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OPINION & COMPLAINT

 

OPINION AND COMPLAINT

In the theatre, everyone considers himself an expert. The critics speak from a position of assumed omnipotence, and every member of the audience fashions himself an expert, not only at playwriting but at acting and directing as well. This brings to mind the famous adage about opinions: They are like a nether part of the anatomy of which everybody has one. A professional director is one who has disciplined his tendency to elaborate on personal opinions. Everyone has an opinion. The parading of opinions is frequently an ego opportunity for an individual to upgrade his self-esteem when he is in the company of impressionable.

As for complaining, it is opposite to the artist's disposition.

An artist is a person who uses whatever is given in a creative manner. To complain that the production would have been better if there had been more rehearsal is simply to say what every director always feels. There is never enough rehearsal. There is never enough money. There is never enough time. To complain merely gives evidence of amateur status. A professional uses what is given to him. He neither apologizes for this nor complains about the circumstances, unless, of course, intends to change them and do something about them; that not complaint but a statement of creative resolution.

 

Ball, William. A Sense of Direction. New York : Drama Book Publishers, 1984.

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