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Xerox University Microfilms 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106 76-3458 HUSTON, Hollis Wilburn, 1947- MACREADY AND THE ORIGINS OF THEATRICAL DIRECTION. The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1975 Theater I Xerox University Microfilms, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106 © Copyright by Hollis Wilburn Huston 1975 ................................................................ m THIS DISSERTATION HAS BEEN MICROFILMED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED. MACREADY AND THE ORIGINS OF THEATRICAL DIRECTION DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Hollis Wilburn Huston, B. A,, M* A. ***** The Ohio State University 1975 Reading Committee: Approved By Alan L« Woods, Chairman A. Richard Nichols Charles A. Ritter Advisor Department of Theatre VITA. April 10, 1947 • • • • • Born - Durham, North Carolina 1968 • ••••••... B. A., Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio 1968-1969. House Manager and Publicity Director, Tufts Arena Theatre, Medford, Massachusetts 1969-197 0........... Teaching Assistant and Actor, Department of Drama, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts 1970 •••••••••• M.A., Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts 1970-1971. ••••••• Instructor of Drama and Speech, Tougaloo College, Tougaloo, Mississippi 1971-1975. ••••••. Teaching Associate, Department of Theatre, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio PUBLICATIONS "Macready's Richelieu Promptbooks: a Step toward the Box Setting," Theatre Studiesa No. 21. "The Possibilities of Mime," Theatre News, 7, No. 4, p. 9. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page VITA ...................................................... it LIST OF FIGURES* ................................... iv Chapter I. THE QUESTION ................................. 1 William Charles Macready • • • . ......... 8 Publications on Macready • •••.«••• 18 Methodology. ••••*•••••••.»• 24 II. MACREADY'S TECHNICAL MANAGEMENT............. 34 Scenery. •••• •••••• 68 Practicable Levels •*•»••••• 69 Non-Parallel Scenery •••••••• 96 Enclosed Settings. ............. 114 Summary. .. ••••••• 149 Lighting ..... ...... 156 Sound, ........... 164 III. MACREADY AND HIS SUPERNUMERARIES........... 168 Static Elements— Picturization 170 Crowd Movements and Business ............. 265 IV. CHARACTER BUSINESS .......................... 298 V. SUMMARY................................ 328 Macready and the Star System ••••... 328 Macready's Rehearsal Schedule. ..•••• 338 Conclusions. 342 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................ 351 ill LIST OF FIGURES Page 1. Coriolanus, Scharf, triumphal entry. 40 2. Coriolanus, Scharf, Roman Senate • • • • • 43 3. Coriolanus, Scharf, dead march •••••• 46 4- King Lear, Scharf, abdication scene. 49 5* King John, Hall of State, Telbin design, • 53 P. 182. 6. Richelieu, Scharf, Louvre presence .... 57 chamber. 7. Othello, Scharf, Council scene .......... 74 8. Othello, Council scene, P. 1611. • • • • • 76 9. Virginius, Scharf, Forum ................. 79 10. Henry V, Scharf, Siege of Harfleur • • • • 87 11. The Merchant of Venice. Trial scene, P. • 90 1605. 12. To Marry or Not to Marry, Forest, P. • • 100 1149. 13. William Tell, Scharf, Tell's Cottage . 103 14. King John, Siege of Angiers, P. 29 . • 111 15. Werner, Scharf, Decaying Palace... 117 16. Werner, Decaying Palace, P. 1613 • • • • • 120 17. Macbeth, Sleepwalking scene, P. 1157 . 123 iv 18. Cvmbeline, Imogen*s bedroom, F. 544* ...... 126 19. The Bridal, frontispiece, P. 1147* • 128 20. Richelieu, Richelieu's office, P. 1134,. • • • • 130 Book #3• 21. Richelieu, Scharf, Richelieu's office* • . • • • 132 22. Richelieu, Palace at Ruelle, P. 1134, Book #2. • 136 23. Richelieu, Scharf, Palace at Ruelle. •••••• 138 24. The King of the Commons, discovery scene, P. • • 143 1150. 