Chandler's Manifesto

I appreciate realism. Actually, I guess it's less that I appreciate it and more that I need it from theater. I need realistic dialogue, realistic scenery and props (if scenery and props appear in the production), realistic casting. I only believe it when people interrupt each other and stumble over their words and actually take the time to think and pause in the middle of a monologue, rather than just spew out words from memory. This is, of course, tricky, because there are so many plays that make a statement primarily because they are unrealistic. And then there are so many classics (Shakespeare's plays are prime examples) which are too dated and old-fashioned to be "real" in terms of dialogue. But this is not a deal-breaker! As much as I crave realism in a script itself, there are ways to interpret any script to give it a more true-to-life quality. For example, last year in the Madness in Literature class, we saw a production of Hamlet and, sitting there watching the show and then afterwards for at least I week, I became obsessed. I had never seen a version of Shakespeare that actually struck a chord for me, that gave these sometimes dusty words a new twist, a modern significance. I argue that this was due to the acting and direction of the show, but it's a good example of how even "unrealistic" scripts still have elements of reality in them. So basically what I'm saying, in a roundabout way, is that I will automatically appreciate a script if the dialogue and plot and stage directions are realistic. This, to me, creates good theater. But, even if the writing is not as relatable as I want it to be, good theater can still be created via the work of the director/technical crew/actors.