Today in Directing class we began to unravel the challenge of organizing space to create meaning. As some would say, theatre is simply “a frame trapping a piece of chaos.” At first look, it seems simple get people to stand on a stage and act out a moment – – but when that moment all gathers in a clump in the middle of the space or when the clump gets ironed out and becomes a line on the stage nothing of any power or significance is going to happen. It is only when the extremes of the four corners are considered and exploited that the picture can have any energy. Oddly enough the weakest places are in the center and in the middle. Average, medium, or normal kills lots and lots of possibilities on the stage.
It is the extreme that the bow is held back that creates the arrow with the most impact. Too close and too far mean much more than “just right.” Press the extreme; don’t touch the normal.