“It’s a strange alchemy,” said Ruhl, who was one of nine theater-makers on a panel discussing their experiences at the Yale Repertory Theatre on Oct. 7 in celebration of that institution’s 50th year. “The observer changes what is observed.” She added that for her, this phenomenon is what makes her career writing plays both “so exciting and so nerve-wracking.”
3 comments:
It's always nice to be reminded of the humble beginnings of influential theaters and to know that their creators have dealt with many obstacles before achieving some level of success. The Yale Rep, a church turned theater, is now 50 years old. The discussion group celebrating the anniversary included professionals from a variety of disciplines, including playwright Sara Ruhl and the Rep's founder Robert Brustein, but didn't quote anyone from the design field in the article (although they were present). I looked up the resident set designer Michael Yeargan, who was present at the discussion, and a lot of his work was familiar to me. He has some beautiful designs and a clear style and I would have loved to learn more about how he, and the Rep's design overall has progressed over the years. Even though I was dissatisfied with the lack of design acknowledgment, there were a lot of quotes and pieces of advice which were encouraging and uplifting for professionals and novices alike. I would still recommend this article to others for that reason.
I knew this article would be decently boring when I picked it. I am always wary of articles that are discussing the institution with which they are being published by. I went in thinking this was going to be a celebration of Yale Rep's 50th year, and it was just that. Even though I had set my expectations low, I was still disappointed. I didn't expect this to include any sort of critique on Yale Rep. It would be foolish of me to think that they would include any sort of critique on their 50th anniversary. I did not expect a critique. What I did expect, however, was more information about the panel. This article was so short! This panel had a legendary make up & I wish that it included more of what was said.
I am currently taking a class that really analyzes what Sarah Ruhl mentions, in that the audience is also a character. There is this way of thinking about a singular theatrical event as a conglomeration of several performances, including the performance that happens upon the stage, the performance that the audience gives and how that interacts with the stage performance, as well as the performance of culture and societal expectations for that time (which occurs both on and offstage). Though this understanding of performance as a many layered concept is vital historically, I think it also bears great relevance in how we think about putting on or approaching a play, as Sarah Ruhl so rightly points out. Theatre should perhaps start to perceive performance as less mono directional and more transactional, as an exchange. I think Ruhl's awareness of this is what makes her work so widely appealing, as she looks to the whole event, rather than just the stage as an isolated thing.
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