Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 2010 - 13

changing the formula will be disastrous. They react like the pitcher who
must wear the dirty cap because he wins games wearing the hat, or a gambler who says magic words on every roll of the dice.
Then there are those, both professional and students, who think they
are being brave by being different. Professionally, some designers are type
cast or choose to repeat themselves. but very often now, designers, and
especially directors, think that they must be different and impose new
concepts on shows. They do this most often to classics or shows that have
been done before. They think they are being brave. At times they intend to
shock or to be noticed for their originality and cleverness. I have heard
designers who are paired with directors who force concepts on a show
say that they have gone along even though they think the whole project is
misguided. Rather than ask why, they say why not.
In a conversation with Edward Albee several years ago, the subject
of shocking an audience came up. He said, and I'm paraphrasing, that no
real artist sets out to be different or to shock. A real artist creates from a
need to express his or her aesthetic and world-view whatever the consequence. Albee is a good example of a playwright who allows no "clever"
tampering with his work. He has turned down numerous requests to produce Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf with gay couples.
So here is the dilemma: how to tell the artist from the poseur. It's not
an easy question. It's far easier if the show is a classic or a modern show

that is known. An extreme example that I know of involves a director who
is notorious for moving scenes around and giving actors lines assigned to
other characters. Why he does plays that he really doesn't do is a mystery.
At a preview of a modern play, an audience member who knew the show
and the playwright was appalled by the travesty the director produced. He
called the playwright and the show was closed before opening. The director no doubt thought he was brave but he was in fact just plain wrong.
Given all the examples of people who are ignorant of the risks, trying
to be different, and playing it safe, nevertheless, there are some who are
truly brave. Actors who stretch themselves beyond their comfort zone are
courageous. directors who understand a play in a way others have not are
courageous. designers who take chances on new materials and techniques
that are unproven are courageous. In fact, knowing the risks and still doing
what is right for a show is courageous because critics and audiences are
more comfortable with the ordinary.
Real artists' lives are inherently risky because for the most part they
are more concerned with the art than practical consequences. On the
other hand, theatres and producers seem these days to be just the opposite. Few are brave enough to produce difficult work, new playwrights, or
shows with ideas that may offend an audience.
Albee was once asked by a young playwright if writing a play hurt. He
answered that yes, it did a little, just as seeing a play should hurt a little. v

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