DOCSLIB.ORG

Costume Design for Back to Methuselah, Parts Three and Four the Thing Happens and the Elderly Gentleman

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Costume Design for Back to Methuselah, Parts Three and Four the Thing Happens and the Elderly Gentleman Costume Design for Back to Methuselah, Parts Three and Four The Thing Happens and The Elderly Gentleman By Debra Emily Kennedy B. S. in Home Economics Education and B. S. in Clothing and Textiles, November 1978, North Dakota State University A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences of The George Washington University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Fine Arts January 31, 2016 Thesis directed by Sigridur Johannesdottir Assistant Professor of Theatre © Copyright 2016 by Debra Emily Kennedy All rights reserved ii Dedication The author wishes to dedicate this project to her very supportive family and especially to her dad, who made her dream of going to college the first time, possible. iii Acknowledgements The author wishes to acknowledge everyone encountered on the path to this achievement. At The George Washington University’s Department of Theatre and Dance, thank you to Sigrid, Carl, Tanya, Izzy, Barbara, Jason, John and Ann. At The Washington Stage Guild, thank you to Bill, Ann, again, Arthur and the entire cast and company. To my fellow M. F. A. seekers, Basmah, Kirk, Molly, Reema, Sara, Shirong and Sydney. And finally, thank you to my costume shop mates, Andre, Brittney, Elizabeth, Emily, Josh, Moira, Polly, Wendy and Zoe. Each and every one of you had a hand in this. Thank You! iv Abstract of Thesis Costume Design for Back to Methuselah, Parts Three and Four The Thing Happens and The Elderly Gentleman This thesis serves as a record for the process of designing and delivering costumes for the production of Back to Methuselah, produced by the Washington Stage Guild at the Undercroft Theatre of Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church, 900 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C., opening on February 19 and closing on March 13, 2015. It was directed by Bill Largess, costume designs were done by Debbie Kennedy, set design was by Shirong Gu, lighting designer was Marianne Meadows, sound design was by Frank DiSalvo, Jr. and stage manager was Arthur Nordlie. This document traces the seven steps of the design process, includes supporting research, describes challenges and opportunities and showcases final production photographs. v Table of Contents Dedication…………………………………………………………………………………………….……............iii Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………………………………...iv Abstract of Thesis…………………….………………………………………………………………………………v Table of Contents……………………………………………………………………………………………………vi List of Figures……………………………………………………………………………………………………….vii List of Tables………………………………………………………………………………………………………….xi Glossary of Terms………………………………………………………………………………………………….xii Chapter 1: Commitment……………….…………………………………………………………………………..1 Chapter 2: Analysis…………………………….……………………………………………………………………6 Chapter 3: Research…………………………….…………………………………………………………………11 Chapter 4: Incubation…………………………………………………………………………………………….15 Chapter 5: Selection……………………………………………………………………………………………….18 Chapter 6: Implementation…………………….………………………………………………………………30 Chapter 7: Evaluation…………………………………………………………………………………………….45 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………………………………………50 Appendices………………………………………………………………………………..…………………………53 vi List of Figures Research Images Figure 1. Back to Methuselah, produced in New York, 1922.........................................…...53 Figure 2. Back to Methuselah, produced in New York, 1922………………..……..……………….53 Figure 3. Back to Methuselah, produced in New York, 1922……………………..…….………….53 Figure 4. Back to Methuselah, produced in Birmingham, 1923………………..………….………54 Figure 5. Back to Methuselah, produced in Birmingham, 1923………………….………………..54 Figure 6. Back to Methuselah, produced in Birmingham, 1923…………..……………………….54 Figure 7. Back to Methuselah, produced in Birmingham, 1923………….………………………..55 Figure 8. Research image for costume designer Paul Shelving, James Carew as Mr. Vanhattan, the American Ambassador in The Apple Cart at Queen’s Theatre, 1929……………………………………………………………………………………..….55 Figure 9. Research image for costume designer Paul Shelving, Cedric Hardwicke as Magnus in The Apple Cart at Queen’s Theatre, 1929…...........................……55 Figure 10. Research image for Burge-Lubin……………………….……………………………………..56 Figure 11. Research image for Burge-Lubin………………….……………………………….…………..56 Figure 12. Research image for Barnabas……………………………………………………….…………..57 Figure 13. Research image for Barnabas…………………………………………………………………..57 Figure 14. Research image for The Minister of Health, scene one……………………………….58 Figure 15. Research image for Confucius………………………………………………………………….58 Figure 16. Research image for Mrs. Lutestring………………………………………………………….59 Figure 17. Research image for The Minister of Health, scene two……………………………….59 Figure 18. Research image for The Archbishop…………………………………………………………60 Figure 19. Research image for The Archbishop…………………………………………………………60 Figure 20. Research image for The Archbishop………………………………………………………..60 Figure 21. Research image for The Elderly Gentleman………………………………………………61 vii Figure 22. Research image for The Elderly Gentleman……………………..