Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 1992 - 15

rhe rhearre. I rhink you have ro rry. \\le
musr have grear emorions in rhe rhearre.
Orherwise ir isn'r rhearre. I didn'r make
rhar law. Ir is an old, old law. Ir is so!
The business of workers in rhe rhearre
is, as I see ir, ro express a rimeless rheme
bv means of rhe rools of one's own rime.
And we are nor using rhe rools of our
own rime in rhe rhearre. I do nor mean
rhar we are neglecring rhe morion picrure, or rhe radio, or relevision. Thar is
nor whar I mean ar all. I mean rhar we
are nor using rhe idiom of our own rime.
And by "idiom," I do nor mean rhe acrual language of our rime. I mean rhar rhe
manner of our rhinking and feeling in
rhe rhearre is neidler so good nor so alive
as our way of rhinking and feeling ourside rhe rhearre. All we have ro do is ro
look abour us ar whar is being done in
orher arrisric fields and rhen ro look ar
whar is being done in rhe rhearre ro realize ar once rhar rhe idiom of rhe rhearre is
srrikingly our of dare.
ur way of expressing ourselves in rhe rhearre is
years behind rhe rimesyears and years. I musr
confess rhar I do nor
know rhe reason for rhis rime lag. Bur
larely I have observed a curious facr. \\le
have all had ir dinned inro our ears rhar
rhe rhearre is always being "reborn" and
rhar ir can "never die." I rhink we can rake
ir for granred, by now, rhar rhe rhearre is
here ro sray. Ir follows rhen, rhar rhe
changing convenrions of rhe rhearreexpressionism, for example, consrrucrivism, The Living l ewspaper, exisrenrial ism, and so on-are in rhe narure of
fashions rhar come and go like rhe Merry
\\lidow har, or rhe srraighr-fronr corser,
or rhe Zoor suir. Jusr now ir is rhe fashion
ro say rhar our rhearre is in a srare of flux,
rhar ir has no form ar all. Bur, as a marrer
of facr, I rhink rhe opposire is rrue.
Our rhearre seems ro me ro have a
very deflnire form, a very deflnire ser of
convenrions. And rhese convenrions are
so widespread and so all-inclusive rhar ir
is somerimes even difficulr ro disringuish
one play from anorher, or even ro know
which rhearre we are in. The plays are so
alike in plor and in rrearmenr. The serring is so srandardized. The acrors all
look so alike, and srand, and sir, and
walk, and ralk in so much rhe same way.
And rhe ser, rhe sers, look so alike. Ir is
rhese convenrions rhar are ourdared.
They would serve jusr as well for a producrion of Unele ToII/;' Cabin as for a producrion of Deep Are the Roots. \\le havc
no mcdium ,ll hdnd wirh which ro
express a conremporary siruarion in rhc-

