March 10« 1969
The N.C. Essay
Page 2
Jtlothcr
This aritioism of MOTHER COURAGE
Qon not be classified as a revieu.
It does not deal with the play it
self because the play has been pro
duced many times and I do not have
to judge its merits; they are indis
putable. My purpose is to evaluate
the Dvama department's production in
terms of its service to the play.
Moreover3 I address this criticism
to only those who have seen the pro
duction.
Bertolt Brecht’s MOTHER COURAGE
as produced by the Drama Department
of the North Carolina School of the
Arts is an irritation: an irritation
because of the acting, the produc
tion and the staging. Brecht re
quires a flow within a scene, a sen
se of immediacy and a consistency of
style. But there are so many vulgar
displays of cheap theatrics and con
flicting techniques (an indication
of the lack of a directorial hand to
shape and to prune), that the
strength of the play is overcome by
this production's mere execution of
plot.
The translation itself by Eric
Bentley inept. Lines like "I'm not
drinking, I'm thinking" impede the
production because the words are
woefully inadequate. The harmless
rhyme commands an unnecessary atten
tion that does not contribute to the
scene because the occupation for the
moment is specifically on the words.
Unfortunately, as it detracts from
the play, the actor whose line it is
suffers. To manage the part of
Swiss Cheese , David Sutor plays a
quality of innocence rather than a
person, but because the translation
of the role is so poor, that is his
only recourse. .Admirably, Sutor
does not go outside of the play pro-
A Review
Cpurage
per for his characterization and his
is an attractive and sincere por
trayal .
When it comes to burlesquing a
scene and making it something out of
Minsky's repertoire, the award for
No Competent Artistic Discretion
must go to Sam Barcelona and Chris
tine Rosania. Their tasteless turn
(I do not mean socially or morally,
but rather the damage it does to the
rest of the scene), their schtickj
their anything-for-a-laugh approach
to the parts of the Old Colonel and
Yvette in Scene Three is pure cha-
racature appropriate to a comedy
sketbh on The Jerry Lewis Show.
Miss Rosania proves that her
mammaries are completely made of Ham
and she gives strength to the axiom
that "two breasts doth not an act
ress make." However, during "The
Fraternization Song", she forgets
Christine Rosania and captures the
human quality that makes Yvette ap
pealing and a consummate character
in the play.
There are numerous stiff affec
tations running loose throughout the
play (Neal Bell's British accent,
Terrell Bennett's personal Niagra
Falls), but Douglas McCorkindale
bears the brunt of the responsibi
lity for the part of the Chaplain
being such a ho-hum affair. McCor
kindale is one of the most arch and
contrived actors I have seen and his
character is complete and finished
from the moment he walks on stage.
He does not allow room for develop
ment and there is no need for him to
continue.
Watch David Wood for an inte
resting contrast to McCorkindale in
their acting styles that bring about
identical results. McCorkindale is
bleak in imagination and technique,
but Wood has so much flair that ife
seems as if "he has stuck his head
into a bag of tricks and couldn't
get it out." (These are someone
else's words with which I agree com
pletely.) For a while, it looks
like Wood might do some acting, in
stead of performing, but he fights
himself. In "The Song of the Wise
and the Good" for instance, parts of
the singing are excellent pieces of
acting, but between the verses he
spits three times, unnecessarily
harrumphs sarcastically (Brecht took
care of the sarcasm with the writ-
(con't on page 3)
NORTH
cakolin;.
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