Space and Art
The modern theatre has reversed the notion of form following content. In The Empty Space, Peter Brook wrote, “I can take any empty space and call it a bare stage. A man walks across this empty space whilst someone else is watching him, and this is all that is needed for an act of theatre to be engaged (Brook, The Empty Space)." Imbedded in this simplistic philosophy lies the origin of modern theatre. The space fashioned the art.
While America is still in its youth, American theatre is still in its infancy. Early attempts to produce native theatre were unsuccessful, marred by moral opposition from this country’s puritan heritage. It wasn’t till the late 1800’s that this country witnessed a real birth of theatre. As soon as theatre began to thrive, it began to falter. Theatre in America met with many obstacles prior to establishing a strong foothold in American Culture. Although theatre survived World War I, it was almost lost with the increasing economic difficulty of the Great Depression and the onslaught of yet another World War. In addition to these pressing sociological factors, the development of films with sound satisfied society’s need for entertainment and at a mere fraction of the price of live theatre. Approximately two-thirds of all live entertainment theatres in the United States closed down between 1929 and 1939 (Zeisler).
Despite a rapid decline in interest for live theatre, the two major factors that lead to its decline would ironically contribute to its growth and re-birth. The Federal Theatre project, a faction of the Works Progress Administration, breathed the breath of life back into a dying theatre society. By funding theatrical works to employ playwrights, actors, and other theatre professions, the government actually helped give theatre a leg-up and a jump start on its way to becoming a major modern day cultural force.
Despite this boost from federal funding, theatre was still lacking an audience, befuddled by traditionalism. Because of teetering economic conditions theatre producers could not take a chance on new or modern theatre, and thus were forced to reside with traditional, time-tested works. Federal funding, constantly imposing censorship, also put a damper on the more modern and controversial works. Playwrights who focused on current political and sociological problems went unproduced. A production of The Cradle Will Rock, a great example of a controversial play that dealt with labor unions, communism, and the whoring of American Capitalism, caused complaints to Congress, who then cut federal funding to the Federal Theatre Project.
While censorship was especially prevalent in the United States, European countries were also having issues producing new and exciting theatre due to the lack of stability, and the hit-or-miss nature of theatre. As such European theatres were also forced to resort to traditional theatre.
After World-War II, new and fresh ideas started to reshape theatre around the world. Post war mentality gave way to a revolutionary mindset for playwrights, directors, and actors. Many started to develop new methodologies, theories, and practices for theatre. Existentialist writers Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus, and so called absurdists, especially Samuel Beckett and Jean Genet, created new works for the modern theatre. Though revolutionary, they did not hold much clout in the theatre world because they had yet to achieve popular success, and as such were considered a risky venture by many theatre companies. This frustrated many who truly desired to bring many of these pieces to the stage. An early pioneer of great note was Andre Antoine, who, in 1887 opened up the first little theatre, Theatre Libre, in France. It was a private venue and as such he was not subject to censorship which gave him the freedom to produce his choice of plays.
Antoine’s formation of a little theatre sparked a trend, and many others followed by opening up their own little theatres all over the globe. This created a stage for new and experimental plays which had not yet found the popular success to fill the many seats in a Broadway or West End theatre. The little theatre movement started a decentralization of theatre, in which companies were branching out to achieve a larger audience and reach new people all across the United States.
[Because of decentralization and subsidization] Good theatre is available throughout the country – some of it truly exceptional in quality – and without question, it is providing forums to communities that were not available four decades ago…this is an extraordinary achievement in a very short time.
- Peter Zeisler
Seize the Moment
While this decentralization movement was grand in idea, it was not particularly grand in scale. The key development to modern day theatre didn’t come until 1950, when many theatre groups, believing that Broadway was forced to cater to the masses due to financial risk, sought out other venues in which to perform. This marked the beginning of Off-Broadway (Zeisler). The run-away success of Off-Broadway productions created high production costs and thus prompted many theatre groups to seek out even smaller venues not subject to union labor laws. Most were ninety-nine seat theatres; the significance of this number is such that, it allowed theatre houses to operate under Equity waiver contracts stipulated by the professional actor’s union that paid actors significantly less per contract allowing new plays to go on stage. And so the 99 seat theatre was born.
How does space affect art? As we have seen, financial necessity contributed to the creation of smaller performance venues. From Antoine to Brook and beyond we see a strong force at work: the desire for discovery and experimentation. The size of the new “little” theatres limited financial expectations and allowed a freedom of creation never before explored by playwrights, directors, technicians, and actors. The shape and size of the new theatres, and the fact that the spaces were acquired not built, gave the artists new challenges for using the space and new opportunity for experimentation. Failure did not spell economic ruin. What these revolutionary artists discovered shocked the theatre world: theatre goers will embrace new work and will find their way to the doors of a place where serious artistic work goes on. We saw that happen with Off-Broadway where smaller spaces, smaller cast sizes, and fewer spectacular effects were traded for an intimacy with the audience and often closeness with new artistic ideas. Off-Broadway experienced so much success that an economic world similar to Broadway evolved. The artists grew their art by going farther away from Broadway, in terms of size and location. Regional theatres and, yes, university theatres all began to be regarded as important stages for original new theatre. The little theatre movement is the true educational foundation of the new theatre.
The theatre community at WPI hopes that this new Little Theatre will allow us to do just that. By taking both new and old works and re-tooling them to be accommodating with the new space, we can recreate the art in new and exciting ways that until now have yet to be experienced. To re-discover, re-invent/re-design, and reform, and thus create a stronger more clear influence and identity in the WPI culture. With the creation of the Little Theatre in conjunction with the runaway success of the New Voices festival each and every year, WPI theatre will be well on its way to creating new works for the contemporary theatre.