The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 18.0280  Friday, 6 April 2007

From: 		Paul Hebron <
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Date: 		Friday, 6 Apr 2007 09:11:06 -0400
Subject: 18.0269 Alms for Oblivion
Comment: 	Re: SHK 18.0269 Alms for Oblivion

Surely every actor reading this thread was caused to think, agreeing 
with it or not, of the Old Actor's council to his Younger 
Colleague....."It's ok to steal, kid.  Just make sure you steal from the 
best."

Agreeing with David Lindley in this regard, where is the value, in this 
subjective art form, in novelty for novelty's sake?  Is it not enough, 
as actor, director, lighting designer, or any other member of a 
production's collaborative team, to make the creative choices you 
believe in and then stand behind them, whether they're unique and 
original or largely derivative?  I would suggest that when the 
replication of a particular piece of business, or an actor's choice, or 
the directorial staging of a scene fails to satisfy, the fault lies not 
in the "steal", but in the failure to fully realize that moment or to 
integrate it into the context of the present production.

At least in the most general terms, the litmus test for any creative 
team is quite simple; for them, the moment works, or it doesn't. If they 
believe it does, that's their choice, and everything else becomes 
someone else's (however well informed or well educated) opinion.

Paul Hebron

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