arre rerms, no conremporary medium,
rhar is. This is rrue, I rhink, and ir is sad.
For ir means rhar rhe rhearre has forgorren irs audience. Ir has raken liberries
wi rh irs audience.
i\leanwhile, rhe world is moving.
Speaking our abour my own experience, I
can nor help feeling rhar ir is pardy our
persisrenr clinging ro rhe realisric
approach ro rhe rhearre rhar has kepr us
all so backward. All my life I have been
opposed ro realism in rhe rhearre, bur I
have never been able ro pur my objecrions inro words wirh complere sarisfacrion even ro myself. Nor long ago I came
across rhis senrence. I quore ir wirh pleasure, for ir seems ro say precisely whar I
would like ro say:
Whar is called realism is usually a
record of life ar a low pirch and ebb
viewed in rhe sunless lighr of day.
This is exacdy my feeling. There is norhing wrong wirh realism in rhe rhearre,
nor a rhing. The argumenrs in favor of ir
are far roo many and far roo powerful for
me ro rry ro demolish. Torhing rhar I
could possibly say would influence ir in
rhe slighresr. Bur I can nor escape rhe
cOI1\'icrion, which has grown srronger
and more insisrenr rhrough rhe years,
rhar realism in rhe rhearre is an infallible
sign of low viraliry, jusr as elaborare
scenic producrions are an infallible sign
of low viraliry in rhe rhearre. Realism is
somerhing we pracrice when we aren'r
feeling very well, when we don'r feel up
ro making rhe exrra efforr. So we jusr
come home, and sir down by rhe fire, and
pur on our slippers, and par rhe dog, and
srroke rhe car, and open our copy of
Barrlerr's Fall/iliar QllotatiollS and our
album of candid camera shors. And rhen
if we are playwrighrs we wrire plays filled
wirh ice boxes, and roasr-racks, and laundries. And if we are acrors we slouch on
and off rhe srage, and loll on sofas, and
rap cigarerres. And if we are srage designers we jusr design anorher of rhose rasreful, well-furnished rooms wirh one wall
missing. Ir is all so easy, so lazy, so rimid.
Bur when we are full of energy, when
we feel in rrim and in rune, we go up on
rhe mounrain rop where rhe grear wind
blows and give ourselves up ro rhe keen,
heady joy rhar only rhe exercise of rhe
imaginarion can give us and warch ir
blaze and flame. Then we are in rhe high
rare armosphere of grear rhearre arr, and
we wnre:
If I quench rhee, rhou flaming
11l1l1l,rer
I can rhl' former lighr resrore,

Should I repenr me. '
And we say:
I am dying, Egypr, dying, only
I here imporrune dearh awhile
unril
Of many rhousand kisses rhe
poor lasr
I lay upon rhy lips..\
And we feel rhe elarion rhar [Eleanora]
Ouse felr when she wrore on rhe margin
of rhe lasr acr of Rosmershofm, "The
moon, rhe moon, rhe moon! Folly!
Madness! Love! Oearh!" Flames inro
rhoughr.
I undersrand very well rhar rhe conrroversy over rhe funcrion of realism in
our rhearre will nor be broughr ro an end
by any opinions I may express.
Bur, again speaking personally, I musr
confess rhar I have found rhis linking of
realism wirh weakness, and rimorousness,
and general lack of viraliry mosr hearrening in rimes of doubr. Arr, we many
remember, is an imirarion of rhe narure
of rhings, nor of rheir appearances.
Perhaps ir would be rruer ro speak of realism in rhe rhearre as a symprom of backwardness rarher rhan as a cause of backwardness.
Anorher sym prom of backwardness, ir
seems ro me, is our amiquared and childish idea of exposirion in rhe rhearre. Ir
has gor so rhar rhe f1rsr 20 minures of any
wpical play are a guessing conresr
berween rhe pIaywrighr and his audience.
Somebody on rhe srage says, "Oh, hello,
Mazie!" and immediarely we rumble ro
rhe facr rhar her name is "Mazie"! Then,
gradually, we are rreared ro a lisr of rhe
necessary dara of rhe play. We are allowed
ro "horn in" on rhem, so ro speak.
Presendy, when we are all worn our wirh
rhis embarrassing display of rhe "ragyou're-ir" rechnique, rhe real drama
begins. Ir is all so riresome, so feeble, so
creak}'.
er's do away wirh rhe hocuspocus and ger back ro rhe rhearre's age old, ageless business
of crearing life. Ir is so easy, if
you would jusr have a lirrle
courage. For example, why don'r you
have rhe leading characrer of your nexr
play srand alone on a bare srage ar rhe rise
of rhe currain and say righr our, ''I'm Joe
Ookes, age 34, married, wirh a couple of
kids," ere.; and rhen roll up his sleeves,
and rread rhe boards, and begin ro acr.
Or, ro carry rhis line of rhoughr even furrher, why nor a play composed emirely of
soliloquies, allowing an audience ro build

TD&T

1992 SUMMER

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 1992