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The Bard as Capitalist Tool.(Tina Packer)(Brief Article)(Interview)
Each summer some of the finest theater professionals in the business trek up to Edith Wharton's Berkshires estate to work with Tina Packer. After an acting career that included work with the Royal Shakespeare Company and BBC Productions, the British-born Packer founded Shakespeare & Company in 1978. It is now one of the largest and most acclaimed Shakespeare festivals in the United States. Packer is currently building new theaters, including a copy of Shakespeare's Rose, that will give her a year-round venue for her productions. She talked with NEWSWEEK's Vibhuti Patel at the Wharton home.
PATEL: Why did you start the company?
PACKER: I wanted to train actors as they were trained in Elizabethan times, by delving deeply into Shakespeare's text. I put language at the center; everything else--set, costumes, lights--is secondary. Through an intense experience with language, you can articulate almost every state known to man.
Why did you come to America?
American actors are physically alive, they look for psychological underpinnings, they have great energy and open minds. America's multiethnic culture is rawer, closer to Elizabethan, than England's. They weren't used to paying deep attention to language but have the ability to put it physically into their bodies. We work with actors and also with high-school kids and young offenders.
Is Shakespeare really relevant today?
Shakespeare cures everything. Drama offers a way for us to think about who we are, to tap into deeper parts of ourselves. Shakespeare comes alive in your soul and helps you contend with the human condition. Hamlet is the first modern hero because he knows there's no absolute answer. We make choices out of lesser versions of good--none's perfect. What's the most ethical? The most creative? The choice that'll make us grow? Shakespeare's an excellent guide for this. When Falstaff asks, "What is honor? Who hath it?" Shakespeare's saying, "What do you think, guys?" He's searching for a way to look at life.
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Source: HighBeam Research, The Bard as Capitalist Tool.(Tina Packer)(Brief Article)(Interview)