I'D RATHER BE A CYBORG THAN AN ACTOR... part I

To save the theatre, the theatre must be destroyed, the actors and actresses must all die of the plague. They poison the air, they make art impossible. It is not drama that they play, but pieces for the theatre. We should return to the Greeks, play in the open air; the drama dies of stalls and boxes and evening dress, and people who come to digest their dinner. -- Eleanora Duse

This quote is attributed to the legendary stage actress Eleanora Duse around the turn of the 20th century. While her quotes rebel against Ibsen and the realistic theatre of the late 1800s, Duse's thoughts came ahead of their time. Had Duse lived past 1924, she would have seen the (re)rise of the star system on Broadway and on film. Additionally, the notion of "theatre" has (perhaps?) changed from a theatRE that functions as an organization to a theatER that functions as a place.

How many times have we gone to the theatre, only to be told what we can't do. The theatre is essentially a place where action prevails. This can include action that occurs onstage, as well as the action that the audience experiences--be that emotional, social, critical, or (in the best of cases) a combination of everything. The audience must experience something more full than "story"--than "actors". If we are called to put life onstage, then we must put life in all of it's complexities and nuances--it's colors and textures. This is perhaps what Ibsen wanted to express, but (as many 20th century avant-garde theatre artists would say), the plot replaced the experience of being in the theatre.

Yet more often than not, we are told what to say, where to sit, how to think. Don't text, don't drink, don't pee until the intermission. Social debate is important, but when we place the value of our seat covers (the value of our theatER) over the quality of our shows (the value of our theatRE)--one degree removed from the value of our audience's experience then the battle is already lost. Think about that the next time you pay 9.50 for a Crown and Coke, then wish you had ordered a simple shot because the second act is beginning and you can't take the drink into the theatER.