………………………..61 Figure 23. Research image for Napoleon………………………………………….………………………62 Figure 24. Research image for The Envoy…………………………………………………………………62 Figure 25. Research image for The Envoy…………………………………………………………………62 Figure 26. Research image for The Envoy’s Wife……………………………………………………….63 Figure 27. Research image for The Envoy’s Wife………………………………………………………..63 Figure 28. Research image for The Envoy’s Wife……………………………………………….……..63 Figure 29. Research image for The Envoy’s Son…………………………………………………………64 Figure 30. Research image for The Envoy’s Son………………………………………………….........64 Figure 31. Research image for The Envoy’s Son…………………………………………………………65 Figure 32. Research image for Fusima, Zozim and Zoo……………………………………………….65 Figure 33. Research image for Fusima, Zozim and Zoo………………………………………………66 Figure 34. Research image for Fusima, Zozim and Zoo……………………………………………...66 Figure 35. Research image for The Oracle…………………………………………………………………67 Figure 36. Research image for The Oracle…………………………………………………………………67 Figure 37. Research image for The Oracle…………………………………………………………………68 Sketches Figure 38. Sketch of Burge-Lubin…………………………………………………………………………….69 Figure 39. Sketch of The Minister of Health, scene one………………………………………………70 Figure 40. Sketch of Barnabas…………………………………………………………………………………71 Figure 41. Sketch of Confucius…………………………………………………………………………………72 Figure 42. Sketch of The Archbishop………………………………………………………………………..73 Figure 43. Sketch of Mrs. Lutestring………………………………………………………………………..74 Figure 44. Sketch of The Minister of Health, scene two……………………………………………….75 Figure 45. Sketch of The Elderly Gentleman……………………………………………………………..76 viii Figure 46. Sketch of Napoleon………………………………………………………………………………...77 Figure 47. Sketch of The Envoy. ………………………………………………………………………………78 Figure 48. Sketch of The Envoy’s Wife………………………………………………………………………79 Figure 49. Sketch of The Envoy’s Son……………………………………………………………………….80 Figure 50. Sketch of Fusima……………………………………………………………………………………81 Figure 51. Sketch of Zozim………………………………………………………………………………………82 Figure 52. Sketch of Zoo…………………………………………………………………………………………83 Production Images Figure 53. Conrad Feininger as Burge-Lubin and Laura Giannarelli as The Minister of Health, The Thing Happens, scene one………………………….............……….84 Figure 54. The Cast of The Thing Happens……………………………………………………………….84 Figure 55. Jacob Yeh as Confucius in The Thing Happens…………………………………………..85 Figure 56. Michael Avolio as Barnabas in The Thing Happens…………………………………….86 Figure 57. Lynn Steinmetz as The Domestic Minister and Brit Herring as The Archbishop in The Thing Happens…………………………………………..................…………87 Figure 58. Conrad Feininger as Burge-Lubin and Laura Giannarelli as The Minister of Health in The Thing Happens, scene two……………………................……….88 Figure 59. Vinnie Clark as the Elderly Gentleman and Stephanie Schmalzle as Zoo in The Elderly Gentleman…........................................................................................89 Figure 60. Vinnie Clark as the Elderly Gentleman, Jacob Yeh as Zozim and Laura Giannarelli as Fusima in The Elderly Gentleman…………….................…………………90 Figure 61. Stephanie Schmalzle as Zoo wearing the nurse’s cap, front and back views, showing the detail in The Elderly Gentleman……………………..............…………90 Figure 62. Stephanie Schmalzle as Zoo wearing the nurse’s cap, front and back views, showing the detail in The Elderly Gentleman…………………………..............……90 Figure 63. Conrad Feininger as Napoleon and Laura Giannarelli as the Oracle in The Elderly Gentleman…………………………………………...............................………………..91 Figure 64. Michael Avolio as the Envoy’s Son, Brit Herring as the Envoy, Lynn Steinmetz as the Envoy’s Wife and The Elderly Gentleman, in The Elderly Gentleman………………………………………………………………………………….………92 ix Figure 65. Brit Herring as the Envoy, Jacob Yeh in the Druid costume he Temple scene and the Elderly Gentleman, in The Elderly Gentleman……………..……….93 Figure 66. Stephanie Schmalzle as Zoo in costume for the Temple Scene in The Elderly Gentleman……………………………..................................………………………………94 Figure 67. Laura Giannarelli as the Serpent and Vinnie Clark as the Elderly Gentleman in The Elderly Gentleman…………………………………................…………………….95 x List of Tables Table 1: Costume Sources for The Thing Happens, Part Three………………………….………..40 Table 2: Costume Sources for The Elderly Gentleman, Part Four………………………………. 41 Table 3: Costume Plot for The Thing Happens, Part Three…………………………………………42 Table 4: Costume
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Edwardian Comedy and Progressive Politics
