AHDS Collections

Designing Shakespeare Collection - Video Interview Clip

- Audience Actor Relationship

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Designing Shakespeare Collection - Audience Actor Relationship
Filename	:	DS_SJ_vi22.mov
Short Desc	:	Twenty-Second video interview clip with Theatre Designer Sally Jacobs
Description	:	Question: Which is I suppose why I asked the Globe question in a way because I think that that's sort of a logical conclusion that that you, you know, want to have the audience right there and that you and that there is this sort of ongoing interaction and yet it doesn't necessarily work quite the way that I think people would have hoped. Answer: Well no it doesn't, well it could it could. But there's something for me anyway that's that's wrong in the relationship between the stage and the groundlings; one is to high and the other's too low. And there isn't a good spatial relationship there between those two things. Yes, you know, if there's if there's a spontaneous reaction to what's going on on the stage that's marvellous, but I don't like it contrived. And and this thing about spaces is vital because if you get into a space and the audience seating is not right and you can't see the full figure of actors on stage. A sort of glaring example is at Sadler's Wells which has been changed and converted, custom built for dance, and you cannot now see the dancers feet because the auditorium is not sufficiently raked. It's ridiculous, it supposed to be, you know, so how can you watch dancers if the heads of the people in front of you come up to the waists of the dancers and I've sat in several seats there. So this relationship between the audience and the and the stage space is as much a part of the design as anything else is for me. I leant that form Peter Brook. We would go into any theatre that we went into and the first thing he would do is he would take me into the stalls and say å?now lets look at the relationship between the audience and the, is this a good relationship? Do we have to alter it? Do we have to make this higher because that's too low or whatever?
Source	:	DS_10_05_02 (mini DV tape)
Format	:	Quicktime Progressive (video)
Type	:	Resource Movie
Rights	:	This clip may be used for educational purposes only, any commercial use of this material requires permission from the copyright holders. Misuse or misrepresentation may result in legal action. Copyright holder: Christie Carson, COMPH, Royal Holloway University of London.
Length	:	1 minute 31.16 second