Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 1991 - 29

finesr produnion his plays had ever had.
In rhe same season, Richard Foreman
rurned for a momem from his own scenarios ro direcr a radical produerion of
Anhur Kopir's End of the World (With
Symposium to Follow). These, along wirh
orher such venrures by experimenral
direcrors, while no doubr fraughr wirh
porenrial barrles berween aurhors and
aureurs, promise ro close up one of rhe
few remaining gaps in our rhearre process-rhe once unbreachable division
berween living playwrighrs and independem direcrors.
et me mention one more element in this new awakening-rhe public. Audiences,
once either sleepy or pious
before American efforts ro
creare a serious rhearre, have suddenly
come alive. There is a huge and growing
following for rhe more radical anists in
our midst, and once again, the audience
at a play includes many young people
who lend a air of freshness and vitaliry ro
the theatre event. The New Wave Festival
at BAM, featuring some of the most
advanced art in the world, plays mosr of
its performances ro sold-out houses. And
the American Repenory Thearre, in what
is thought ro be rhe rather straid and

conservarive area of BOHon, has been
playing almosr ro capaciry wirh whar are
ofren considered difficulr and challenging works. or all experimemal rhearres
can boast of similar success with the public yet. But it has become increasingly
clear that those who keep faith with rhe
audience's imelligem will ultimately win
out with a little persistence. It is a far better gamble than cynicism or fear.
Two major problems remain for rhe
American thearre, one concerning acrors,
the orher involving critics. Most
American acrors seem ro have lose imeresr in rhe stage, and those that remain are
riddled with uncenainry and self-doubt.
All rhe pressures of our success-crazed
sociery tell the acror he's a fool ro remain
wirh a profession rhar promises little
money and less fame when those emicements are continually beckoning from
LaLa land. As a result, and with a great
sense of sadness, the resident theatre
movemem has watched some of its most
gifted performers end up in a vapid TV
series or, ar besr, a feature film, while the
great stage roles go begging. What also
goes begging is their creative spark in a
meat market culture which values only
rheir easily digestible personal qualiries
for a momem before they are lerr on the
scrap heap, bemoaning the waste of spirit

in an expense of shame.

nd then there are those who
evaluate our srage, leaving
rhe only permanem record
of an ephemeral an which
disappears the moment rhe
cunain falls. It may well be our cri tics
and reviewers, a handful of honorable
exceptions nored, who represent the
major failure of contemporary American
thearre, though only hisrory will be able
ro measure how much responsibiliry they
bear for the lapses and failings of the an
they cominually belabor. For very few of
our crirics have adapted ro the primary
recent changes in our theatre strucrureits insrirutionalization and decenrralization. The ew York critics srill remain
largely in ew York, where rhe structure
is falling apart. And those few that rrave!,
and even most of those who regularly
work in other cities, still tend ro evaluate
production on a show-by-show basis, as
if the resident thearre were a commercial
house with no identiry of its own as an
.. . .
organIc msnrunon.
As a result, most dedicated theatre
people feel rhey are laboring in a vacuum,
which adds ro their sense of frusrrarion.
How many rheatre critics are prepared ro
examine rhe relationship between one

CSU Summer Arts 191
Master Classes/Workshops/Performance Festival
In visual and performing arts

JCN
~---_.
COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY
FOR THE INDUSTRY
Your Headquarters For:
CADD
Lighting Design
Front of House
Property & Costume
Software & Hardware
P. O. Box 9986
Oakland, CA 94613
(415) 638-6907

Sponsored by The
California state University

July 7 - August 17. 1991
Humboldt state University
Arcata. California

Computer Studio for
Costume Design
July 7 - 20
Learn, through direct hands-on experience, how
to create, manipulate and combine Images to
take a design from conception to pattern.
Guest artists will include Joyce Freedman,
ModaCad consultamt; Peggy Rosefeldt. costume
designer and contributing editor for Cutters'
Research Journal; Holly Humbol, costume
designer and HyperCard consultant; and
Stephanie A. Schoelzel, costume designer and
AutoCad consultant.
Open to advanced costume design students or professionals

for information/brochure:
CSU SUmmer Arts / 400 Golden Shore
Long Beach. CA 90802-4275/ (213) 590-5768

TD&T

1991

SPRING

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