    Back to the Future: Edwardian Comedy and Progressive Politics by Rachel McArthur A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of English University of Toronto © Copyright by Rachel McArthur 2018 Back to the Future: Edwardian Comedy and Progressive Politics Rachel McArthur Doctor of Philosophy Department of English University of Toronto 2018 Abstract The Edwardian period is often figured as a garden party broken up by the First World War. Looking back on the early twentieth century from the perspective of the twenty first, a different, strikingly contemporary picture emerges: amidst social and technological change, world capitals were haunted by the threat of instability and economic inequality, while the political left faced urgent questions about its continued relevance. Contrary to the image of the period as complacent on the brink of disaster, my dissertation asserts that the Edwardians were deeply invested in building a better future through both political reform and literary comedy. Both comedy and progressive reform look toward the future; in both cases, the Edwardians negotiated between convention and innovation to attempt to create a more equitable future. The dissertation ultimately illustrates the crucial role of the period in literary history and how its lessons may inform our own, which it much resembles. In order to do so, my readings of specifically Edwardian texts are situated in relation to larger historical narratives of both comedy as a genre and political reform. The first chapter reads George Meredith’s “Essay on Comedy” (1877) and The Egoist (1879) alongside Gladstonian Liberal reforms. Like those interventions, the “Essay” looks toward beneficial changes within existing traditions, while The Egoist puts them into practice.
    [Show full text]
  • MISALLIANCE : Know-The-Show Guide
    The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey MISALLIANCE: Know-the-Show Guide Misalliance by George Bernard Shaw Know-the-Show Audience Guide researched and written by the Education Department of The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey Artwork: Scott McKowen The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey MISALLIANCE: Know-the-Show Guide In This Guide – MISALLIANCE: From the Director ............................................................................................. 2 – About George Bernard Shaw ..................................................................................................... 3 – MISALLIANCE: A Short Synopsis ............................................................................................... 4 – What is a Shavian Play? ............................................................................................................ 5 – Who’s Who in MISALLIANCE? .................................................................................................. 6 – Shaw on — .............................................................................................................................. 7 – Commentary and Criticism ....................................................................................................... 8 – In This Production .................................................................................................................... 9 – Explore Online ...................................................................................................................... 10 – Shaw: Selected
    [Show full text]
  • George Bernard Shaw in Context Edited by Brad Kent Frontmatter More Information
    Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-04745-7 - George Bernard Shaw in Context Edited by Brad Kent Frontmatter More information GEORGE BERNARD SHAW IN CONTEXT When Shaw died in 1950, the world lost one of its most well-known authors, a revolutionary who was as renowned for his personality as he was for his humour, humanity, and rebellious thinking. He remains a compelling figure who deserves attention not only for how influential he was in his time but also for how relevant he is to ours. This collection sets Shaw’s life and achievements in context, with forty-two chapters devoted to subjects that interested him and defined his work. Contributors explore a wide range of themes, moving from factors that were formative in Shaw’s life, to the artistic work that made him most famous and the institutions with which he worked, to the political and social issues that consumed much of his attention, and, finally, to his influence and reception. Presenting fresh material and arguments, this collection will point to new direc- tions of research for future scholars. brad kent is Associate Professor of British and Irish Literatures at Université Laval and was Visiting Professor at Trinity College Dublin in 2013–14. His recent publications include a critical edition of Shaw’s Mrs Warren’s Profession (2012), The Selected Essays of Sean O’Faolain (forthcoming), and essays in University of Toronto Quarterly, Modern Drama, ARIEL: A Review of International English Literatures, English Literature in Transition, Irish University Review, and The Oxford Handbook of Modern Irish Theatre. He is also the programme director of the Shaw Symposium, held annually at the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada.
