3. The Actor's World

Hagen goes on to a digest version of theater history since the ancient Greeks, highlighting the difference between the subsidized "art" theaters common in Europe and the commercial theaters that proliferate here in the US. She points out that even the not-for-profit theaters still function largely by commercial standards. She points out that in environments where commercialism reigns, actors have usually lost control. And indeed, in this country, they have. With the decline of the actor-manager (which had its good points, to be sure) and the rise of the non-artistic producer, actors have become more and more the victims of their own profession.

This is something I want to highlight in my class. In order for artistic values to take front and center, artists need to take control. The future of the theater is in artistic collectives where artists diversify their skills. Everyone writes, directs, produces, teaches, performs. What would the American theater look like if we had actors in positions of power? What if part of an actor's training included managerial and production skills? What if that's what being part of a resident company meant?

I want my students to read this chapter. I was taught very early in my training that "If we can see far, it is because we stand on the shoulders of giants." We need to know where we come from as artists in order to imagine where we're heading. Hagen encourages deep and detailed reading on actors and other theater artists from our history, which is also something I've found very helpful and want to encourage. Her patron saint is Duse (who I've chosen for the background of this blog). As Eva Le Gallienne observed, the dead help the living. Neither I nor my students will ever see Duse in the flesh, but we can read about her and aspire to follow in her footsteps

She also ties the artistic climate to the political climate, noting that they are inseparable and that artists are often the first targets of oppressive political regimes. I have to admit that political consciousness is one of my greatest weaknesses. It is not arena that I feel confident in and as such it's very difficult for me to develop a confident point of view as a political artist. As usual I am led by my feelings and moral sense, which often crumbles in the face of figures and rhetoric. I'm working on educating myself. It is difficult. I'm insecure that my students will be far ahead of me on this front. Perhaps I can learn from them.

Hagen is certainly not shy about her opinions (ex: "Many people consider the Off-Off-Broadway movement a huge success. I consider it a dismal failure."). I admire this and also think it will create good fodder for discussion.

The gigantic leading question from this chapter: What do you want to create? How do you create it? And whose shoulders can you stand on so that you can see clear and far?

Finally, a newly discovered web resource: Theater in Video. I may show this video of Julie Harris and Eva Le Gallienne (what a find!) discussing Duse in conjunction with this chapter.