CMU School of Drama


Friday, February 07, 2025

Richard Foreman Meant It

AMERICAN THEATRE: First, the silence. When I worked for Richard, I would show up early—an hour early, usually—and then Richard would show up, and we would sit in the theatre together in silence. I would go over my notes, set up the room, read; Richard would go over his notes, review his pages, read. We were comfortable in silence for long periods. I am convinced that this is one reason we always got along.

1 comment:

Eliza Krigsman said...

This piece on Richard Foreman makes me want to have met him! He seems like such a force to be reckoned with. With his meaning each word he said, it makes me wonder how I can align myself with such a philosophy in management - and dually, how I can improve that philosophy to better fit modernity and clearer communication. I can appreciate his work style, also. He seems to work without planning nor thinking - just by feeling and experiencing and trying. I think that’s a great method when working with certain physical materials or certain time-bound processes. In tandem, I think it can be flawed when used in a complex, collaborative art. However, it is an interesting question to be posed as to whether or not it can or should be implemented in isolation. I found the little anecdote at the end of the article to be funny as well as enlightening as to both of their characters.