The Darfsteller
Encyclopedia
The Darfsteller is a 1955 novelette
by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
which won the first Hugo Award for Best Novelette
.
It is the 21st century story of an old stage actor
who has become a theater janitor
in order to remain near "show biz". The theater has been overtaken by robot
actors, made to look like humans, which act out plays under the direction of each venue's central computer. This "Maestro" runs the show, accommodating the kinds of factors which real actors would contend with: audience
reactions, failing mechanical actors (when they are broken or one of the tapes that they get their programming from is worn), and other inconstant factors.
The old actor
dreams up a scheme
to get himself back on stage, despite the prejudice
against real acting. He destroys one of the robot's tapes, and since he knows the part from his previous career, he is the only way the show can go on. In doing so, he becomes a darfsteller (likely a misspelling of "darsteller", German for "actor/actress"), which the narrator explains was a "self-directed actor... the undirectable portrayer whose acting welled from unconscious sources with no external strings", generally hated by directors even when they performed excellently.
Novelette
A novelette is a piece of short prose fiction. The distinction between a novelette and other literary forms is usually based upon word count, with a novelette being longer than a short story, but shorter than a novella...
by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
Walter M. Miller, Jr.
Walter Michael Miller, Jr. was an American science fiction author. Today he is primarily known for A Canticle for Leibowitz, the only novel he published in his lifetime. Prior to its publication he was a prolific writer of short stories.- Biography :Miller was born in New Smyrna Beach, Florida...
which won the first Hugo Award for Best Novelette
Hugo Award for Best Novelette
The Hugo Awards are given every year by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was once officially...
.
It is the 21st century story of an old stage actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
who has become a theater janitor
Janitor
A janitor or custodian is a professional who takes care of buildings, such as hospitals and schools. Janitors are responsible primarily for cleaning, and often some maintenance and security...
in order to remain near "show biz". The theater has been overtaken by robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
actors, made to look like humans, which act out plays under the direction of each venue's central computer. This "Maestro" runs the show, accommodating the kinds of factors which real actors would contend with: audience
Audience
An audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature , theatre, music or academics in any medium...
reactions, failing mechanical actors (when they are broken or one of the tapes that they get their programming from is worn), and other inconstant factors.
The old actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
dreams up a scheme
Scheme
Scheme may refer to:* Scheme , a minimalist, multi-paradigm dialect of Lisp* Scheme , a concept in algebraic geometry* Scheme , a figure of speech that changes a sentence's structure-See also:...
to get himself back on stage, despite the prejudice
Prejudice
Prejudice is making a judgment or assumption about someone or something before having enough knowledge to be able to do so with guaranteed accuracy, or "judging a book by its cover"...
against real acting. He destroys one of the robot's tapes, and since he knows the part from his previous career, he is the only way the show can go on. In doing so, he becomes a darfsteller (likely a misspelling of "darsteller", German for "actor/actress"), which the narrator explains was a "self-directed actor... the undirectable portrayer whose acting welled from unconscious sources with no external strings", generally hated by directors even when they performed excellently.