25. Macbeth, Scharf, alarm after the murder........ 145 26. Richelieu, asymmetrical enclosure, P. 1134,. • • 148 Book #1. 27. The Spitfire, frontispiece, F. 601 ••••••• 153 28* Chaos Is Come Again, frontispiece, F. 791. .... 155 29 • Macbeth, meeting with Duncan, P. 1165. • • • • • 175 30* Macbeth, alarm after the murder, P. 1165 • • • • 178 31. Macbeth, invitation to the banquet, P. 1165. • . 180 32. Macbeth, gathering at Birnam Forest, P. 1165 • • 182 33. Macbeth, final tableau, P. 1165. •••••••• 185 34. Henry V (first production), presenting the . 188 Pedigree, P. 1601 35. Henry V (first production), French camp, P. • • 190 1601. 36. Henry V (first production), English camp, P. • . 192 1601. 27 • Henry V (first production), the King intervenes, 195 P. 1601. v 38* Henry V (first production), Alliance, • • • 197 P. 1601. 39. As You Like It, final tableau, P. 1595# . • 201 40. King John, confrontation with nobles, P. 203 29• 41# Henry VIII, court scene, P. 1602. • • • • • 206 42. Hamlet, the Players, P. 1610, •••«•«• 209 43. Hamlet, duel scene, P. 1 1 5 3 ............ 212 44. Ion, the Great Square, Harvard *65T-25. • • 214 45. Ion, altar scene, Harvard *65T-25 ........ 217 46. Ion-i altar scene (later), Harvard • • • • • 219 *65T-25, 47. Henry V (first production), State Chamber,. 221 P. 1601. 48* Henry V (first production), Siege of. 223 Harfleur, P. 1601. 49. Henry V (first production), English Camp, • 226 P. 1601. The Winter1s Tale, accusation of • • • . • 233 Hermione, P. 1609. 51. The Winter1s Tale, Paulina's entrance . 235 P. 1609. 52. The Winter's Tale, Shepherd's Cottage,. • • 238 P. 1609. 53. The Winter1s Tale, Polixenes's entrance,. • 240 P. 1609. 54. The Winter's Tale, continuation, P. 1609. • 242 55. The Winter's Tale, clustered groupings, • . 245 P. 1609. vi Julius Caesar, Assassination scene, P. 1604. • • 247 57* Coriolanus, Volscian camp, P. 1598 • •••.•• 250 58* King John, State Chamber, P.29.^.»...... 253 59. King John, instructions to Hubert, P. 29 • • • • 256 60* Hamlet, meeting the Ghost, P. 1153 ..••••• 258 61* Henry V (second production), the • ••.•••• 261 conspirators, P. 1600. 62. Henry V (second production), the traitors. 264 isolated, P. 1600. Except for the Ion promptbook, all catalogue numbers are from the John H. McDowell Archives of the Ohio State University Theatre Research Institute. For further information on the sources of these illustrations, see the footnotes in the text. vii 1 CHAPTER I THE QUESTION director (di rector, di-). 3. the person responsible for the interpretive aspects of a stage, film, television, or radio production; the person who super­ vises the integration of all the elements, as acting, staging, lighting, etc., required to realize a playwright's conception. The art form called theatre is known to be at least two and a half millenia old, and in that scale of time, the director is a rank newcomer. Researchers have traced the origins of modern direc­ ting as far back as the middle third of the nineteenth century. Great directors have been associated with the most diverse theatrical styles; the emergence of the powerful director, however, seems inextricably bound up with the emergence of modern realism^ from neo-classic formalism. Before Meierhold, there was Stanislavski; before Copeau, there was Antoine; before Piscator, there was Brahm. The great Realist directors of the turn of ^The Random House Dictionary of the English Language, the Unabridqed Edition (New York: Random H5uSerX^6577 P. 4071 ----------- the century stood at the end of a long line. They had all seen performances of the Meininger troupe, in the 1870's and 80*s. They admitted being influ- : enced by their unified, three-dimensional use of space, by their detailed crowd scenes, and by their ensemble acting style. The Meiningers have often been called the first company to show the work of a