Theatre is a game of hide-and-seek. For both the hiders and the seekers, the thrill is in the discovery. When the rules of the game are too vague or too complicated, however, the audience can lose its urge to play; the prize no longer seems quite worth the hunt.
Interpretation
Theatre involves a playful exploration, but clarity in its rules is essential for audience engagement.
In this quote, John Lahr reflects on the nature of theatre as a playful and engaging experience akin to hide-and-seek. He emphasizes that the excitement comes from the act of discovery, but if the parameters of the performance are unclear or overly complex, the audience may lose interest and feel that the effort of engagement is not worth the rewards that theatre can offer.
In practice
During a theatre workshop, I quoted Lahr to emphasize the importance of clarity in directing.
I was the first critic ever to win a Tony - for co-authoring 'Elaine Stritch at Liberty.' Criticism is a life without risk; the critic is risking his opinion, the maker is risking his life. It's a humbling thought but important for the critic to keep it in mind - a thought he can only know if he's made something himself.
Writers don't always know what they mean - that's why they write. Their work stands in for them. On the page, the reader meets the authoritative, perfected self; in life, the writer is lumbered with the uncertain, imperfect one.
All the dancer's gestures are signs of things, and the dance called rational, because it aptly signifies and displays something over and above the pleasure of the senses.
I often painted fragments of things because it seemed to make my statement as well as or better than the whole could.
Making movies is both entirely ludicrous and incredibly hard. It's a preposterous way to spend your time. You give up a lot for the privilege of doing it, and one of the things you get are relationships of immense trust that you see forged in situations of immense stress.
For me, the creation of a photograph is experienced as a heightened emotional response, most akin to poetry and music, each image the culmination of a compelling impulse I cannot deny. Whether working with a human figure or a still life, I am deeply aware of my spiritual connection with it. In my life, as in my work, I am motivated by a great yearning for balance and harmony beyond the realm of human experience, reaching for the essence of oneness with the Universe.
Failure in the theater is more dramatic and uglier than any other form of writing. It costs so much, you feel so guilty.
Movies took you right up to the edge but kept you safe.
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