    [Show full text]
  • Pygmalion Study Guide April 16
    STUDY GUIDE 2004 CONTAINS ONTARIO CURRICULUM SUPPORT MATERIAL PYGMALION by Bernard Shaw Education Partner PRESENTS Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw This study guide for Pygmalion contains background informa- tion for the play, suggested themes and topics for discussion, and curriculum-based lessons that are designed by educators and theatre professionals. TABLE OF CONTENTS The lessons and themes for discussion are organized in mod- ules that can be used independently or interdependently ac- cording to your class’s level and time availability. The Players ..............................................................................3 The general information is on white paper and the lessons are on green. Running Time .........................................................................3 The Author..............................................................................4 THIS GUIDE WAS WRITTEN AND COMPILED BY DENIS The Characters ........................................................................5 JOHNSTON, DEBRA MCLAUCHLAN, AND JOHN SWEENEY. The Story .............................................................................6-7 ADDITIONAL MATERIALS WERE PROVIDED BY BARBARA WORTHY, JACKIE MAXWELL, AND SUE LEPAGE West End Gossip Sheet.........................................................8 Director’s Notes .....................................................................9 Classroom Application Before Attending the Play .............................................10-17 Pygmalion After Attending the Play................................................18-24
    [Show full text]
  • Shaw Bernard Eng 0807.Pdf
    qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwerty uiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasd fghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzx cvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmq wertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyui opasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfg hjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcBernard Shaw vbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmq(1856 – 1950) wertyuiopasdfgA hjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiBibliography opasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfg hjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxc vbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmq wertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyui opasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfg hjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbn mqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwert yuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopas dfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklz xcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnm qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwerty Bernard Shaw (1856 –1950) George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 Ŕ 2 November 1950) was born in Dublin, the son of a civil servant. His education was irregular, due to his dislike of any organized training. After working in an estate agent's office for a while, he moved to London as a young man (1876), where he established himself as a leading music and theatre critic in the eighties and nineties and became a prominent member of the Fabian Society, for which he composed many pamphlets. He began his literary career as a novelist; as a fervent advocate of the new theatre of Ibsen (The Quintessence of Ibsenism, 1891) he decided to write plays in order to illustrate his criticism of the English stage. His earliest dramas were called appropriately Plays Pleasant and Unpleasant (1898). Among these, Widower's Houses and Mrs. Warren's Profession savagely
    [Show full text]
  • George Bernard Shaw on the Polish Stage – a Brief Overview
    Anna Suwalska-Kołecka Państwowa Wyższa Szkoła Zawodowa w Płocku GEORGE BERNARD Shaw ON THE POLISH stage – A BRIEF overview George Bernard Shaw na polskich scenach – krótki przegląd Abstract The main aim of this paper is to delineate the most crucial aspects of the reception of George Bernard Shaw’s plays in Poland. Shaw, believed to have set the direction of modern British drama, has been welcomed enthusiastically by Polish audiences since the beginning of the twentieth century. Warsaw was called a “Shavian city” and his popularity reached its peak in the years between the two World Wars. After WWII, Shaw’s plays were frequently staged and his political views were presented as being in line with the ruling par- ty’s policies. The fall of Communism brought about a decline in his presence on Polish stag- es, but he reappeared recently in productions that dismantle his plays in postmodern ways. Keywords: Shaw, reception, drama, the twentieth century. Streszczenie Głównym celem tego artykułu jest przedstawienie głównych aspektów recepcji twórczości George’a Bernarda Shaw w Polsce. Uważany za dramatopisarza, który wy- tyczył kierunek rozwoju współczesnego dramatu brytyjskiego, Shaw był witany entu- zjastycznie przez polską widownię od początku dwudziestego wieku. Warszawa nosiła z tego powodu przydomek miasta shawiańskiego, a jego popularność osiągnęła apogeum w okresie międzywojennym. Po wojnie sztuki Shawa były często wystawiane, a lewicowe poglądy autora utożsamiano z obowiązującą linią polityczną partii. Rok 1989 i transforma- cja ustrojowa spowodowała zmniejszenie zainteresowania jego twórczością. Jego sztuki powracają ostatnio na polskie sceny poddane postmodernistycznemu recyclingowi. Słowa kluczowe: Shaw, recepcja, dramat, wiek dwudziesty 1. Introduction George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) is an Irish playwright rated as second only to William Shakespeare in the Anglophone tradition, and the only one who can boast both the Nobel Prize for Literature (1925) and an Academy Award for his screenplay of Pygmalion (1938).
