Director’s Blog: I’m afraid of GHOSTS
“Jacob Adler said that unless you give the audience something that makes them bigger - better - do not act… [Acting should] open up the vastness in you as a human being, to understand your place more than you do - not to be led by the Bible or anything else but the truth of modern life as given to you by certain genius-authors in the theatre who can make you into something tremendous” -Stella Adler, Stella Adler on Ibsen, Strindberg and Chekov
As soon as I agreed to direct Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts, I realized I was terrified. Sure, I have directing experience but how do you compare a middle school production of Aesop’s (Oh So Slightly Updated) Fables with a play written by “genius-author” Henrik Ibsen, the father modern theatre? The opportunity to direct Ghosts is certainly a privilege but I questioned whether I’d be able to live up to such great responsibility.
Well, the question has yet to be answered but I’m gaining confidence. And the confidence is not coming so much from belief in my directorial skills but rather from discovering first hand the brilliance of Henrik Ibsen’s playwriting. I read and reread the script and discover new, wonderful insights each time - each character and plot twist has so many layers. I’ve read several essays that expound upon the near perfection of Ibsen’s dramatic form and “ah ha!” lights go on in my head like fireworks.
I am being reminded that a director’s job is not to hatch the perfect “concept” and cram the play into her perception of what it should be. Rather, by staying intimately in tune with the script, the text and the subtext, the play will lead me and in turn lead the actors. This is the path that will lead us to creating theatre that “gives the audience something that makes them bigger.” I’m a little less afraid of Ghosts now. In fact, Ghosts inspires me.
-Tricia Jones
Director, Ghosts
Running October 9 - 25, 2008 in Columbus, OH. Details at http://raconteurtheatre.com
Tags: Directing, Ghosts, Ibsen, Modern theatre, theatre