"*»Vjfi;ft? "JW-f9P&f**<‘\lS$S3i.-:i'--- •«i,45>sis 7 1 -1 7 ,9 6 5 BOYER, Robert Downer, 1939- \ THE DIRECTORIAL PRACTICE OF W. S. GILBERT. The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1970 T h eater » '1 1 I 'M University Microfilms. A XEROX Company, Ann Arbor, Michigan | THIS DISSERTATION HAS BEEN MICROFILMED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED THE DIRECTORIAL PRACTICE OF W. S. GILBERT DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By R obert Downer Boyer, B .A ., M.A. ******* The Ohio State University 1970 Approved by A dviser Division of Theatre ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I an sincerely grateful to John C. Morrow, John H. McDowell, Roy H. Bowen, George P. Crepeau, Corwin A. Georges, J r., and Lawrence Selka. This study was made possible by their advice, assistance and encouragement, as well as by the International Seminar Program of the Ohio State University Division of Theatre. 11 VITA September 23, 1939 ...................... Bom - Washington, D.C. 1 9 6 1 .................................................... B.A., The University of Maryland, Co liege Park, Maryland 1961-1963. .......... Graduate Assistant, Department of Speech and Dramatic Art, The University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 1963 .......................................................M.A., The University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 1963-1968 ............................................Administrative Assistant, Department of Speech, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1968-1970. .......................... Lecturer, Division of Theatre, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1970 .................................................... Lecturer, Divisions of Theatre and Comparative Literature, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio PUBLICATIONS "The Theatre That Escaped Infamy." Players Magazine, Volume 43, Number 4, pp. 122-124, April-May, 1968. FIBLDS OF STUDY Major Field: Theatre Studies in Theatre History. Professors John H. McDowell, John C. Morrow and G. Charles Niemeyer Studies in Dramatic Literature. Professor John C. Morrow Studies in Direction and Production. Professors Roy H. Bowen, George P. Crepeau and Rudolph Pugliese i l l TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWU2 DGMENTS...................................................................................................................i i VITA ...................................................................................................................................... i l l LIST OF FIGURES........................................................................................................ » v i C hapter I . INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY..................................................................... 1 Purpose of the Study Research Methods and Sources Biographical Data Journalistic Criticism The Influence of T. W. Robertson 'Enemies' on the Contemporary English Stage I I . GILBERT PREPARES THE PRODUCTION............................................................ 20 Hie Form of the Libretto Use o f the Model Stage Planning the Details of the Physical Production Casting the Operas The Technical Theatre The Promptbook Evidence Textual Considerations I I I . GILBERT IN REHEARSAL..................................................................................67 General Philosophy of Rehearsal Procedures in Rehearsal Rehearsing the Revivals Trouble with Actors Technique with the Individual Actor Discipline for the Acting Company The Delivery of Lines The Admiration of the Company First Night Behavior The Working Partnership IV . GILBERT AND THE PUBLIC........................................................................... 110 The Problem of the Playhouses C ensorship iv Chapter Page IV . GILBERT AND THE PUBLIC (continued) The M aintenance o f Good T aste The Reputation of the Theatre and the Company V. CONCLUSIONS...........................................................................................................125 BIBLIOGRAPHY................................................................. 132 y LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. The model stage used by Gilbert ..................................................25 2. Reconstruction of the Incantation Scene, Act I, The Sorceror ..........................................................................................42 3. "Positions for opening chorus," Act I, The Sorceror. 4 4 4. The Entrance of Katasha, Act I, The Mikado ............................... 46 5. Three Chorus positions from The Mikado (Act I ) ..................... • 47 6. Prompt notes for the Trio, "Three Little Maids Are We," Act I (The Mikado) .................................. 