The classics are not going away, and their reach is long. There are numerous popular adaptations of canonical work, and chances are that you will have opportunities to work on classics and their adaptations. Knowing the work and its context beforehand will make you a better collaborator and a better artist, and will also make you more alert to the nature of opportunities as they arise.
4 comments:
I completely agree with this. While I love seeing innovative, unusual work, it's important to acknowledge that a lot of what we do is deeply rooted in theatrical tradition and history. That tradition creates a common language and knowledge that artists can use to build upon, be it for a Shakespeare play performed as it was in the playwright's time or a completely new production performed in a style that no one has ever seen before.
I think that this historical knowledge is very useful to all artistic participants of a production, but it's also important for stage and production managers, because it will allow them to support the artistic process and rehearsal process to the best of their ability.
This is good. We do not produce art in a vacuum, nor is anything we do not shaped, in some way, by the work of those who have come before us. I don't think the adage about knowing the rules before you break them is trite at all, but wise. Otherwise, we'd all be doing dream plays forevermore and thinking ourselves innovators.
I find great personal value in seeing historical plays (and other art) in the context of its time. We are frequently up against similar struggles as artists of yore, political unrest, war, disease, social injustice, familial dysfunction. I believe that innovation largely comes not from finding new stories to tell, but a new angle to bring into focus.
This is definitely a relevant article, even if it isn't relevant specifically to PTM. It makes sense to both look back and forward. Any discoveries and adaptations made in the world, or even just theater all have roots in the past for justifications or reasoning for things done. Even old issues seem to resurface themselves or old plays can be reinterpreted in new ways. This also brings new light to the Foundations classes that we have to take.
Theater history is very important. I think that someone who is going into this field show know about the history of their craft. Without knowing this we can't become progressive with our work. It also shows how technology can directly effect a production.
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