BELASCO, DAVID.   Term Paper ID:18596 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Life & career of 19th Cent.-20th Cent. Amer. producer, director, playwright. Major works, style development, staging innovations.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Life & career of 19th Cent.-20th Cent. Amer. producer, director, playwright. Major works, style development, staging innovations. Paper Introduction: David Belasco was a multi-talented figure in American theater at the turn of the century. As a child, he began his theatrical career as an actor. However, as an adult, Belasco became most widely known for his work as a producer, director, and playwright. David Belasco was always a great perfectionist in his work in these three areas. As noted by one writer, Belasco "spared himself nothing in his devotion to detail" (Moses 52). Because of his dedication to his craft and his attention to detail, Belasco was able to make great strides in the development of theatrical art. In fact, as claimed by one of his contemporaries in 1918, "alone among American theatrical managers of the past twenty years, he understood and practically recognized that Acting is a Fine Art and not merely a business" (Winter Volume II 423). Perhaps Belasco's most important Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. He mustfirst, himself, definitely imagine every scene in which they appear, andthen lead them up to it by working upon their intelligence, imagination,and feeling" (Belasco 114). When that effort proved unsuccessful, he returned to San Franciscoto resume his acting career. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1919.Hughes, Glenn, and George Savage, eds. Again, this was related to theidea of attaining the highest degree of realism possible from hisperformers. Of course, he acknowledged that realism on thestage must also take into account such factors as emotion and flights offancy from time to time. He obtained a number of acting jobs inCalifornia, and for a while he worked as stage manager, or director'sassistant, for the Baldwin Theater in San Francisco. Nevertheless, for the most part, Belasco was a realisticartist whose perfectionism and attention to detail made his work all themore admirable. In order to attain such realism, he rejected the complicatedphilosophical tendencies of the modernist playwrights of his time. Laterin his career, David Belasco collaborated with many other playwrights aswell as composing numerous plays on his own. Ed. Perhaps Belasco's most important contribution tothe theater can be found in his desire to restore realism or naturalism tothe stage. Thus, if one ofBelasco's plays called for a setting in a room, he would not simply createthe impression of a room with a flimsy backdrop; rather, he would actuallybuild a room with only three walls so that the audience could look in onthe performers. . As an artist concerned with realism, Belascoalways used his lights as a means for creating natural settings. On the other hand, Belasco considered stage lighting to be ofprimary importance in creating realistic effects. In this way, Belasco was stronglyopposed to the modernist experiments of his contemporaries which placedless emphasis on action and setting and more on concepts and ideas.Belasco wanted to avoid being too philosophical or wordy in his plays, andfor that reason he always sought to portray real life events and emotionson the stage. New York: Moffat, Yard, 1918.---. The Bishop of Broadway: The Life and Work of David Belasco. At the age of eleven, he played the part of the young Duke of Yorkin Shakespeare's Richard III. The useof lights in this way became an essential element in his overall directingstyle. Belasco was also a great director because he understood the art ofacting and was thus able to get his performers to achieve their bestpossible work. Belasco felt that realism was an important element ingaining the audience's confidence and thereby transporting them into theworld which was being created by the actors on the stage. Inpreparing for a play, Belasco's cast would often be faced with long, hardrehearsals in which every intricate detail of the play would be worked out. As well as being a great producer and director, David Belasco iswidely remembered today as being a great playwright. In the late 188 s, Belasco movedon to work for New York's prestigious Lyceum Theater. In fact, he believed that the element of lightingwa s the one thing which brought all the other elements of the playtogether. However, as an adult, Belasco became most widely known for his workas a producer, director, and playwright. Representative American Dramas, National and Local. Inthe course of his career, Belasco was frequently accused of plagiarism, andhe even went to trial many times