We cling to the notion that theater is the most collaborative of the arts. Not necessarily to blame, but responsible. I confessed to my friend, but I told him my justification for trimming that point: the director is always responsible for what gets on stage.
I did have a line in there, pondering blame, but it was sacrificed on the altar of newsprint space. Sadly, my friend had seen my review in electronic form within the newspaper’s computer system, before it had been published.
He saw it with his own eyes, and he’s apparently a good actor because he convinced the jackals in my favor. My ever-faithful friend stood his ground and said the review had in fact wondered who was to blame for the characterization. Royce should have blamed the director, these thespians said. The argument was that the actor was doing what the director had wanted. A friend who acts occasionally in community theater told me the story of some backstage grousing about a review in which I had skewered an actor’s performance. Good gossip is always fun, particularly when it concerns you. Graydon Royce, theater critic for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, discusses the role of directors: are they really to blame for everything? 1
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