It’s probably the oldest conflict in the history of any art form. How disciplined or creative must you be to make great art, and at that point do the two conflict?
Performance is not a democracy. Alas, there must be someone in charge at all times, to tell the performers how it is to go. However, people are not robots, especially artists who are there to create, albeit in a disciplined way. So the question is, how to get the balance right between keeping discipline and encouraging creativity.
I believe the answer lies in how a production is led. For example, a musical is not simply led by the director, but also by an assortment of helpers on every level. The choreographer, the musical director, stage manager, and producer all have roles to play, and each shoulder some of the responsibility. They will have input into the finished product: so clearly, the production process is not a one way street.
But I argue that power needs to be delegated yet further. Dance captains should be recruited to assist the choreographers; and vocal coaches and chorus masters may assist the MD's. The same can be done for every major role in the production team, ensuring that as many people are invovled in the production process as logistically possible.
While delegation may seem unwieldy in theory, I have seen it used to great effect. One company I visited used dance captains and vocal coaches for each section of a chorus of 50 young performers. Orders were issued by the director and carried out by the captains in turn. The workload was shared, and the veteran perfomers got to use their experience. Indeed, this is the advantage of a labour intensive model. It empowers more people and allows them to use some of their own initiative in bringing a production about. This I would argue, is how to balance discipline with creativity.
Performance is not a democracy. Alas, there must be someone in charge at all times, to tell the performers how it is to go. However, people are not robots, especially artists who are there to create, albeit in a disciplined way. So the question is, how to get the balance right between keeping discipline and encouraging creativity.
I believe the answer lies in how a production is led. For example, a musical is not simply led by the director, but also by an assortment of helpers on every level. The choreographer, the musical director, stage manager, and producer all have roles to play, and each shoulder some of the responsibility. They will have input into the finished product: so clearly, the production process is not a one way street.
But I argue that power needs to be delegated yet further. Dance captains should be recruited to assist the choreographers; and vocal coaches and chorus masters may assist the MD's. The same can be done for every major role in the production team, ensuring that as many people are invovled in the production process as logistically possible.
While delegation may seem unwieldy in theory, I have seen it used to great effect. One company I visited used dance captains and vocal coaches for each section of a chorus of 50 young performers. Orders were issued by the director and carried out by the captains in turn. The workload was shared, and the veteran perfomers got to use their experience. Indeed, this is the advantage of a labour intensive model. It empowers more people and allows them to use some of their own initiative in bringing a production about. This I would argue, is how to balance discipline with creativity.
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