    [Show full text]
  • Shaw for the Utopians, Capek for the Anti-Utopians" SHAW: the Annual of Bernard Shaw Studies (1997): 163-181
    San Jose State University SJSU ScholarWorks Faculty Publications English and Comparative Literature January 1997 Shaw for the Utopians, Capek for the Anti- Utopians Julie A. Sparks San Jose State University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/eng_complit_pub Part of the English Language and Literature Commons Recommended Citation Julie A. Sparks. "Shaw for the Utopians, Capek for the Anti-Utopians" SHAW: The Annual of Bernard Shaw Studies (1997): 163-181. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the English and Comparative Literature at SJSU ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of SJSU ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Julie A. Sparks SHAW FOR THE UTOPIANS, CAPEK FOR THE ANTI-UTOPIANS The continuing argument between utopian writers who prefigure the Millennium and the anti-utopian writers who prophesy the approach of Armageddon is generally assumed to be a struggle between wide-eyed optimism and misanthropic pessimism. But the profoundest thinkers in each camp sometimes find, after a prolonged engagement with their dialogic opposites, that their tents are pitched on common ground-that a Hegelian synthesis has occurred wherein the seemingly irreconcilable positions have merged into a guarded but life-affirming optimism. One such reconciliation can be found in the dramatic dialogue between Bernard Shaw, representing the utopians, and Karel Capek (1890­ 1938), a Czech anti-utopian writer with Luddite tendencies and conser­ vative religious views who respected Shaw's work but disagreed with some of its deepest philosophical underpinnings.
    [Show full text]
  • The Project Gutenberg Ebook, Back to Methuselah, by George Bernard
    The Project Gutenberg eBook, Back to Methuselah, by Contents George Bernard Shaw The Infidel Half Century This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost The Dawn of Darwinism and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may The Advent of the Neo-Darwinians copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Political Inadequacy of the Human Animal Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or Cowardice of the Irreligious online at www.gutenberg.net Is there any Hope in Education? Homeopathic Education The Diabolical Efficiency of Technical Education Flimsiness of Civilization Creative Evolution Voluntary Longevity Title: Back to Methuselah The Early Evolutionists The Advent of the Neo-Lamarckians Author: George Bernard Shaw How Acquirements are Inherited The Miracle of Condensed Recapitulation Release Date: August 2, 2004 [eBook #13084] Heredity an Old Story Discovery Anticipated by Divination Language: English Corrected Dates for the Discovery of Evolution Defying the Lightning: a Frustrated Experiment ***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK In Quest of the First Cause BACK TO METHUSELAH*** Paley's Watch The Irresistible Cry of Order, Order! E-text prepared by Suzanne Shell and Project Gutenberg The Moment and the Man Distributed Proofreaders The Brink of the Bottomless Pit Why Darwin Converted the Crowd How we Rushed Down a Steep Place Darwinism not Finally Refutable Editorial note: The reader is likely to notice the absence Three Blind Mice of apostrophes from contractions in the essay section of The Greatest of These is Self-Control this work. The author disliked apostrophes and often A Sample of Lamarcko-Shavian Invective omitted them.
    [Show full text]
  • The Relationship of Shaw's Political Ideas to His Dramatic Art"
    G.B.S.: PAMPHLETEER OR PLAYWRIGHT? "The Relationship of Shaw's Political Ideas to His Dramatic Art" By Joyce Long Submitted as an Honors Paper in the Department of English The Woman's College of the University of Uorth Carolina Greensboro, Korth Carolina 1956 Approved hy Examining Committee ^V^> * VfcflJT CGHTEKTS FOREWORD i I. SHAW'S I OLITICAL THOUGHT 1 II. SHAW TIIE PHILOSOPHER 8 III. SHAW TIE COKEC ARTIST 23 IV. SHAW THE ARTIST-PHILOSOPHER 36 FOREWORD Ky purpose in this paper is to answer within the limits of the paper the question, Was Shaw an artist or a propagandist? I propose to arrive at an answer by analyzing what happens to ideas in three of Shaw's plays. Taking his political ideas as a measuring stick, I have selected three plays, Back to Kethuselah, Kan ani Supernan, and Caesar and Cleopatra, which illustrate Shaw'fl treatment of ideas. I have selected these because they treat extensively political ideas and because they were written during the height of Shaw's career as a playwright. Ky chief interest has not been Shaw's political ideasj I have not attempted to explore the ideas in his plays, nor to set forth a political philosophy derived from the plays—I have been interested in what happens to these ideas in the plays, and their relationship to the dramatic fcrm. I have not attempted to trace the development of a dramatic style or technique, nor to explain in terms of Shaw's career why in one play he subordinates idea to art, and in another art to idea.
