A Theater Manifesto

“Playwrights, directors and performers all seem to think that we want to be part of their act, that during a performance we’re desperate for actors to descend into the aisles, converse with us, tussle our hair—even, occasionally, drag us back up into the footlights with them. … When actors come toward me, I go into defensive posture: I avert my eyes, twist away from them in my seat. Usually, that’s enough to keep them at bay. But even these tactics are not fail-safe deterrents. A few years ago a performer interrupted her show to pull my notebook and pen from my hands and toss them into a corner. Interactive, schminteractive. Can’t we restore that wonderful invisible fence between us and them?”