Specificity, Realism and Myth

Dorothy makes a case for realism in theatre. OK, that is an unfair reductionistic characterization. What she argues for is specificity. That a specificity of language is necessary for an efficacious emotional authenticity. And to this I think there is a great deal of truth. I am not wholly sold that it need be linguistic, but the impulse towards specificity is a key element in creating powerful theatre.

In Dorothy's comments section George sites Jo Mielziner designs for Death of a Salesman and Streetcar as an example of that kind of linguistic specificity existing within a context of abstraction. And I think that makes a very important point. One of the great benefits of abstraction is that, done well, it heightens the language. By creating a visual background that forces the human form to the center of our vision it also forces us to look, to truly look, at the words that person is saying.

The scenography in a production operates as a kind of framing device for the human form. The question is not so much which approach is correct, as it is which approach is correct now. The kind of specificity that Dorothy wants to see more of applies not just to playscripts, but at the production level it applies to design work and acting as well. Josh makes the case for an strong basis in the scansion of Shakespeare texts. Knowing the precise rhythms of a text and the words precise meanings is necessary for a truly believable performance.

Director Lillian Groag does a lot of rigorous text readings in her operatic work. This is uncommon in the opera world, or rather not as common as one might hope. There is such a premium placed upon the proper singing of the notes, that getting into the meaning of the language is often left to the sidelines. This is unfortunate as one can clearly hear, in a recording say of Maria Callas, when the performer know precisely what they are singing. And then, as in the case of Callas, the exact notes allow room for dramatic interpretation.

The key point here is precision. A rigorous precision. This is not a merely decorative interpolation. This is rigorous dramatic interpretation. Abstraction works when it comes from a place of profound understanding. Minimalism by Design can be a strong and powerful means of heightening the emotional veracity of drama. But it must be honest. Simply dressing everyone in white and placing them in a yellow box is not enough. There must derive from the text some central idea that leads to the abstraction.

The specificity of abstraction is what allows modern settings to become mythic centers of transformation. Our collective gods have died. We live in a secular world of blank realism, although this is being challenged more and more each day. To return to the theatre its potential as the house of myth and religion we must give to the audience a work so specific that it enters their unconscious. We must open doors to worlds beyond immediate ego experience by creating realities so honest they become like dreams.

What engages is a larger than life emotional authenticity that grabs us by the shirt collars. And this can be done by a business man in a tired brown suit. Because the simplistic can easily take the form of the mythic in our contemporary age. The simple becomes the mythic when it enters our collective dream.