Stoppard talks with theatre majors

By the end of an interactive forum on "Working with Directors" held at the Annenberg Center Thursday, visiting playwright Tom Stoppard knew every student in attendance by name. Mostly comprised of theatre arts majors, the group of approximately 25 had the opportunity to talk to Stoppard about much more than directing. From his plays and the role of the playwright to sex appeal, Stoppard attempted to draw everyone into the discussion. Theatre Arts Lecturer Jim Schlatter, who served as the event's moderator, focused the early parts of the discussion on Stoppard's play, The Real Thing, which is currently running in Philadelphia. Stoppard compared the various productions of the play. "While the London production had a Japanese quality, the other had a New York quality," the playwright said. "The New York version was very detailed." Stoppard explained how the New York production used a revolving stage with three sections, reducing the black-out time to almost nothing. "God, how did they do that?" he asked, referring to the director and set designer. "If the New York production could be reduced to one word, the word was speed." Schlatter asked Stoppard about the role of the main character, Henry, a playwright. The Real Thing portrays Henry's play within Stoppard's. "How did the directors work with each of these actors?" Schlatter asked. "What story was told by the directors and what story was told by the actors?" The playwright noted that actors in the various productions have different personalities, but the character of Henry remained the same. "They were both playing the same role," he said. College senior Elizabeth Mitchell said a variety of people could play Henry, from Jeremy Irons, who portrayed the role in the New York production, to Schlatter himself. While Irons makes a "svelte and sexy" Henry, a "bumbly and cute" Henry, such as her teacher, could work as well, Mitchell said. Stoppard also discussed the relationship between a director and a playwright. "I'm not copping out but I don't think that there's a rule here," he said. "The author might be modest, be arrogant? he might be 12 different things," adding that directors do not have the right to add lines to the play. "All authors have the power of veto," Stoppard said. "My fights are always about that very thing. This is crass. This is gross. How could you think I'd write a line like that?" Stoppard ended the discourse about directing abruptly with a quip. "Directing's for people who can't write," he said. College junior Ross Levitt commented on Stoppard's play, Indian Ink, which he had seen in London. Levitt implied that American audiences may not appreciate the British humor in the play. "An absolutely fair point that you're too polite to make," Stoppard agreed. According to Stoppard, Indian Ink will be coming to New York for a short run next year. Upon hearing this, Levitt tried to get back into Stoppard's good graces. "I don't think it's going to flop or anything," he said. After the discussion ended, students remarked that they were impressed with Stoppard, as well as the Theatre Arts Department for bringing quality speakers to the University. "You always get to hear what actors and directors have to say, but seldom do you get to hear what a playwright has to say," Levitt said. "Especially when that playwright is incredibly good, incredibly brilliant and incredibly famous."