The Piscator Notebook

253 Pages·2012·6.858 MB·English

by  Judith Malina

Piscator-01-c 13/3/12 12:29 Page i
The Piscator Notebook
“Piscator is the greatest theatre man of our time.”
Bertolt Brecht
“The Living Theatre produced some of the greatest theatre ever.”
Al Pacino
Judith Malina and The Living Theatre have been icons of political theatre
for over six decades. What few realise is that she originally studied under
another giant of 20th century culture, Erwin Piscator, in his Dramatic
Workshop at The New School in New York. Piscator founded the Workshop
after emigrating to New York, having collaborated with Brecht to create
“Epic Theatre” in Germany.
The Piscator Notebookdocuments Malina’s intensive and idiosyncratic
training at Piscator’s school. Part diary, part theatrical treatise, this unique
and inspiring volume combines:
• complete transcriptions of Malina’s notes from her first year at The
Dramatic Workshop, as well as reproductions of various of Piscator’s
teaching materials, syllabi and lectures;
• notes on Malina’s teachers, fellow students – including Marlon Brando
and Tennessee Williams – and New School productions;
• studies of Piscator’s process and influence, along with new essays on
the relationship between his teaching, Malina’s work with The Living
Theatre and “The Ongoing Epic”;
• aforeword by performance pioneer Richard Schechner.
The Piscator Notebook is a striking record of the genealogy of political
theatre practice in the 20th century, from Europe to the US. But it is also a
stunningly personal reflection on the pleasures and challenges of learning
about theatre, charged with essential insights for the student and teacher,
actor and director.
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Judith Malinais the daughter of Rabbi Max Malina and Rose Malina, who
gave up her own acting career to prepare Judith for a life of theatrical and
political commitment. Judith founded The Living Theatre in 1947 with Julian
Beck, continuing with Hanon Reznikov after Beck’s death, until Reznikov
passed away in 2008. After 64 years, she continues her political and exper-
imental theatre work in downtown New York City and worldwide. She has
been recognised with lifetime achievement awards by the Southern Eastern
Theatre Conference, National Theatre Conference, Association for Theatre
in Higher Education, New York Innovative Theatre Awards, and the OBIE
Awards, and is a member of the Theatre Hall of Fame. In 2008, President
Lula da Silva awarded her the Ordem de Merito for her theatre work in Brazil
in the 1970s.
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The Piscator
Notebook
BY JUDITH MALINA
Piscator-01-c 13/3/12 12:29 Page iv
First published 2012
by Routledge
2Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
©2012 Judith Malina
The right of Judith Malina to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means,
now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording,
or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice:Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Acatalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data
Malina, Judith, 1926-
The Piscator notebook / By Judith Malina.
p. cm.
Includes index.
1. Piscator, Erwin, 1893-1966--Criticism and interpretation.
2. Theatrical producers and directors--United States--Biography.
3. New School for Social Research (New York, N.Y.). Dramatic Workshop.
4. Malina, Judith, 1926---Diaries. 5. Actors--United States--Biography.
6. Theater--United States--History--20th century. 7. Theater--Political
aspects. I. Title.
PN2658.P5M35 2012
792.02'33092--dc23 2011050034
ISBN: 978-0-415-60073-6 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-415-60074-3 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-203-12816-9 (ebk)
Typeset in Univers and Sabon
by Keystroke, Station Road, Codsall, Wolverhampton
Piscator-01-c 13/3/12 12:29 Page v
Contents
List of Plates vii
List of Figures xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Foreword by Richard Schechner xv
Part 1: Weimar to The Dramatic Workshop 1
Personal History 3
Erwin Piscator: Germany to New York City 3
The Founding of The Dramatic Workshop, 1940 11
The Studio Theatre 12
TheTeachers at Piscator’s School 13
The Students 17
My Personal Struggle to Enter The Dramatic Workshop 31
Valeska Gert 32
Lunar Bowels: An Audition Piece 32
Part 2: The Notebook 35
v
CONTENTS
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Part 3: The Ongoing Epic 121
End of the Notebook and First Workshop Plays 123
Julian Beck 124
By Any Other Nameand Maurice Schwartz’s Yiddish Art Theatre 125
Piscator’s Basic Question: The Role of the Audience 125
Becoming a Director: A Confession 126
The Inspiration of Joseph Urban’s Architecture 127
Eleanor Fitzgerald 127
The Classes 128
The Plays 135
Kandinsky’s Great Insight 149
Piscator and the Audience 150
Objective Acting 152
Between Two Worlds 155
Piscator: Success and Failure 159
Piscator’s Return to Germany – and to Berlin 160
Eric Bentley 164
Piscator’s Influence 167
Piscator’s Influence: The Work of The Living Theatre 170
