Writer-critic-teacher Margo Jefferson sees one role of a critic as being a consumer guide. "We are having a conversation with our audience. We're connecting a theatre experience to a person's own experience. We need to remind them how interesting it is to think and feel about theatre." She added, "There's also a larger ramification. It should also make you think about your own life."
These are just some of the thoughts on theatre expressed by Ms. Jefferson, who was the guest speaker at the American Theatre Critics Association's annual "Perspectives in Criticism" lecture at its convention last month in Miami.
Ms. Jefferson, who just recently decided to step down from her role as the Sunday New York Times theatre critic in order to write about a wider range of cultural subjects, is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author of a book on criticism, teaches writing on popular culture at Columbia University where she herself received her Master's degree, and previously reviewed books for the Times.
What made her make the move from reviewing books to writing about theatre?
Ms. Jefferson expressed her long-standing love of theatre (she acted with The Living Theatre in the '60s), and stated that theatre emphasizes the visual and oral elements that aren't thrust upon you in literature. "It stretches your senses," she pointed out. She also noted that as a theatre critic she is much more in collaboration with the reader than she was when she was reviewing books.
She spoke about the "sanctity of the theatre experience," the idea that the same thing can't happen again. "It is a very intimate art--even in big theatres. It's forced upon us. Not only are we taking in the acting, lighting, directing; we're also taking in the subtext."
While movies are "invulnerable," she explained that the stage is "social physiology" at work. She noted the success of some of this past season's plays: "A Delicate Balance," "Buried Child," and much of "Seven Guitars," emphasizing their "irreplaceable experience." On the other hand, she said that "no art experience I've had is as depressing, as depleting, as a bad play."
Noting the plethora of American musicals on our theatre landscape, Ms. Jefferson told her audience of fellow critics that with the likes of "Damn Yankees," "Kiss of the Spider Woman," and others, we are in a kind of a time warp. " 'Cats.' 'Phantom'--they're all beautiful to look at but they don't have a language of their own," she stated.
"Theatre borrows technical effects from film. There's nothing the matter with that," she said, "but theatre is now so panicked, that it now competes with the movies." She gave as an example the sets from "Sunset." She overheard an audience member saying, "Glenn Close--she works so hard!," and Ms. Jefferson quickly said, "that's not supposed be part of the theatre experience."
Ms. Jefferson turned her attention to revivals, stressing the demands that they make, while noting that too often these demands are not being met. Producers will often bring in a few 'star' performers who may not meet the demands of script or director and, therefore, "all we get is a revival that is a recapitulation. I can't present this to my students or to a theatregoer who may only be able to buy one ticket all season," she emphasized. "If producers are really serious," she continued, "they need to do some fundamental things." She suggested more rehearsal time as one possible solution.
Ms. Jefferson certainly does not deny the validity of a revival: It's a way of keeping alive our theatre history. She used Off-Off-Broadway's Pearl Theatre Company as an example of a company that works hard at doing revivals of classics that manage to move their audiences.
She talked about the springing up of small spaces around the city--lofts, coffee houses, unused school spaces--as venues for performance art, which she's "very much a believer in." She likes the sense of "possessiveness" that many of these artists have--"this is my space, my piece of art," as opposed to, "let's put on a show that appeals to everyone."
Again, looking at some of this past season's plays, Ms. Jefferson remarked that they all made their way to Broadway, that they're not in their natural terrain, and that they all tested their forms in regional theatres. "The rest of the country is feeding Broadway," she stated. "I'm angry that Broadway is dependent on these other places."
However, the saving grace for musicals this past season, according to the critic, was "Bring in 'Da Noise, Bring in 'Da Funk" and "Rent," which originated Off-and Off-Off-Broadway, respectively. "They both forged a real alliance between traditional forms and tap [as in "Noise/Funk"] and rock and reggae ["Rent"].
"What worked so well for both of them is the sense of old and new. It's everyday life transformed into another form It makes one think and feel about it in a new way," she said. "Williams and O'Neill can do that for you, too."
There was a question from the audience about how Ms. Jefferson chooses what she's going to review. Aside from the shows that she has to review, there are several factors that influence her decision: the reputation of the theatre, an unexpected season, a specific collaboration, or a revival--with a genuinely interesting cast. Her personal tastes attract her to certain spaces that do the kind of work that she responds to; particular artists that she has previously seen; the art form itself; and an art-form overlap, such as dance with musical theatre and poetry; or a director that is likely to take more risks.
Another member of the audience asked Ms. Jefferson how she uses her position of power to try to "transform the world."
"I try to show how theatre connects with culture. I try to write about how indispensable theatre is. I try to vary my tone. If I think a theatre piece is a moral outrage, if it's harmful, I will try to denounce it in stern terms." On the other hand, "I try to throw my weight behind work that I think should exist--work that pushes at the boundaries of theatre."
For those already attending the Theatre Communications Group's conference this weekend at the McCarter Center in Princeton, N.J.: Ms. Jefferson will be moderating a panel, Thursday afternoon (now closed), on the creative process of "Bring in 'Da Noise, Bring in 'Da Funk," with George C. Wolfe and Savion Glover. She's a dynamic speaker, and if you're booked for it already, you're in for a