at CUNY’s Prelude 2004, Theatre Without Borders Symposium at New Dramatists, the TCG Conference 2005, PlayLabs at The Playwrights Center in Minneapolis, LMDA National Conference 2006, PEN World Voices Festival 2007, and in conjunction with U.S. debut productions of Night Sings Its Songs by Jon Fosse and The Asphalt Kiss by Nelson Rodrigues. TTT champions the idea of theatrical translation as a complex art form. It is dedicated to reimagining the role of translation and translated works in the American theater.
Sarah Cameron Sunde is a New York based director/translator.
Marie-Louise Miller is a New York based director/dramaturg/translator.
You can contact The Translation Think Tank using the contact form.
VISION STATEMENT:
In translating plays there are always things that are “untranslatable.” Since plays are meant to be experienced live, one cannot simply translate words; one must translate the action that lies underneath the words. Actions and subtleties are cultural, and it is imperative to translate specifically for the culture that one is working in. The Translation Think Tank has come to the conclusion that in order to create a successful translation, it is necessary for two things to be present in the individual or the group of collaborators working on a new translation: 1) at least one person must understand both cultures and speak both languages, and 2) at least one person understands theatrical language and the way action functions in a play.
EXCERPTS FROM A DISCUSSION BROCHURE FOR A TRANSLATION THINK TANK EVENT:
TOPIC: Translating the untranslatable:Impacts on our language and theater practices.
Why do translation at all? What is the value of a good translation? What is our American culture in the context of a foreign play? As a group we will open up these questions by digging into several untranslatable moments in their original context and in their American English translations.
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WHY DO TRANSLATION AT ALL?
Not everyone in the world should be doing translation, butlet’s recognize the huge benefits of doing translations today.
1. Geopolitical: Given where the U.S. stands today (at a cross-roads – we are loved and hated) in best light/worst light, we are obligated to reach out to other cultures for the purpose of exchange. Obligated to do something with our presence.
2. Domestic: you may reach that republican from across the city in an easier way with a play from Yugoslavia.
3. Theatrical Community: enriching our artists
4. Artistry and language: challenging our sense of language and idiom, shaking up the foundations by which we express who and what we are in the world today.
WHAT IS THE VALUE OF A GOOD TRANSLATION?
1. Artistry and language: challenging ourselves to dig deeper into the complexities of human relationships and how they are represented (not just translating words, also translating vision and the actions that relate).
2. Theatrical community: creation of a strong collaborative partnership between artists across borders. (Collaboration takes many forms – in our think tank sessions thus far, we’ve found that successful collaboration on a new translation requires at least one person who speaks both languages well, and at least one person who understands theatricality)
3. Domestically: exposing our artists and audiences to a good story
4. Global: the presence of another culture in our culture
WHAT IS OUR AMERICAN CULTURE IN THE CONTEXT OF A FOREIGN PLAY?
This is the question that we look at every time we pick up a play from another country. Perhaps the most fundamental aspect to this question, is how do we resolve the “untranslatable moment”? The answers to these questions make the difference between a good translation and a translation that won’t survive production.