in order to defend himself against suchcharges. In his opinion, thetrend toward modernism was represented by "irresponsible experiments" whichattracted audiences only because of their novelty. Despite his interest in realism, David Belasco was also sometimesinterested in conveying thoughts and emotions which take place only in therealm of the imagination. regarded light as theunifying principle which would link the actor and the stage setting in anartistic entity" (Marker 79). Thus, in TheTheater Through Its Stage Door, Belasco wrote: "He who goes direct tonature for the effects he introduces on the stage can never be wrong,because nature itself is never wrong" (Belasco 167). One notable example of Belasco's use ofrealism on the stage can be seen in the 19 5 production of his own play TheGirl of the Golden West. Thus,the crucial scene in which the sheriff becomes aware of an outlaw hiding ina loft above him by drops of blood landing on his handkerchief, wasdirectly related to a real experience that Belasco's own father had relatedto him when he was a child (Timberlake 284). New York: Moffat, Yard, 1918.----------------------- 17 Louis V. A perfectionist himself, Belasco demandednothing less from the performers that he worked with as a director. Thus, inBelasco's own words, "to fulfil this purpose with integrity, to surroundthe mimic life of the characters in drama with the natural aspects of life,to seek in light and color the same interpretative relation to spokendialogue that music bears to the words of a song, is, I contend, the realart, the true art of the theater" (Belasco 167). He worked hard withhis actors and actresses during rehearsals. When he was still a child, his family moved to Victoria, BritishColumbia, in Canada. Belasco was influenced in part by the ideas of the Frenchwriter Emile Zola, whose 1881 book Le Naturalisme Au Theater expressedconcern over the growing trend of modernism (Marker 7). . Works CitedBelasco, David. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1975.Moses, Montrose J., ed. Thus, as noted by Glenn Hughes and George Savage,although Belasco went through many changes in his career as a playwright,"he never relinquished his fundamental belief in simplicity of motive andstrength of situation as the basic factors in drama . Belasco's greatness in the theateris largely due to the fact that he was able to combine both artistic andmanagerial skills in his work as producer, director, and playwright. In addition, Belasco felt that realism in thetheater was important because it helped the performers under his directionto identify more strongly with their parts. Even whenhe had completely finished writing a play, he always felt that it was stillpossible to improve Upon it. As a producer,Belasco not only controlled every aspect of each play; in addition, heperformed his tasks in the most comprehensive and concise manner possible.Belasco himself was aware of this fact, as seen in his own reflections inThe Theater Through Its Stage Door. Belasco's biographer, William Winter, has noted that "his devotionto the dramatic calling was true, passionate, and entire and to it he gavehis life: he never desired retirement and never thought of it" (WinterVolume II 422). ForBelasco, rehearsals meant more than simply learning to repeat the lines ofthe play. Asnoted by Lise-Lone Marker, "the American theatregoer, Belasco believed, hadno wish to see deep spiritual searching portrayed on the stage, but rather'action--plenty of action,' a variety of passions, attitudes, and emotions"(Marker 47). In his view, "lights areto drama what music is to the lyrics of a song . He has pursued a course natural to himself, and has created much inDrama that is both original and beautiful" (Winter Volume II 336). Nevertheless, many critics have claimed that this factordoes not undermine Belasco's overall greatness as a playwright. Hefelt that the true purpose of the theater is not to describe thephilosophical thoughts and beliefs of the playwright but rather to "holdthe mirror up to nature" (Belasco 166). Then, one day, hediscovered that he could get some interesting lighting effects by "placingtin pans before oil lamps" (Winter Volume I 99). As noted by Lise-Lone Marker, "hence these plays in contemporary guise, depicting charactersbehaving as in 'real' life, surrounded by real objects, contributed mostdirectly to paving the way for a naturalistic production style in whichindividualized, concrete details were integrated into a convincingly true-to-life, recognizable milieu" (Marker 44). In Belasco's own words, a stagemanager or director "cannot dispassionately explain to his people,especially to the players of limited experience, how he wants them to act,and expect them to throw their whole soul and being into it. Belasco