Shawyer dissertation May 2008 final version - The University of ...

creates a worse image than four or five men in business suits sittingbehind a table and talking in a calm manner at a fashionable hotel.Constantly seek to have every detail of the press conference differ in styleas well as content from the conferences of people in power. (69)In contrast to the long process of nominating speeches and balloting that mark formalpolitical nominations, the Yippies instead nominated Pigasus in a fast-as-lighteningevent. The event had all the drama of a political nomination—the shouting supporterswaving placards, a stirring nomination speech, a memorable appearance by thecandidate—as well as the added drama of the jostling journalists, the bemused spectators,the arrests of the Yippies and the confiscation of Pigasus. Fast, funny, disruptive anddramatic, the mock press conference was a perfect example of Yippie-style guerrillatheatre.form made into chaos—Esquire Magazine description of guerrilla theatre (“Guerrilla Theatre” 83)The term “guerrilla theatre” became very popular in the United States during the1960s, and was used fairly indiscriminately by the Yippies and other radicals who createdattention-grabbing street demonstrations. Abbie Hoffman urged crowds at the Festival ofLife to engage in improvisational “guerrilla theatre” as a way of showcasing their politicsfor the army of media in Chicago (“Media” 46-51). By 1968 many different kinds ofpolitical demonstration were called guerrilla theatre. Even Esquire Magazine got into the164