Directing the Action: Acting and Directing in the Contemporary Theatre by Charles

Marowitz
Review by: Craig Kinzer
Theatre Journal, Vol. 47, No. 1 (Mar., 1995), pp. 163-164
Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3208829 .
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son, H. M. Koutoukas,MarshallMason,Joseph
Chaikin,Bette Midler,Megan Terry,Rochelle
Owens,JosephPapp, JulieBovasso,JoelZwick,
AndreiSerban,JohnVaccaro,AdrienneKennedy,
and Ed Bullins.Thisis justinthefirstdecade;lists
fromthesecondandthirddecadesareas revealing.
Horn's annotatedand chronological bibliography
is an equallygood starting place forfurtherre-
searchon La Mama and off-off-Broadway as a
whole.As Hornindicatesin herpreface, thissec-
tionreadslikea narrative. However,thechronol-
ogycanbe unnecessarily confusingtoanyonelook-
ingfora specificsource.Further, itcontainsmore
typographicalerrors
thanshouldhavepassedproof
and the underlinedtitlesare hard on the eyes.
Thesecriticismsare quibbles,however,compared
to a moreencompassing concern.
ThoughHornclearlyneededto setlimitswhen
decidingwhichmaterialto selectfromthe vast
resources availabletoherintheLa MamaArchives
in New YorkCity,theprinciples underlying her
selection remainobscure.Hereditedversionofthe
"La MamaMasterListofProductions" deletesthe
actualstagingplace of each production and indi-
catesnowherethatthe"MasterList"as itexistsat
La Mama is a work-in-progress. She omitsmajor
toursofLa Mama troupesand manyproductions
in La Mama'sCluband LaGalleria, a largeportion
oftheLa Mamarepertoire. Herselectedbibliogra-
phyomits,amongotheritems,allbutonedisserta-
tionon La Mama,as well as such resourcesas I
Dreama World byBrianLanker, whichcontains one
of thefewbiographical statementsauthorized by
Stewart,and Leopoldskron by ChristianThomsen
whoselengthy description ofStewart'sdirectionof
Romeo andJuliet at theSaltzburgSeminarprovides
thebestinsightintoherartistic processpublished
to date.Thenewspapersectionofthebibliography
focuseson New YorkCityand London(though
even here it omitsmanyreviews),overlooking
coverageof toursand productions createdelse-
where(withtheexceptionofSerban'sAs YouLike
It). The periodicalsectioncuriouslyincludesThe
VillageVoiceand othernewspapers, butomitsar-
ticlesin such periodicalsas Elleand VanityFair.
Horn includespublications fromLa Mama Mel-
bournein herbibliography, butneglectsto men-
tionthatthecompanyis notand neverhas been
affiliatedwithLa Mama.Thus,theobscurity ofher
selectionprinciples leadsnotonlytosloppydetail,
butalso to occasionalerrorand a potentially inac-
curatepictureofLa Mama.
Despiteitsweaknesses,BarbaraLee Horn'sbook
revealsa portionofthepioneering,complex,and
ever-changing ofLa Mamaanditsfounder,
activity
Ellen Stewart,as part of off-off-Broadwayand
This content downloaded from 185.44.77.128 on Sun, 22 Jun 2014 16:43:10 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
BOOK REVIEW / 163
world theatre.Her annotatedbibliography and
well-indexed
production listandnarrative
provide
a wealthof titles,names,and dates forfurther
Perhapsthisvolumewill provoke
investigation.
muchneededscholarly studiesof La Mama,off-
and theintersections
off-Broadway, amongexperi-
mental,mainstream, and intercultural
theatre.
SUSAN L. CHAST
TheCollegeofWilliamand Mary
DIRECTING THE ACTION: ACTING AND
DIRECTING IN THE CONTEMPORARY
THEATRE. ByCharlesMarowitz.NewYork:
ApplauseBooks, 1991; pp. 196 + xiii.$12.95.
CharlesMarowitzwas presentat thecreation of
muchoftheavantgardetheatre ofthe1960sand
1970s,bothhereand in Europe.Throughhisasso-
ciationwith PeterBrook(as co-founder of the
TheatreofCruelty), his artistic
directorship ofthe
Open Space,and his workas bothinternational
directorand critic,Marowitzparticipated in and
gave a criticalframeto theemergence ofthecon-
temporary auteur/director.This collectionof es-
says and interviews (originally publishedunder
the titleProspero'sStaff)servesas a fascinating
discussionofthatemergence, as well as theprin-
ciplesbywhichmuchofcontemporary theatrehas
beencreated.
The centerpieceof thisvolumeis Marowitz's
impassioneddefenseof theinterpretive artof the
director.Castigatingthe"dimview"ofthoseaca-
demicdirectors who,by defining theirworkas a
searchthroughperformance of the "true text"
abdicatetheirresponsibilities,
he likenstheirdesire
toputtheplayon-stageexactlyas itis written to a
cook "who intendsto makean omelettewithout
crackingthe eggs." "What the poet can never
provide,"he argues,"is thesocial and historical
ambiancein whichhisworkis beingrevived"(5).
It is thedirector's
responsibilityto "mediatebe-
tweentheauthor'svisionandthepublic'sand,like
someoneblendingtwodisparateimages,to tryto
fusethemintoone" (5). One need notlookfarin
recentproduction historyto findevidenceof the
powerofthisview.
Whilethispolemicmightappearto need little
defenseinourera,Marowitz'sstrengthens hiscase
through inclusionofhisown director'snotescon-
cemingproductions ofHamlet, A MidsummerNight's
Dream, and TheTanningoftheShrew.Thesenotesgo
fartowardsilluminating a director's
responsibility
foran in-depthcritical
readingofa classictexton
164 / BookReview