himself once said: "I have kept my people on the stage twentyhours at a stretch, making some of them read a single line perhaps fiftytimes, experimenting with little subtleties of intonation or gesture, andgoing over bits of business again and again" (Timberlake 4 6-4 7).However, although he drove his performers to perfection, it has been notedthat Belasco was generally well-loved by the actors and actresses whoworked under him. Belasco's realism is also evident in his settings and decorations.This is particularly true in his "use of the element of natural accessories--meaning peculiarities of climate, cloud, sunshine, rain, storm, calm, thesound of the sea, the ripple of leaves in the wind, the swirl of dust, thegentle falling of flower petals, the incessant variations of lightaccording to place and time, whether morning or evening, noonday ormidnight" (Winter Volume II 233). In addition, Belasco's performers loved working with himbecause he truly understood what it was like to be an actor (Timberlake4 6). Infact, as claimed by one of his contemporaries in 1918, "alone amongAmerican theatrical managers of the past twenty years, he understood andpractically recognized that Acting is a Fine Art and not merely a business"(Winter Volume II 423). David Belasco was a multi-talented figure in American theater at theturn of the century. More importantly, they were the means by which the actors andactresses could attain the height of realism. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1941.Marker, Lise-Lone. As a director, Belasco placed great emphasis on the importance ofrealism. Thus, in regard to Belasco's work asa director, it has been noted that "others followed in his wake and copiedhim; but he himself never went far afield for his technical ideas; theywere evolved in his own studio" (Moses 51). By creating an aura of realismon the stage, the actors were better able to convince both themselves andthe audience through their dialogue and actions. He was interested in making innovations, but healways did so in a step-by-step manner. At thesame time, however, Belasco's innovations in those areas were alwaysgrounded in tradition. In his 1919 book, The Theater Through Its Stage Door, David Belascohimself described his purpose for using a realistic style in his work. That play, Young Mrs. Winthrop, was written by BronsonHoward and was staged by Belasco for the Madison Square Theater. At that time, David Belasco became interestedin playwrighting as well as acting. At first, Belasco experienced difficulties as a producer, and it was notuntil 1895 that his production of his own play The Heart of Marylandestablished his fame and fortune in that area (Hughes & Savage x). In contrast to the growing trend of his time in whichplaywrights and directors became increasingly expressionistic orimpressionistic for the sake of being "modern," Belasco always sought toportray real life situations and emotions in his plays. However, for the most part, Belasco believed thatthe best artistic results on the stage were obtainable through the use ofrealistic themes, sets, and portrayals. That perfectionism can stillbe seen today, not only in reviewing Belasco's own work from the past, butalso in examining the influence that he has had on the theater in general. Defoe. In terms of stage direction, it may be noted that Belascoalso made great contributions to the development of stage lighting.Belasco placed great importance on the use of lighting in the plays that hedirected. On May 14, 1931, after morethan sixty years in the theater, David Belasco died in New York City. . Belasco's style of producing wasusually effective in terms of getting his actors and actresses to do whathe wanted them to. In this regard, Belasco once claimed that"the first law of the stage, whether in writing a play or playing a part,is to convince the audience of the truth and logic of the work" (Belasco5 ). This was directly related to his belief that the function of thetheater is to mirror nature. The Life of David Belasco, Volume I. On thispoint, it has been noted that Belasco was a great director "because hepossessed a comprehensive knowledge of human nature and human experienceand an equally comprehensive knowledge alike of scenery (including stagelighting) and of acting; a dramatic temperament; clear insight; almostinexhaustible patience; ability to impart knowledge, and the rare andprecious faculty of eliciting and developing the best that was in theactors whom he directed" (Winter Volume II 434). Thus, Belasco claimed: "I have insisted that my actors avoidtrying to memorize their roles until their conception of them is fullyformed and they are actually molded into the characters" (Belasco 72). WilliamWinter has expressed his own belief that Belasco was not as