Tuesday, November 14, 2017
It's a Play, Not a History Lesson
Theatre Development Fund – TDF: A beloved summer tradition for theatregoers, the Public Theater's free, star-studded Shakespeare in the Park may seem as old as Central Park itself. But in the late 1950s, the New York Shakespeare Festival (as it was originally known) was still a nascent and controversial company, a group of ambitious young theatre-makers led by a then television stage manager named Joseph Papp.
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2 comments:
The thing I love about this company is that they approach old work that can often be-be presented as dry and stuffy, with new eyes. I think that this is mostly due to the fact that they want their artist to discover the meaning for themselves. This tends to produce a product that allows the viewer to enjoy and find their own meaning in work. Far too often are these traditional works presented in a way that is ether, so restrictive and doesn't allow freedom of the times, or the inverse and shown so far from the original intent that it loses all meaning and weight. I think that the goals of this group are very noble because they are able to produce theatre that is "visceral and immediate and present" in a time that often is at a loss with what to do with these "dated" works.
It is comforting to see how theatre has always been a place to question political issues of the day. Reading about the production of Illyria by Richard Nelson reconfirmed that theatre was used as a political device. Another comforting idea about the writing of Illyria is Nelson’s use of historical research and analysis. A lot of times authors of non-modern works don’t have dramaturgs listed along with their credits for designers so it is nice to see concrete affirmation of the research done by non-modern playwrights. That being said I'm not trying to discredit any playwrights who were writing from personal experience or that other playwrights of the time didn’t do in-depth research, I am just applauding Nelson’s effort that has been documented. Overall this article struck me as showing how the Public since its inception has stuck true to its values of producing relevant theatre. Through all the decades, the Public still produces theatre that challenges political injustices of the time. This is great for the Public as many theatre companies change vastly over the years due to the amount of funding or Artistic Director as well as many other factors. The Public is extremely impressive in this feat.
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