Twentieth Century Theater the Group

¶ … Twentieth Century Theater

The Group Theater believed that theater was an active concept, which relied on the self-defining nature of the movements within it; in many ways this ideology, seen in such plays as Waiting for Lefty, illustrated how the Group Theater wanted to inspire greater action in both American life and theater during a time of great instability. Group Theater believed in the concept of an active notion within the development of theater. Theater was meant "to develop a technique of its own, to embody a common attitude towards life, that the audience more or less shares" (Classical TV 2011). In this ideology, theater could extend its traditional role as purely entertainment and become a staple of modernity and cultural relevance. Here, the film states that "such a theater may be socially, politically, or religiously motivated, but it must develop an identity, a style, a face, a meaning of its own" (Classical TV 2011). Clurman envisioned theater to be an active experience, that did not sit idly by as the external environment defines it.

These themes were then represented in how the Group executed its redefining of both life and theater in a volatile period. Everyone was down and gloomy because of the Great Depression. Yet, Clurman made sure that his theater as based out of optimism. Thus, theater, in many ways, spread exciting statements that would help inspire and motivate Americans in a time of great instability. This can be seen in Waiting for Lefty, with the action being the cab labor strike. The play was incredibly engaging with the audience, as it uses the audience as participants in the actual labor movement. The play relies on audience participation, "let's hear what the red boys gotta say!" (Odets 6).

This was an interesting element to the play, but also served to support the underlying notion of action that was so important within the larger theatrical ideology practiced by the Group Theater at the time. It eventually received with enormous enthusiasm because it represented the Group Theater's idea of action as a way to take charge in one's own life.

Question 2

There are a number of major themes in Elmer Rice's the Adding Machine, two of which are related and relevant to today. One of the major underlying thematic structures in the Adding Machine is the notion that society demands conformity. Society demands that individuals loose their unique abilities and skills in order to simply be just another face in a factory line or in a window-less office. The uniqueness of life is gone. The company Mr. Zero works in is a nameless corporation that is meant to resemble the major conglomerates that all dominated society and politics in a modern capitalist era (Rice 34). This shows that there is a pressure from corporate culture to conform in order to keep the system running smoothly. Moreover, there is the theme of how futile the modern life can be when one does bend to the conforming demands of society. This theme is related to the first, but shows how decimating life can be when you actually give up that identity and chance at a unique life. Mr. Zero looses everything, and in the after life is forced to witness just how futile his life was. Yet, in the end, Mr. Zero does get a chance to try a better strategy at real success.

Even though the play was originally written in 1923, I believe that it is still incredibly relevant in today's turbulent times. As the Occupy Wall Street movement has gathered so much attention in recent months, it is clear that big business is still dominating how society functions, and demands a conformity that disenfranchises the individual, stripping away his or her ability to enjoy life without corporate drama. In many ways, I believe this play may be even more relevant today that it was in the past. With more Americans basically under feudal conditions to repay debts, many have no choice but to succumb to corporate American in order to keep their heads above water. And the recent housing market crash shows that even when one devotes one's life to such conformity, everything can still be stolen from under you from the very banks and corporations you have been so devoted to for years.

Short Essay

The mind of Orson Welles brought American theater into a new era. The 1930s was an incredibly turbulent and volatile time. The Great Depression made life almost unbearable for millions of Americans. As a result of these emerging social themes, American theater began to adapt. The Mercury Theater Group, headed by the notorious Orson Welles, represented the evolution of American theater at the time in two major ways: first by adapting to the new medium of radio which represented the society's love of new technologies and second by its use of tragic comedies that both acknowledged the pain and suffering of life in the Great Depression, but often with a comedic twist.

The Mercury Theater was a major player in the 1930s theater scene. The group was originally formed by two founders, John Houseman and Orson Wells in 1937 (Scarborough 1). The two had met earlier during a production of the Cradle Will Rick at the Federal Theater Project in the middle of 1937. At the time, Orson Welles was extremely young, at only twenty-one years old. He had burst onto the spotlight in the play originally written by Marc Blitzstein that focused on labor unions in an operatic format. After their initial success, the pair began the Mercury Theater group in August of 1937 (). The beginnings of the theater were humble, with extremely limited funding; however, the group began to gather the attention of critics and the public. November of 1937 saw the first production, Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. The production immediately began great controversy, which was the original plot behind its construction, which essentially brought them to the forefront of theater at the time period.

One of the most interesting elements of the Mercury Theater Group was its relevance based on its use of new technologies as a modern medium for their theater productions. Orson Welles had previous history with radio programs, as he had written and performed the March of Time in 1935 (Scarborough 1). The Mercury Theater Group first entered into radio productions with its seven series performance of Les Miserable's, by Victor Hugo. The book was drafted into seven series that played on Friday nights in 1937 on a station known as the Mutual Broadcasting System. This was not entirely Mercury Theater, but had many of the major actors and participants of the group. However, this original series then led to another production in 1938. Here, the research states that "the summer of 1938 found Orson Welles with the chance to display the talents of his Mercury Players on his own series to be broadcast from New York City," (Scarborough 1). This was the Mercury Theater on Air, which hosted weekly 60 minute productions over a span of nine weeks. Pretty soon, "it became increasingly apparent to the more perceptive radio listener that the Mercury Theater was something special" (Scarborough 1). This notoriety eventually led to one of the most infamous productions of the Mercury Theater, the War of the Worlds. The production was a very theatrical rendition of H.G. Well's sci-fi classic.

With his participation in the Mercury Theater Group, Welles brought the company into the modern era by blasting them on one of the newest modern technologies that was beginning to filter out into the masses. More and more people were purchasing radio sets, and so Welles push for production on radios reached a much wider audience than traditional play productions in a theater would have witnessed. According to the research, "unlike many anthology series before and since, the stories were chosen because of their suitability to the radio medium" (Scarborough 1). The Mercury Theater Group specifically designed performances and productions in order to fit this emerging new medium, representing the overall cultural undertone in American society that wanted and demanded all of the new emerging technologies. The birth of what we consider the modern era was during this period, where our favorite everyday electronic gadgets were taking shape as major staples in the consumer market. As these new technologies became more available to American society, the arts and theater began to adapt to the desire for them. When radio really took off, American theater began to adapt in order to tap into its potential to reach mass audiences that was not possible in traditional theater. During the 1930s, radio made it possible to have real theater take place within the confines of the individual American home. The Mercury Theater Group was at the forefront of molding American theater to fit this new medium that was in such great demand at the time.