fully developeda playwright as he was a producer or director. Thus, as both producer and director, Belasco has been hailed for hisuse of realism in The Girl of the Golden West, and particularly for his use"of an artfully created and perfect semblance of Nature in one of herwildest, most terrible moods as background" (Winter Volume II 2 5).Belasco's The Girl of the Golden West is also a good example of his realismbecause its story-line was partially based on real life experiences. His desire to always have the best productions possiblewas infectious. In hisview, a great stage director must not simply stand off at a distance,giving commands to the cast and crew. In his directing his plays, David Belasco also sought the highestdegree of realism possible in his set designs. Belasco furthermorethought that the best way to attain realism in the theater was through theimitation of life as seen in the real world of nature. Asa result of these travels, he decided that his best opportunities in thetheater could be found in New York City. Then, in the year189 , he decided that he wanted to become an independent producer of plays. The Heart of Maryland and Other Plays by David Belasco. At one time, Belasco claimed: "Almost invariably theexceptionally successful play is not written but rewritten" (Marker 55).Even during production of one of his plays, Belasco still felt that it waspossible to find ways to improve upon what he had written. Rather,he went for a direct and simple approach in developing his plots andcharacterizations. Nevertheless, in terms ofhis writing, Winter has claimed: "But Belasco is not merely an imitator .. For him, lighting was related in part to his desire to attainperfection in his work. Inworking with his actors, Belasco was as much a perfectionist as he was inall the other areas of the theater that he worked in. As with his work as producerand director, Belasco's primary interest in his playwrighting was thecreation of a realistic effect. In his own words: "Then it occurred to me that by means of coloredsilks,--my own forerunner of gelatine slides,--I could add furthervariations to colored lights, and it was after his experience that I beganto pay particular attention to the charm of stage lighting and to theinventions which, since then, have been so wonderfully developed" (WinterVolume I 99-1 ). Belasco's biographer, William Winter, has noted that the directorstumbled across his unique ideas for stage lighting early in his career.When he was working as a stage manager in San Francisco, Belasco often usedtrain engine headlights to illuminate the stage. Following that small part at theVictoria Theater Royal, Belasco immediately moved on to other childhoodroles. New York: Library Publishers, 1954.Winter, William. As a director, it can be seen that David Belasco was an innovator ofsorts in terms of stage management and lighting. A direct approachto the human heart was his chosen path, and from that path he neverstrayed" (Hughes & Savage x). Thus, "envisioning a comprehensive artistic unity as thefundamental demand of a performance, Belasco . Moses has claimed that "his productions were personal: by that I meanthat every detail came under his observation" (Moses 51). He felt that it wasimportant to not simply create an illusion of realism, but to actuallybuild real structures for the stage. During that time, Belasco made many trips throughout the country. Boston: Little, Brown, 1941.Timberlake, Craig. From this primitive levelof technology, Belasco worked his way up to more sophisticated lightingideas. In his opinion, all aspects of thetheatrical production should be sublimated to this cause. These charges were soon dropped; however,Belasco was later sued by several other playwrights over similar charges.It is obvious that Belasco did indeed adapt other people's ideas in writinghis own plays. David Belasco was always a greatperfectionist in his work in these three areas. In Belasco's words, "myactors and actresses become letterperfect in their parts when they forgetthey are acting and begin actually to live their roles" (Marker 112). With thatwork, Belasco clearly established himself as part of the New Yorktheatrical scene (Winter Volume II 496). Like Belasco, Zolabelieved that it was important for theatrical artists to employ realism insettings as well as themes from real life as a remedy to such modernism.From his very first production of Bronson Howard's Young Mrs. Winthrop in1882, Belasco began distinguishing himself "for his stage realism" (Moses1 16). Again, this was an area in whichBelasco was obsessed with every single detail of his work. Thus, "he lavished affection onthem, fed them their meals on stage and in the Green Room of his theater,prescribed diet and exercise, recommended tailors and hair