Brecht - Butcher

I've read a lot of Brecht plays and essays about theater, but I haven't seen too many productions -- maybe a couple unremarkable productions of Mother Courage. Seeing Lear DeBessonet/Stillpoint's production of St. Joan of the Stockyards at PS122 opened a window to some of the nuanced ideas in his play: the insidious cycles of supply/demand in commerce in the hands of greed-driven capitalist; how quickly the innocence of an idealist falters in the face of real hunger; the extent to which an institution will go to incorporate and subsume icons of purity to manufacture a narrative that appeals to the masses. But the ideas were presented in this production without much dimension. It is very difficult to isolate what the missing ingredient is in a show, because usually it's not a single identifiable thing.

Debessonet's production featured many many elements of fine artistry. The stage space located the audience in two sections, on opposing sides of the stage-alley, which was bookended by cul-de-sacs of playing area. An intricate and elegant multi-level set design featured a lot of moving industrial parts to indicate factory/butchery, stock market, stockyard, and a clear plastic greenhouse as Mauler's private lair. Gorgeous lighting as well, used to isolate actors on the runway, and also light up the entire room so the audience was forced to watch itself as well as the play. There was live music played by a kind of Christian folk-rock trio. There was dancing. There was stylized acting and innovative staging. There was an enlightening and moving theatrical experience bubbling to the surface.

But somehow all of the energy of the different performance elements, despite their clarity of intention, failed to coalesce and build on each other. And when it comes down to it, what was missing was a very fundamental thing that got mired in style: the heart of the play was not being communicated, leaving all the embellishing layers to ring hollow. The actors were obviously talented, skilled and committed -- excellent at executing vigorous physical sequences and spitting out the text with verve. But they had not digested the play in the deepest part of their gut. I was talking to Banana afterwards (over a bowl of ramen) and we agreed: for that vaudevillian high-octane performance style to work, the actors have to be able to really act, feel and connect with the text first. Then the richness of the layered performance can reveal and illuminate the story successfully. But without that groundwork, you are dressing something that hasn't yet been manifest. This isn't fancy talk here, not some uber-intellectual theory or anything. On a basic level, if you're sitting in a play and cannot absorb the text, barring a language barrier, there is something amiss in the performance. You can have high quality ingredients, but without mixing them thoroughly enough or cooking it properly, you will have a half-baked cake, no matter how much icing you put on it.

I know it seems like all I do is criticize and complain about theater productions, but really, I'm not trying to diss on anyone or anything (except for when things are truly clumsy and irresponsible). But it's no secret that it is really really hard to make a show that is really good, where the text, movement, aesthetics, concept, execution, story and heart are all integrated into a synergistic experience. When that does happen, there is nothing more thrilling.