Decor or Space: Architectural Stage Design and the Contemporary Theatre

Decor or Space: Architectural Stage Design and the Contemporary Theatre Thomas Leff Once upon a time theatre was architecture, then it turned into imitation architecture , then it became artificial imitation architecture, then it went quite mad, lost its head, and has been in a lunatic asylum every since. Gordon Craig Towards a New Theatre, 32 Has our theatre found itself yet, or are we still tumbling in a madhouse of eclecticism and delusion? Much of the confusion about design and its place in contemporary theatre derives from an inadequate sense of what, and how, a designer contributes to the overall effect of a given piece of theatre. These artists, let's call them by their proper names, are typically asked to follow rather than lead the artistic process. Yet they create what in many respects is the most determined aspect of the performance: its space. The particulars of theatrical space condition the eye of the spectator to the atmosphere of the action and directly control the performer's movements which express that action. Just exactly how a theatrical space is developed is a complex issue that transcends the simply artistic and touches upon the most essential underpinnings of the entire enterprise. As both Gordon Craig and Adolphe Appia discovered nearly one hundred years ago, any serious reform of scenic practices requires the reexamination of the entire art form. Their seminal work in the analysis of theatrical production seems largely forgotten today as contemporary scenic practices lapse ever deeper into the old nineteenth century emphasis on spectacle for its own sake. Any theatre that aspires to the status of artistic integrity will have to take the unavoidable step of reconsidering the intimate relationship between space and action and voice. Traditionally, many fingers poke into the artistic process of theatre, always a messy and uncertain business lurching toward an opening night. By virtue of the sheer complexity of coordinating so many tasks and people, theatre is as much a social and political problem—in colleges and conservatories it's also an educational issue—as it is an artistic one. But when theatre acts as if art is all that matters—a relatively recent concept—the door is opened for serious 61 62 Thomas Leff organizational abuse with, ironically, its attendant artistic impoverishment. Moreover, the concept of a vertical command structure which relegates each participant into a subsidiary role to that of the director risks alienating the creative elements from each other. Without the everyday creative interchange between performer and designer, there's much less chance that any deeply felt collaboration may arise. In director-centered theatres, the artistic process comprises a team of isolated artisans doing their best to satisfy the commands of others. This condition is exacerbated by the practice of jobbing in or auditioning individuals on a per show basis. Such a division of artistic forces invariably weakens the potential for fruitful collaboration by confining the work to an individual rather than a genuine group effort. Not surprisingly, under these circumstances the designer often receives neither the incentive nor the reward for working closely with the performer (or even other designers), and vice versa. Such initiative could get in the way of the director's perogatives. Under this hierarchy, so dependent upon the artistic resourcefulness of a single individual, the stakes are needlessly raised and the imaginative designer questions whether anything of significance can be achieved in performance because other naturally occurring sources of inspiration may be systematically choked off. For the imaginative designer this can be a discouraging prospect. Literary Space In consequence, a significant majority of all stage designers are principally concerned with the creation of a pleasing picture. The visual image is paramount to their concept of the design. Does it "look right" given the particularities of the text—a play, scenario (e.g., ballet), or tradition (e.g., musical theatre) —that the designer transposes into a scene? These designers employ a strictly reactive methodology: the space derives its motivation and expressiveness by virtue of the higher authority of the text which adjudicates and tempers each scenic decision, usually through the filter of a director's interpretation. Therefore , the designer lives in a relationship twice removed from...