Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 1991 - 28

marurgs.
The rise of rhe aureur direccor is
anorher recenc American rhearrical phenomenon wonhy of nore-a movemenr
which parallels, wirhom ofren meering,
rhe movemenr in playwriring. The
grandiose crearions of Roben Wilson,
jusr beginning co be recognized and
appreciared in rhis councry, rhough long
celebrared in Europe, are among rhe
mosr srarrling and original rhearre works
ever devised by an American: Eillsteill 011
the Beach, creared in collaborarion wirh
Philip Glass (a composer whose valuable
conrriburions ro rhe modern srage have
yer ro be measured), Death Destmctioll
and Detroit, pans I and II; and above all,
rhe monumencal the CIVIL warS. These
crearions are making rheauical hisrory ar
a rime when rhe rhearre is no longer
rhoughr ro have a hisrory.
The work of Richard Foreman wirh
rhe Oncological/Hysrerical Thearre, Lee
Breuer and Joanne Akalairis wirh Mabou
Mines, Elizaberh LaCompre wirh rhe
Woosrer Group, Andrei Serban wirh a
variery of rhearres, Anne Bogan, Roben
Woodruff, Perer Sellars, Des McAnuff,
Julie Taymor, Ping Chong, and counrless
orhers-usually in collaborarion wirh a
cadre of gifred designers and composers
and performance anisrs-resrifies ro an

Fesrival, rhen wirh a modern adaprarion
of Oedipus at Colonus, adapred for gospel
singers and rerirled The Gospel at
Colon us, and mosr recenrly, wirh a less
successful deconsrrucrion of King Lear
wirh Rurh Malaczech in rhe ririe role.
JoAnne Akalairis has also been working
wirh rexrs, firsr from rhe modern period-wirh her Endgame and The Balcony
ar rhe American Reperrory Thearrerhen wirh such classics as Buechner's
Leonce and Lena and Gener's The Screens
ar rhe Gurhrie, and wirh Ford's Tis Pity
She's a Whore ar rhe Goodman Thearre in
Chicago. Also norable among recent
aureur-driven classics are Richard
Foreman's W'oyzeck ar rhe Hanford Srage
and Roben Woodruff's Baal ar Triniry
Rep. A few seasons ago, I persuaded
Roben Wilson ro direcr his firsr classical
rexr-Euripides' Alcestis--prepararory ro
his work on rhe Gluck opera, Alceste. The
resulrs were srrong enough ro win a prize
as Besr Foreign Production in France
when rhe producrion rravelled ro rhe
Fesrival d'Auromne in Paris.
Andrei Serban, who has been working
wirh classics all his crearive life, underrook his firsr new American play some
years ago-Ronald Ribman's Sweet Table
at the Richeliell which, despire irs idiosyncraric approach, rhe aurhor declared rhe

aureur viraliry unique in our rhearre hisrory. And wirh rhe probes of rhe dancer
Manha Clarke inco rhearrical rerrirory, in
conjuncrion wirh rhe composer Richard
Peaslee and rhe designer Roben Israel,
rhe borders have been breached berween
rhearre and dance rhrough such scunning
crearions as The Gardell of Earthly
Delights, rhough her subsequenc works
are admirredly less impressive. These
arrisrs, fighring for recognirion and
grancs in our own counrry, have almosr
all be recognized in Europe and Asia as
people who make our experimencal rhearre rhe envy of rhe world-ar rhe very
momenc when rhe funeral norices are
being poseed by our own crirics and
reviewers.

T

wo new depanures should
be nored: rhe growing
inceresr of aureur direcrors
in classical drama and, even
more unexpecred, new
American plays. Lee Breuer was among
rhe firsr ro rry his hand ar such work,
afrer experimencing wirh rhe shorr pieces
of Becken, firsr wirh his Lulu ar rhe
American Reperrory Thearre (a compound of Wedekind's Earth Spirit and
Palldora's Box), rhen wirh a conrroversial
Tempest ar rhe ew York Shakespeare

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 1991