Afterword: Political Theatre, Theatrical Politics: Epic Theatre
in the 21st Century 194
References 198
Index 199
vi
CONTENTS
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Plates
Plate Section I
Plates can be found between pp. 34–35.
Plate 1. Piscator in tweed jacket. Collection Alfred J. Balcombe, Institut für
Theaterwissenschaft der Freien Universität Berlin. Copyright © Michael J.
Balcombe.
Plate 2. 1942 Dramatic Workshop program cover. Taken from Erwin Piscator:
Das politische Theater,courtesy of Officina Edizioni, Teatrino dei Fondi.
Plate 3. All the King’s Men. Taken from Erwin Piscator: Das politische
Theater,courtesy of Officina Edizioni, Teatrino dei Fondi.
Plate 4. The Flies,with Piscator, Maria Ley-Piscator and ensemble including
Judith Malina. Collection Alfred J. Balcombe, Institut für Theaterwissenschaft
der Freien Universität Berlin. Copyright © Michael J. Balcombe.
Plate 5. Piscator outside the Workshop’s summer theatre in Sayville, Long
Island, with students including Marlon Brando, Rod Steiger and Bernie
Schwartz (Tony Curtis). Taken from Erwin Piscator: Das politische Theater,
courtesy of Officina Edizioni, Teatrino dei Fondi.
Plate 6. Lysistrataensemble including Marlon Brando. Reproduced courtesy
of Erwin Piscator Papers, Special Collections Research Center, Southern
Illinois University Carbondale.
vii
PLATES
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Plate 7. Juno and the Paycockwith Judith Malina (far right), Gene Sacks and
Anna Berger. Collection Alfred J. Balcombe, Institut für Theaterwissenschaft
der Freien Universität Berlin. Copyright © Michael J. Balcombe.
Plate 8. Piscator with Maria Ley-Piscator, Saul Colin and Francis Adler.
Reproduced courtesy of Erwin Piscator Papers, Special Collections
Research Center, Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
Plate 9. Piscator with miniatures. Taken from Erwin Piscator: Das politische
Theater,courtesy of Officina Edizioni, Teatrino dei Fondi.
Plate 10. Students with camera. Collection Alfred J. Balcombe, Institut für
Theaterwissenschaft der Freien Universität Berlin. Copyright © Michael J.
Balcombe.
Plate 11. Tony Curtis. Collection Alfred J. Balcombe, Institut für
Theaterwissenschaft der Freien Universität Berlin. Copyright © Michael J.
Balcombe.
Plate 12. Harry Belafonte. Collection Alfred J. Balcombe, Institut für
Theaterwissenschaft der Freien Universität Berlin. Copyright © Michael J.
Balcombe.
Plate 13. Outside The Dramatic Workshop entrance. Collection Alfred J.
Balcombe, Institut für Theaterwissenschaft der Freien Universität Berlin.
Copyright © Michael J. Balcombe.
Plate 14. Students outside The Dramatic Workshop entrance. Collection
Alfred J. Balcombe, Institut für Theaterwissenschaft der Freien Universität
Berlin. Copyright © Michael J. Balcombe.
Plate 15. Piscator standing under stage lights. Taken from Erwin Piscator:
Das politische Theater,courtesy of Officina Edizioni, Teatrino dei Fondi.
Plate section II
Plates can be found between pp. 120–121.
Plate 16. Full repertory of plays produced at The Dramatic Workshop,
1940–52. Collection Alfred J. Balcombe, Institut für Theaterwissenschaft
der Freien Universität Berlin. Copyright © Michael J. Balcombe.
viii
PLATES
Piscator-01-c 13/3/12 12:29 Page ix
Plate 17. Architect Joseph Urban’s theater at The New School. Taken from
Erwin Piscator: Das politische Theater,courtesy of Officina Edizioni, Teatrino
dei Fondi.
Plate 18. McGrew mural in the Joseph Urban theatre. Collection Alfred J.
Balcombe, Institut für Theaterwissenschaft der Freien Universität Berlin.
Copyright © Michael J. Balcombe.
Plate 19. Piscator with Simone de Beauvoir and Saul Colin. Collection Alfred
J. Balcombe, Institut für Theaterwissenschaft der Freien Universität Berlin.
Copyright © Michael J. Balcombe.
Plate 20. Piscator with student. Collection Alfred J. Balcombe, Institut für
Theaterwissenschaft der Freien Universität Berlin. Copyright © Michael J.
Balcombe.
Plate 21. “The School that came to stay.” Collection Alfred J. Balcombe,
Institut für Theaterwissenschaft der Freien Universität Berlin. Copyright ©
Michael J. Balcombe.
Plate 22. Piscator’s production of Rasputin,1927. Taken from Erwin Piscator:
Das politische Theater,courtesy of Officina Edizioni, Teatrino dei Fondi.
Plate 23. Frankenstein,The Living Theatre, 1967. Reproduced courtesy of
The Living Theatre Archives.
Plate 24. The Money Tower,The Living Theatre, 1975. Reproduced courtesy
ofThe Living Theatre Archives.
Plate 25. Piscator in jail, 1930. Taken from Erwin Piscator: Das politische
Theater,courtesy of Officina Edizioni, Teatrino dei Fondi.
Plate 26. Judith Malina and Julian Beck in jail, 1971. Reproduced courtesy
ofThe Living Theatre Archives.
Plate 27. Judith Malina and Maria Ley-Piscator teaching at The Dramatic
Workshop II in 1990. Reproduced courtesy of The New School, New York.
Plate 28. Eureka!, The Living Theatre, 2008. Reproduced courtesy of The
Living Theatre Archives.
Plate 29. Judith Malina, Brad Burgess and Tom Walker rehearsing History
of the World,2011. Tower designed by Eric Olson. Reproduced courtesy of
Kennedy Yanko kennedyyankoart.com.
ix
PLATES