Environmental Theater

by Richard Schechner

Here are the exercises which began as radical departures from standard actor training etiquette and which stand now as classic means through which the performer discovers his or her true power of transformation. This expanded edition offers a new generation of theater artists the gospel according to Richard Schechner, the guru whose principles and influence have influenced a quarter century of theater.

Genres: Theatre

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

Reviews

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty insightful read. Schechner writes very clear explanations and I think it is probably a good book to start with going into environmental or immersive theatre.

[Fluffy Singler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has many many good suggestions and ways not only of directing, but of BEING in the theatre and making change through your actions as a director. I fear that much of this ethos has been lost, even tossed out as antiquated 60's techniques, but I find it very (re)fresh(ing) and I have my theatre students read it and consider what might apply to them. I have read various parts of it over the past 10 years and as I was directing a college production, I had my assistant directors read this book.

[Phillip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I am not a big fan of environmental theatre, Schnechner does an excellent job of explaining it in this book. I only read the opening couple of sections, but the way that Schechner talks about using space as part of a theatrical performance is really insightful. I especially like the idea that space, along with the actors, the text, props, and audiences must all exist in what he calls transactional relationships. In other words, the environmental theatre experience isn't one in which there is a specific set constructed according to a designer's vision, and a performance built through the actors' and director's vision, and a text written according to an author's vision. Instead, all of these elements and more grow together into a unified project developing into a whole.

[Zak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Schechner is a madman; he stands on the narrow line between the illegal and the mundane, the spiritually demonic and redemptive, the disturbing level of calm that comes only after acceptance of the greatest discomfort. His theories of theatre - "Theatre is sex and violence" - only pave the way to exercises of twisted brillance: he brings the audience in and folds real choice into a theatrical performance. Real meets ritual in the pages of this man's book. I have a great deal of respect for him... Behind which lurks a quiet terror.

[Brad · Rating 5 out of 5]

In live performance, every element can play a part from the instant the patrons arrive (the box office staff, the path from the box office to the performance space, the way the seating is arranged, and on and on and on). And in a performance space, everything can be used (the floor, the ceiling, the air between, the space behind the audience, the audience themselves). This book gives examples and inspiration.

One great takeaway is the need for the audience to be "initiated" into a space if the piece calls for them to serve as more than passive, unacknowledged spectators.