A Synergistic Theatre
... an essay on Troupe Texas' goals and approaches to stage productions
Troupe Texas is an ensemble of individuals who aim to unite audiences and actors through thought, understanding, action, and risk. Theatre exists for audiences; audiences and performers create a tension, each pushing the other’s boundaries, questioning politics, private lives, society, history, philosophy, psychology—plunging the depths of what we call human. Simply put, theatre is “two planks and a passion”—a plank for the audience to sit upon, a plank for the performers to act upon, and the passion that passes between and unites the actors and the audience.
Our production process is traditional in that it begins and ends with the passion—found in the words the characters speak. As we begin rehearsals, our actors and directors research and discover—not guess at—the author’s intentions and meanings in the text. We look for patterns and rhythms that explain how characters think and act. Essentially, we use this deconstruction to find the focus of the production and to reveal the story through the characters’ words and actions.
Words alone do not make a play. Instead of “talking heads”, our actors and directors use the full range of human expression and movement to produce highly physical and athletic performances—indeed, critics have labeled our casts as “actor-athletes.” These physical skills extend beyond athleticism: Troupe Texas actors sing, dance, play instruments, fight, perform magic tricks, mime, and clown—whatever is needed to create credible characters on stage. Troupe Texas builds bridges over gaps between traditional performance styles.
We seek to create a composite—a synergy—of different styles and genres. We don’t believe in “–isms”, which we see as boundaries; we punch through these artificial limits to reveal a universe, no longer separated by artificial dictums and dogma. Our only rules for interpreting drama are the words that an author puts on the page as our guide to production.
Much of the contemporary American theatre has found comfortable niches, styles, and genres. We intentionally avoid styles and spectacle; rather we rely on story and character—the words possess meaning and theatrical potential that transcend the ages. Sophocles, Shakespeare, and Brecht continue to capture our minds even today, not because of who they were or what they did, but what they wrote. They left us words that teach and illuminate the human condition.
Just over four hundred years ago, men and women—beggars, merchants, soldiers, royalty—gathered in a round theatre structure, the Globe, to experience the plays of William Shakespeare. The Bard thrived in an age of learning, knowledge, discovery, conflict, passion, and revolt—the Renaissance fueled by a re-dedication to the artistic and scientific advances of the Greeks and Romans. Our mission in theatre is to continue that Renaissance of discovery into this and future millennia, paving the way for artists and audiences to redefine humanity’s aspirations.
Theatre can provoke live, direct, and meaningful interactions between audiences and artists. Our most memorable performances succeed through a synergy created between text, actor, and audience. Now, more than ever, theatre artists should strive toward pro-active story-telling that can entertain and expand the art and the knowledge of our human cultures.
Troupe Texas will do its part to enliven the arts in Texas and this nation. We'll present multi-lingual performances, “…and we’ll live, And pray and sing and tell old tales…” (V.3.9) King Lear