A
Glimpse of Theatre History
Georg
II, Duke of Saxe- Meiningen (1826-1914), Regisseur
Often called the first "modern director," Georg II is surely worthy of the title for in an out-of-the-way, otherwise insignificant duchy, Georg II achieved that total integration of production sought by stage directors since David Garrick. The high quality of his productions which toured the world influenced some of the theatre's most famous and innovative pioneers including André Antoine and Konstantin Stanislavski.
George II himself designed the sets, trained his actors and personally conducted the rehearsals, "first to arrive and last to go." His process, now widely emulated, began long before rehearsals began. He had about him people with experience in the theatre to help him translate his ideas into reality, and he used them to his advantage. His wife, the morganatic Baroness von Heldburg had been an actress and in the early years of the Meiningen from 1866 to about 1870 she was his assistant along with writer-teacher Friedrich von Bodenstedt. It was Bodenstedt who influenced the Duke to eschew stars in favor of an ensemble. Bodenstedt was replace in 1870 by Jewish comedian Ludwig Chronegk who served as stage manager and assistant director until his death in 1891. His literary advisor was historian Karl Werder, though the Baroness had a vast knowledge of German and English literature and together they helped the Duke prepare the texts into Regiebüchern (modern prompt books) prior to actual rehearsals. The Duke planned each moment of each scene and paid special attention to stage pictures often sketching specific compositions in the margins.
One of his primary aesthetic ideas was that the "stage set be consistent with the stage space." This meant that chairs, tables, chimneys and doors should be real. He made extensive use of levels, step units and platforms to "break up" the stage. He became involved in scenic design because he felt that "the scenic effects must be fundamentally related to the actor." He sought to integrate the scenery into the action and formulated some very specific ideas which he published in 1909. the included:
| 1. In composition avoid the middle of the picture
being congruent to the middle of the stage. 2. Nothing (set piece) center stage. 3. Never have two actors stand equidistant from the prompter's box. 4. Watch actor's position in relation to painted decorations. 5. Scenery on which the actor leans must be strong. 6. Use tree branches, etc. above the stage, masking proscenium in exterion settings. 7. Break the monotony of the stage floor into levels. 8. Maintain historical accuracy. |
He also used authentic sound and music whenever possible, varied intensities of light, especially after the advent of electric lighting and insisted on historically accurate costuming.
In his work with the actor he developed the following ideas:
| 1. Casting should consider only personality
and talents of company players. 2. Have leading actors play small roles, raising the small role in the estimation of the actor. 3. Develop the ensemble of actors into an effective "crowd" by having one experienced actor in charge of a section of extras, with "memorized" dialogue from written texts, precisely planned movement, watching carefully the line of heads. 4. Observe all movement from both visual and accoustical points of view. |
Most of these reforms have been embraced totally by most modern directors, though not always with the same intensity or success. Asked by his biographer Max Grube why he had undertaken his exhaustive reforms, the Duke replied simply, "I was annoyed that Shakespeare was so badly played on the German stage."