Mis-directing the Play ─ An Argument Against Contemporary Theatre

Arguing for a radical reorganization of the stage director’s view of his role, Terry McCabe challenges the notion that a play is the director’s vehicle for self-expression. The idea of the director as centerpiece of the theatre, he declares, distorts plays and oppresses the actors. Mr. McCabe explores what it means to direct a play when directing is properly understood as a process of self-effacement and faithfulness to the playwright’s vision. “An eminently sensible polemic delivered with cogent examples and equally cogent arguments.”—Nicholas Rudall. “A call to responsibility and—dare I say it?—adulthood. It is also the fuel for what could be some constructive arguments among colleagues.”—Jeffrey Sweet.

Terry McCabe has directed plays professionally in the Chicago area for more than twenty years, winning two Jefferson citations and a Fringe First Award at the Edinburgh International Arts Festival. He studied theatre at Indiana and Northwestern universities and now teaches directing and other theatre classes at Columbia College in Chicago. He lives in Evanston, Illinois.