Diane Paulus

Diane Paulus opens up about the urge to court controversy and create community with her unusual projects

[Diane granted us two interviews -- one before the Broadway opening of Porgy and Bess, one after. We had a LOT of material from those interviews, more than we could trim to fit in this print version of the article. To read everything Diane had to say, including her take on unconventional spaces and advice for an young director, check out the companion piece here. -ed.]

As artistic director of the American Repertory Theater in Boston and through her freelance directing, Diane Paulus seeks to reshape our notions of what the theatrical experience is all about. For her, theatre is not simply an event to sit down and enjoy. She wants you to bask in the performance and even become a part of it, as she has done with her rousing rendition of Hair, her standing room nightclub shows like The Donkey Show and Prometheus Bound, and the unorthodox Sleep No More, the  installation piece chronicling Macbeth’s mental breakdown.

Diane Paulus with her Tony Award for directing Hair.

The artistic director of American Repertory Theater spends more time with SD.

Diane Paulus had a lot to say, above and beyond her words on the Porgy and Bess revision. In our two conversations with her she held forth whether commercial concerns affect her work, why she challenges presentation conventions, and even had some advice for directors starting out. All this and a slideshow of images from the Broadway production of The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess after the jump!

The Washington Senators became the Pittsburgh Pirates in the Manatee Players production of Damn Yankees.

Copyright law requires permission before touching a script here’s how to make it work

It’s not uncommon for directors to regard the script as a starting point—allowing for changes that may be needed to make the show work in their theatre, with their actors and their audience. They might consider cutting lines, changing the gender or name of a character, resetting the play in a different locale or time period, or removing objectionable language.

Here's the contract language from a few of the large play publishers stating their policy on script changes:

The incandescent color spectrum curve

There's a time and place for everything, including amber.

In the September 2011 issue I wrote a piece, “The Ethics of Color,” where I proposed a very specific approach to the use of color media in the theatre. Two concerns were brought up about this by readers (and myself upon a later read). First: The approach did not take into consideration the myriad lamp types we have beyond the ubiquitous HPL for Source 4. And second: The piece may have given the impression that amber is never a good choice. This is far from the case.

SD Editor Jacob Coakley

How do you get what you're getting?

Yesterday was an online day of protest against the SOPA and PIPA acts, which would drastically re-write laws regarding how the law handles copyright infringers online. The backers of the bills say that the laws are necessary to stop content piracy, which is hurting the entertainment industry through lost jobs and untold millions of lost income. It is important to keep in mind that the people saying these things are also the people who thought that VCR’s would destroy the movie industry and who sued a deceased grandmother for downloading music files.

Scott Richard Foster and Antoinette LaVecchia in You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up!

A touring production with too much going on uses technology to simplify

When the design team for the inaugural production of You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up!, by Annabelle Gurwitch and Jeff Kahn, sat down for their first design conversation, everything sounded pretty simple. It was a small, two-person touring show: unit set, props and costumes should fit into a couple of roadcases, minimal lighting requirements, a few atmospheric sound cues, that sort of thing. The requirements quickly grew, however. Set in the framework of an anniversary dinner, the play details the trials and tribulations of the couple’s relationship in hilarious vignettes covering first meeting, courtship and marriage as it travels back and forth in time and location—a challenging sequence for a small tour. By the time the show opened in Charlotte there were nearly 100 light cues, half a dozen practicals and around 50 sound cues, all needing to be run by one operator over the course of a 75-minute show.

Stephen Ellison

For everyone’s safety, let’s bust a few fire curtain myths

Periodically, J.R. Clancy sends out a “Rigging Report” newsletter; you can sign up on their website if you do not get it already. The November edition of this newsletter, written by Eric Mueller, asked the question, “Is your fire safety curtain closed?” This question made me pause, challenging my understanding about fire curtains and how to use them. I did some research, and found a couple of the things I thought I knew about fire curtains were wrong. So let’s talk about the reality of the care and feeding of a fire curtain and dispel some of these myths.

The interior of the Siefert Auditorium in the Skip Viragh Center for the Arts

Atlanta Rigging gave Chaminade College Prep a rigging system that offered maximum opportunities and safety

Every theatre space has its own unique challenges,” says Sarah Armstrong. “Our gymatorium’s challenge was trying to make the space and its equipment work for us.”

As director of drama and theatre at Chaminade College Prep School in St. Louis, Armstrong now has a new “problem” — an embarrassment of riches in the form of the new Skip Viragh Center for the Arts. “Our new theatres inspire us to learn how to work with new technology and to create something as beautiful as the space that surrounds us.”

Rigging isn’t just about holding up lights and scenery—Flying By Foy handles the rigging for hundreds of fliers a year, including this chandelier performance on the Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines Splendour of the Seas. Courtesy of Hariton/Baral Design

The strategies and safety concerns driving the rigging industry

The demands of audiences, the needs of directors and the concern for safety appear to have created a perfect storm toward more complicated rigging. FLI Rigging’s Kevin Phail points out that rigging is getting increasingly important as bigger rock ‘n’ roll-like shows like American Idiot and Rock of Ages get more popular.