49 7. Positions following the Entrance Procession of the Mikado, with Katasha, Act I I .......................... 59 8. Engraving depicting a rehearsal, Gilbert present ..... 68 vi CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY The phenomenal success of the Gilbert and Sullivan light operas has been veil, perhaps excessively, documented. The popularity of the so~called Savoy Operas, particularly among literate middle-class audiences in England and the United States, gave rise to an almost mind- stopping array of books and articles as veil as a number of "authorita­ tive" biographies of Gilbert, Sullivan and Carte, the triumvirate vhich created the phenomenon. These studies detail, often in informal anec­ dotes, the circumstances surrounding the original productions. William Schvenck Gilbert has long fascinated English theatre historians. Each treatment of his career, except those devoted ex­ clusively to his dramaturgy, mentions his vork as 'producer,' 'stage manager,' or 'master sp irit.' He is respectfully credited vith having created the original productions of those remarkable operas devised in association with Arthur Sullivan. And yet, not one study treats this specific aspect of his career vith other than cursory attention. A couple of intriguing stories stolen from actor's memoires, a mention of his unusually lengthy and productive rehearsals, a sentence or two on his use of the model stage, usually suffice to explain his directorial prac­ t i c e . Of the manifold instances of the neglect and ignorance of G ilbert's directorial technique and philosophy, a few pieces of evidence may perhaps suffice. Leslie Baily in The Gilbert and Sullivan Book.* a generally authoritative and highly informative work, devotes part of a chapter to Gilbert as a ' p r o d u c e r'.^ Excepting the inclusion of a photographic copy of two promptbook pages, with no commentary, the segment is extremely inconclusive and slight. The Encyclopedia Britannica^ in the year of G ilbert's death, neglects to consider, in any degree, his work as a director. Typical of the commentators who do contribute a word or two on the subject is H. M. Walbrook in Gilbert and Sullivan Opera: A History and a Comment.^ Walbrook w rites, "W. S. Gilbert on the comic stage, and Henry Irving on the tragic, were the ablest English 'producers' of plays of the Victorian Era," and defends the statement with a trivial anecdote, and no apparent insight into the basic reasons for the success of the two directors. Reginald Allen, in his otherwise important bibliography of materials related to G ilbert's career,^ lists no significant sources relating directly to Gilbert's directorial practice. Gilbert is, moreover, often dismissed as a curious "martinet in the theatre,w hen clearly his behavior in rehearsal and with his professional colleagues, as this study w ill attempt to reveal, is attributable not to eccentricity nor to personal whim, but rather to his committment to certain artistic ideals which have since been recognized as the foundations of the modern director's art. Purpose of the Study The primary purpose of this dissertation will be to establish the premise that W. S. Gilbert, represented the advancement of "stage management" to a unique art in the musical theatre of the late 19th 3 C entury. As w ill be readily seen, this dissertation is primarily a con­ textual study, placing Gilbert, for the first time, among the well- documented nineteenth-century actor-managers, regisseurs. and other practitioners of the relatively new art of the director. Promptbooks have been used to establish certain aspects of G ilbert's practice, but this dissertation looks at the man in a broader perspective than the promptbooks alone would permit. The study w ill appraise aspects of G ilbert's directorial practice which the promptbooks do not illuminate, i.e ., rehearsal practices, attitudes toward the theatre-going public, guidance for the actor, etc. There are three secondary purposes: (1) to suggest that Gilbert's directorial practice contributed to the original success of the Savoy Operas in greater measure than has ever been formally recognized, ( 2 ) to survey the specific directorial methods by which Gilbert achieved the creative success which helped to win almost unanimous success for the operas, and (3) to present the man as a particular human being and as a sensitive craftsman. Research Methods and Sources The method of preparing this study has been essentially histori­ cal investigation and the synthesis of evidence gathered from primary and secondary resources. Those sections citing the promptbooks as evidence w ill be analytical. These documents, currently available o n ly in th e M anuscript D iv isio n o f th e B r itis h Museum, a re d e ta ile d records of the original productions and the early revivals, as directed by the author.^ They represent neat, lucid documentation