    [Show full text]
  • George Bernard Shaw – Selected Quotations
    GEORGE BERNARD SHAW – SELECTED QUOTATIONS A day's work is a day's work, neither more nor less, and the man who does it needs a day's sustenance, a night's repose and due leisure, whether he be painter or ploughman. A fashion is nothing but an induced epidemic. A fool's brain digests philosophy into folly, science into superstition, and art into pedantry. Hence University education. A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing. A lifetime of happiness! No man alive could bear it; it would be hell on earth. Americans adore me and will go on adoring me until I say something nice about them. An American has no sense of privacy. He does not know what it means. There is no such thing in the Criminals do not die by the hands of the law. They die by the hands of other men. Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve. England and America are two countries separated by a common language. Everything happens to everybody sooner or later if there is time enough. Few people think more than two or three times a year; I have made an international reputation for myself by thinking once or twice a week. Gambling promises the poor what property performs for the rich--something for nothing. Hegel was right when he said that we learn from history that man can never learn anything from history. Hell is full of musical amateurs.
    [Show full text]
  • I First Came to the Theatre in 1966 As an Actor and in 1967 I Was Appointed the Artistic Director
    PAXTON WHITEHEAD I first came to the theatre in 1966 as an actor and in 1967 I was appointed the artistic director. I stayed in that position through the season of 1977, which also included a short tour after the season into the spring of 1978. That was the period of my time there, with one exception: The 1975 season was not produced by me, it was produced by Tony van Bridge because I was on a sabbatical. I had been working in the United States for about four and a half years, mostly in the New York area, and about 19641 finished a production of Beyond the Fringe and discovered regional theatre. I was going around various places in the U.S. as a guest, appearing with the regional companies. One of those was the Manitoba Theatre Centre in Winnipeg, when I was hired up from New York to participate in Heartbreak House in the spring of 1965 along with a few other America-based actors to join a company there, in which I found Tony van Bridge and Martha Henry. I had a wonderful time and they asked me back the following fall to do Private Ear and Public Eye and The Importance of Being Earnest. In the meantime, in the interim after doing Heartbreak House in Winnipeg I had appeared in Cincinnati in Major Barbara, where I had been seen by Marigold Charlesworth, who at that time was running the Canadian Players. Coincidentally she asked me to come to Toronto to appear in their production of The Importance of Being Earnest.
    [Show full text]
  • CHAPTER -VI Political Plays of Shaw It Is Only Natural That the Critical
    CHAPTER -VI Political Plays of Shaw It is only natural that the critical insight of a revolting son of the middle class should fall on politics and that he should ransack the whole field. Shaw's critical genius was attracted to politics in a very large sense of the term and he took immense interest in the political problems of his day - problems that include economics and finance. A vast amount of his writings - actually the majority of them - concern themselves with the study of social classes, wealth and poverty, rent, wages, and interest and, at the same time, with international relations, the World War, the Irish Question, Labour party etc. He wrote so much on politics and spoke so much on it that it seemed to some of his critics and biographers including such an erudite one as Archibald Hinderson that "art played a very secondary part in the life 1 of this international publicist". This view is erronuous inspite of the zeal shown by Shaw in the politics of his time — national as well as international.His interest in politics is expressed in many of his plays; but he remains an artist all the same for he dramatized his views and ideas through the action in the play or rather through "discussion" which is the "action" in a Shavian play $ and secondly, his expression of political ideas is seldom allowed to work like just propaganda. Some of the political problems dealt with 1. G.B.S. : Man of the Century. Vol II. Appleton-Century- Crofts Inc. 1956. p.
    [Show full text]