Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 1991 - 46

Miller: Yes, occasionally. Of course, ir's
rhere, wrirren inro cerrain plays, because
we have asides. And indeed ro some
exrenr soliloquies. A soliloquy is in facr
performed by a Sprecher-who speaks ro
rhe audience-lirerally.
Ir's acrually quire inreresring ro know
whar rhe characrer of cerrain soliloquies
really is-you have ro be quire sure whar
rhe mode of address in any given
soliloquy mighr be. In some cases, a
soliloquy is nor in facr rhe acr of a
Sprecher-you rhe audience are
eavesdropping upon an our-loud
medirarion, which is nor addressed ro
you ar all. And in some cases ir is quire
clearly rhe characrer raking rhe audience
inro his confidence, in which case ir is a
Sprecher. And one and rhe same speech
can be rreared in eirher of rhose ways,
according ro whar rhe direcror or rhe
acror wanrs. I have done Hamlet in which
"Oh whar a rogue and peasanr slave am
I" has been eirher medirared inwardly,
raking rhe fronr of rhe srage as a glass
rhrough which you're nor meanr ro hear,
and on orher occasions I have deliberarely
made rhose medirarions confidences
direcred to rhe audience, in which rhe
characrer for rhar momenr rakes rhe

audience's presence inro considerarion
and confides.
Condee: And that's a vny different

mea/llng.
Miller: Yes, rhar's righr, a very differenr
meaning. One is nor a Sprecher. The
Sprecher acrually looks ar you. And ir is a
paradox rhar he should look ar you,
because he looks ar you from nor jusr
simply a differenr physical, geographical
space, he's looking ar you from a place
which is "e1sewhen," and rhe shock of rhe
Sprecher, rhe shock of him upon one, is
nor simply rhar someone sranding in
Holland is looking ar you in-as ir
happens in rhe Prado-Madrid, bur rhar
a young man in rhe 17rh cenrury
addresses his descendanrs in rhe 20rh
cenrury, so rhar ir has a double sense of
bewildering and delighrful paradox
In many producrions rhar I do, I pur
one in: Someone in rhe middle of a
violenr acrion suddenly rurns quire
silenrly and unnoriced and engages rhe
audience, as if to say, "Look, somerhing
very big's going on elsewhere and
elsewhen. "

Condee: For your production ofCosi fan
rurre several years ago in St. Louis, which

was on somewhat of a thrust stage, you
mentioned ill all article that you were
tryiIIg to use it in certain sellSe like the
Teatro Olimpico. Could you explain what
you were doing with that?
Miller: Srricrly speaking, j [ s nor rrue,
because of course rhe Tearro Olimpico
acrually is a flar-on formar, bur I rhink
rhar I was using rhe srage as if in facr rhe
facade, as if rhe proscenium of rhe Tearro
Olimpico, were nor rhere and you merely
had rhe radiaring visras.
I rhink rhere are rwo ways of looking
ar rhe Tearro Olimpico. One is ro rake
advanrage of rhar flar, archirecruraJ facade
and rhe plarform as being rhe essenrial
rhing and more or less disregard, or nor
regard as imporranr, rhe visras which are
visible rhrough rhe archways, delighrful
rhough rhey are. Or, in a rarher more
radical deconsrrucrive mood, as one
mighr have in, Ids say, rhe Bouffes du
ord, say, "Look, ler's see whar would
happen if rhar whole ornan1enral facade
could be removed." And whar you had
insread were rhese rhree Scamozzi
perspecnves.

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1991

WINTER

TD&T
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 1991