which to base a production.His Hamletnotes director Marowitz'sdiscussionofthe

relationship.
augura production ofa playthat,through surfeit rehearsalprocess,aptlytitled"Gloucester'sLeap,"
ofexposureand criticism, has "stoppedmeaning" is as perceptive
and trenchant an examination of
(118).Whathe findsis an unfamiliar and startling thatmaddening, mysterious and ac-
(fordirectors
storyofan irresponsible, effete princewhosepre- torsalike)oftenterrifying journeyas I have en-
occupation withappearances servesas groundsfor countered.
theavoidance ofdirectaction.In Marowitz'sread-
a theatrical eventwhereitis One wishesthatMarowitzhad tackledsome
ing,theplaypresents more currentissues facingthe theatre,such as
possiblefor"a mantomakeeloquentspeechesand orrace-andgender-based
"multi-cultural"
stillbe a weaklingand a coward,to haveintellec- casting.
and moralinsightsand stillbe Whentheseissuesappear,itis inthecontext ofthe
tual perceptions
reexamination of text,and not of the social and
made ofwax" (121).Performance becomesin this
of oftheactofmakingtheatre.
politicalimplications
lighta siteofdiscoursebetweenourperceptions These hesitations the
the play and the eventitself,accruedmythand notwithstanding, Directing
of Shrew Actionis a worthydiscussionoftheresponsibilities
immediateoccurrence. His examination
anddemandsofmakingtheatre. His admonition "I
dives boldlyintothe dilemmaposed by current
rethink, I am" (183)shouldhangoverthe
therefore
awarenessof genderdominanceand oppression,
worktableofeveryyoungdirector.
and bringsfortha readingof the play wherein
reside"seedsofthemostfeminist playwritten in CRAIG KINZER
theseventeenth century" (146).Whether oneagrees Northwestern
University
withhis readingsor notis ultimately besidethe
point.Marowitz'sprescription is at itsrootone of
empowerment--of thedirector, thetext,and most
fundamentally, oftheaudience.Whilesomewould
arguethatmuchtheatrical illhas beenwrought in
itsname,suchempowerment is at itsheartstilla THE DRAMATISTS TOOLKIT: THE CRAFT
progressive notion. OF THE WORKING PLAYWRIGHT. By
Jeffrey Sweet.Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann,
WhereMarowitz'spositionshowsweaknessis 162. $12.95 paper.
relation- 1993; pp.
in hisdiscussionofthedirector/designer
ship.Whilehisprescription forthedesigner'sap-
THE ELEMENTS OF PLAYWRITING. By
proachto textis richand insightful, his remarks
Louis E. Catron.NewYork:Macmillan,1993;
reveal ingrainedassumptionsof hierarchy and
in the processof collaboration. In his pp. 220. $18.00 cloth.
authority
view,a designer in
hasthreeoptions his/her work:
"he can tryto visualizewhatthedirector has in Sincetheadventofplaywriting in theacademy
mind;he cantrytopersuadethedirector toaccept by GeorgePierceBakerin theearlypartof this
his modifications of thatvision;or he can tryto century, a number ofpractitionersandpedagogues
foista personalworkof art independent of the have attempted to pass alongtheirknowledgein
intendedmise-en-scene" (45). Authorship hereis theguiseofa textbook. Baker'sDramatic Technique
ultimately singular;thedesigner'sfunction is ei- (1919),JohnHoward Lawson's Theory and Tech-
therservile,argumentative or adversarial. In any niqueof Playwriting (1936),Samuel Selden's An
case,it is thedirector's visionwhichis centralin Introduction toPlaywriting (1946),JohnVanDruten's
theprocessof makingtheatre.In lightof recent Playwright at Work(1953),BernardGrebanier's
discussionsof theartof collaboration, as well as Playwriting (1961),Sam Smiley'sPlaywriting: The
theefficacy oflesshierarchically-based approaches Structure ofAction (1971),LouisE. Catron'sWriting,
to creating theatre,Marowitz'sviewson thissub- Producing, and SellingYourPlay(1984)and Play-
jectseemto comeoutofanother era. writing (1990),and StanleyV. Longman'sCompos-
ingDramaforStageandScreen (1986)arejusta few
Directing theAction offersmuchrichmaterial for ofthebetter knowntexts.Two moretexts, Sweet's
thestudentofdirecting. His interview withRobert TheDramatist's ToolkitandCatron'sTheElements of
Lewis (the"Trotsky" oftheGroupTheatrewhose Playwriting, nowenterthefray.
vision,accordingto Marowitz,grewover
artistic
timewhilehis contemporaries ossified)servesto Havingused a numberoftheabove-mentioned
placethe excesses of American "Method" acting in playwriting textsas a graduatestudentand a
properperspective, as wellas to spotlight a career collegeprofessor duringthepastthirteen years,I
markedby flexibility and rich growth.Glenda findSweet'sbookquiterefreshing and innovative
Jacksonoffersa straightforward appraisalof her in bothits approachand execution.Sweettreats
own craftand sensitivestatements on theactor/ playwriting as bothan artform anda craft,compar-

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