ANNE BOGART ESSAY
Overview:
American director Anne Bogart, born 1951, was influenced at an early age (early teens) by the power of theatre, which inevitably shaped her eventual convictions in the craft and led to her successes as a director and theatre-maker. Throughout her career, Bogart staged an eclectic mixture of theatre, including yet not limited to contemporary and modern plays, musicals, opera, as well as dance-theatre pieces and many forms of experimental/avant-garde theatre. Bogart was passionate about making theatre that would “reclaim theatre as an arena for action in which audiences are communally engaged” (Climenhaga, p. 288). She did not believe in theatre as being a sort of pre-packaged product to be ‘sold’ to audiences and easily digested. She wanted to invite her audiences to really become active receivers of the theatre, rather than be passive spectators of a pleasant show. Anne Bogart founded and became artistic director of the ensemble-based theatre company, the SITI (Saratoga International Theatre Institute), alongside Japanese director Tadashi Suzuki in 1992. Here, the two creative director’s practiced and combined their actor training methods, specifically Suzuki training and Anne Bogart’s area of expertise and system of creating theatre: the Viewpoints training. She has also co-written a book which identifies and outlines the primary Viewpoints, which acts as a practical training guide about theatre-making based on the adaptation of the Viewpoints training system by herself and co-author Tina Landau.
Characteristics of her work:
Anne Bogart was highly interested in creating bold new productions using avant-garde, or the experimental/innovative theatre-making techniques, as she wanted to be able to push the boundaries of conventional theatre. Bogart really literalised the idea of ‘taking the audience on a journey’ when she would stage productions in strange locations (ie. street corners). She had a fascination with using daily life environments for theatre
American director Anne Bogart, born 1951, was influenced at an early age (early teens) by the power of theatre, which inevitably shaped her eventual convictions in the craft and led to her successes as a director and theatre-maker. Throughout her career, Bogart staged an eclectic mixture of theatre, including yet not limited to contemporary and modern plays, musicals, opera, as well as dance-theatre pieces and many forms of experimental/avant-garde theatre. Bogart was passionate about making theatre that would “reclaim theatre as an arena for action in which audiences are communally engaged” (Climenhaga, p. 288). She did not believe in theatre as being a sort of pre-packaged product to be ‘sold’ to audiences and easily digested. She wanted to invite her audiences to really become active receivers of the theatre, rather than be passive spectators of a pleasant show. Anne Bogart founded and became artistic director of the ensemble-based theatre company, the SITI (Saratoga International Theatre Institute), alongside Japanese director Tadashi Suzuki in 1992. Here, the two creative director’s practiced and combined their actor training methods, specifically Suzuki training and Anne Bogart’s area of expertise and system of creating theatre: the Viewpoints training. She has also co-written a book which identifies and outlines the primary Viewpoints, which acts as a practical training guide about theatre-making based on the adaptation of the Viewpoints training system by herself and co-author Tina Landau.
Characteristics of her work:
Anne Bogart was highly interested in creating bold new productions using avant-garde, or the experimental/innovative theatre-making techniques, as she wanted to be able to push the boundaries of conventional theatre. Bogart really literalised the idea of ‘taking the audience on a journey’ when she would stage productions in strange locations (ie. street corners). She had a fascination with using daily life environments for theatre
References: Works Cited Brantley, B 1995, The Medium and the Resurgence of Expressionism, Digital Lantern San Francisco, viewed 27th March 2015, <http://www.digitallantern.net/mcluhan/artaud/medium.html> Climenhaga, R 2010, Anne Bogart and SITI Company: Creating the Moment, Actor Training – Edited by Alison Hodge, Routledge, London and New York. Cummings, S 2006, Remaking American Theatre: Charles Mee, Anne Bogart and the SITI Company, New York: Cambridge University Press. Donahoe, M 1997, Reviewed Works: Anne Bogart: Viewpoints, Women Stage Directors Speak: Exploring the Influence of Gender on their work, Theatre Journal Vol. 49 No. 4, The Johns Hopkins University Press, viewed 25th March 2015, <http://www.jstor.org/stable/3208414> Favorini, A 1997, Review: The Medium by Anne Bogart, Theatre Journal Vol. 49 No. 3, The Johns Hopkins University Press, viewed 22nd March 2015, <http://www.jstor.org/stable/3208653> Lampe, E 1992, From the Battle to the Gift: The Directing of Anne Bogart, TDR 1988 Vol. 36 No. 1, The MIT Press, viewed 21st March 2015, < http://www.jstor.org/stable/1146178>