A
Glimpse of Theatre History
THE RISE OF THE REGISSEUR
| Regisseur: a stage director with complete control over every aspect of production |
The modern stage director with a distinct purpose and function is arelatively recent phenomenon. The obvious advantages of unifying production under the vision of a single artist eventually won the day. Some of the more important contributers to the rise of the regisseur include:
David
Garrick single-handed changed the way theatre was produced during his
tenure as manager of Drury Lane in the 1760's and 70's. After banishing audience
members from sitting on the stage, he introduced stage lighting, utilized the
extraordinary designs of Phillipe Jacques de Loutherbourg, surrounded himself
with a company of unequalled skill and introduced a style of naturalism which
at first shocked and them charmed his audiences. Note the connection with the
Star System which lasts though the Kembles, Macready, Irving, Beerbohm-Tree, etc.
The appeal of a star coupled with the artistic unification of a regisseur proved
a durable combination.
Johann
Wolfgang von Goethe instituted rigorous reforms at Weimar while he managed
the Ducal Court Theatre from 1791 to 1817. Among these reforms were:
| a. insisted on absolute obedience b. sought an ideal beauty instead of realism c. marked off the stage in squares to control blocking d. "composed" scenes for pictorial value e. literally conducted rehearsals using a baton to establish rhythms and tempi f. instituted actor training g. used a "semi-rhetorical approach" |
Mme
Vestris (1797-1856) Madame Vestris revolutionized
staging methods in England through the introduction of shorter programs (evening
entertainments were concluded by eleven), and by an increased emphasis on realistic
staging methods, most notably with the introduction of the box set. In
a bold move for a woman, she took over the Olympic Theatre in 1830, opening with
J. R. Planché's Olympic Revels, a series of burlesques and farces
designed to exploit Mme. Vestris' special gifts. During her management there,
she introduced "real" as opposed to fake props, doors, rugs, furniture,
etc. and took special care with costuming. She chose her casts with great care,
and oversaw every aspect of production "with an iron hand." By 1841,
she had successfully used a box set complete with a ceiling unit. Through
her influence, attendance at the theatre became not just socially acceptable,
but fashionable.
René
Charles Guilbert de Pixérécourt wrote sensational melodramas,
the effects of which could only be achieved through careful attention to staging
and rehearsal; he therefore directed his own.
Samuel
Phelps transformed Sadler's Wells, famous now as a leading ballet theatre,
into an enormously successful Shakespearean theatre. Through mismanagement and
neglect, it had sunk to presenting animal acts like the trained monkey featured
in the advertisement on the right. Sadler's Wells had even gone so far as to install
a water tank in its stage in which newsreel-like, miniature 
naumachia
of events of the day were staged, but the novelty of the approach (and a dearth
of sea-battles) soon caused a huge slide to be installed down which a remarkable
horse slid into the water. When even that failed to attract an audience, the tank
and water were opened to bathers. Phelps took the space and presented "totally
integrated" productions of Shakespeare. His success was due to his high production
standards. Sadler's Wells became a truly "national" theatre. Says biographer
Shirley allen, "...He discarded the star system of acting Shakespeare, bringing
back to the stage the complete parts of minor characters and giving a new emphasis
to the total effect of the play. He applied to his Shakespearean productions the
methods of directing which have become standard in the twentieth-century theatre,
imposing his own conception of a play and dupervising both acting and staging
to carry out his intention." At the same time he made his theatre a training
school for actors probiding both instruction and the opportunity to progress from
the lowest ranks of a repertory company to a position of importance.
Charles
Kean, during nine years at London's Princess
Theatre and later on the road, presented meticulously researched and lavishly
executed "antiquarian" productions of Shakespeare.
Adolphe
Montigny made contributions to the rise of the Regisseur at the Gymnase Theatre,
Paris from 1853 on. He:
| a. placed a table DC to keep actors from standing there b. made actors talk to each other instead of the audience c. placed props (eg. handkerchief, boxes of cigars, etc.) onstage to motivate movement |
Squire Bancroft and Effie (Wilton) Bancroft gave playwright Tom Robertson permission to coach their company in the style of acting he wanted for his Society, produced in 1865 at the Haymarket Theatre, London. Robertson urged his actors to emphasize understatement and ensemble effects. As producers, the Bancrofts went on to establish a unique production style, allowing Robertson to act as regisseur. The reforms included:.
| a. Casting ignored lines of business b. There were no stars; even the Bancrofts themselves took small roles c. They utilized box sets with real furniture d. Characters did everyday, mundane tasks light lighting fires, etc. hence the critics' label "teacup and saucer" school of acting |
Each of the following deserve their own page:
Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen was perhaps the mos influential Regisseur of his time.
Richard Wagner the ultimate regisseur.
Augustin Daly the first truly American regisseur.
David Belasco the consummate
American regisseur.