dressers,flattered, cajoled, and wheedled them, and, in the end, drove themcalculatingly, relentlessly to an artistic result of which they could bejustly proud" (Timberlake 4 6). As a child, he began his theatrical career as anactor. Thus, in Belasco's ownwords: "a crowd can always be summoned to inspect an exhibit of freakishart, just as it will gather to gaze with wonder upon a five-legged calf,although none in the crowd may be willing to concede that the one is goodart or that the other is a good kind of calf" (Belasco 229). Hughes and Savage have likewise noted that Belasco wasperfectionist when it came to the production of his own and other's plays.In their opinion, Belasco's genius as a producer was especially evident inhis "meticulous attention to detail in the training of actors and thecreation of stage business" (Hughes & Savage x). This ability was due in part to the fact that Belascohimself started out as an actor at the beginning of his career. Thus, it hasbeen noted that "he had an unshakable belief in a visible theater, and forit he worked many weary nights through in an effort to reproduce reality"(Moses 52). The first serious charge of plagiarism against Belasco occurredin 1884 in New York City, when a Howard P. David Belasco: Naturalism in the American Theater. Forexample, Glenn Hughes and George Savage have written that Belasco's workwas not plagiarism but rather, at worst, a "bewildering melange oforiginality, collaboration and adaptation" (Hughes & Savage ix). In addition, Belasco was a great theatricalproducer because he was the ultimate perfectionist when it came to suchwork. When he turned eighteen, in 1871, Belasco became increasinglyactive in the world of theater. No other factor thatenters into the production of a play is so effective in conveying its moodsand feeling" (Belasco 56). Belasco was a firm believer in the artisticimportance of realism. As noted by one writer,Belasco "spared himself nothing in his devotion to detail" (Moses 52).Because of his dedication to his craft and his attention to detail, Belascowas able to make great strides in the development of theatrical art. For Belasco, realism or naturalism was the most important stylisticelement in any theatrical production. . . In the course of hiscareer, Belasco wrote numerous plays on his own, as well as engaging inseveral collaborations with other writers. As a playwright, the greatest controversy in Belasco's careercentered around the extent to which his work was original or copied. In that book, Belasco described hisown unique style of production by claiming: "I suppose it originates fromthe importance and emphasis I place upon every minute detail which makesfor truth in my theater" (Belasco 241). That role, which was again performed at theVictoria Theater Royal, marked Belasco's "first significant professionalengagement" (Marker 14). David Belasco was clearly a very important figure in the developmentof American theater. In this regard, Hughes and Savage have notedthat Belasco considered himself first and foremost a realist, but "knowingthat, he could indulge his fancy, for to a showman like Belasco the theateris primarily a place where the implausible is made plausible" (Hughes &Savage xi). Therefore, Belasco felt that the function of stage lighting was notonly to provide a sense of realism but also "to sketch and interpret thepredominant mood, and to follow the pattern of development and interplay ofemotion throughout the drama" (Marker 79). Inaddition, he liked to use different colorings and shadings in his lights inorder to emphasize the thoughts and emotions of the performers on thestage. In fact, Montrose J.Moses has claimed that all of Belasco's produced plays--whether he wrotethem himself or not--were "livened by his touch" as a producer (Moses 51).One reason for Belasco's long-lasting success as a producer was the factthat he had his own way of doing things on the stage, no matter how riskyit might be to his reputation. In this regard,"every feature of his productions not only resembled but was that which itseemed to be, down to the smallest detail" (Marker 6 ). In addition to his realism, Belasco'sperfectionism could also be found in his work as a playwright. From the very start ofhis career as a director, Belasco experimented with such things. In this regard,he became convinced that the use of music in the theater "was oftendestructive to the illusion of what was taking place on the stage" (Belasco245). On this point, MontroseJ. It was there that the young Belasco gained his firstexperiences in the theater. David Belasco was born in San Francisco, California, on July 25,1853. In 1858, at the age of five, he played a partin which he was "carried on" during a performance of the popular play,Cora's Child (Winter Volume I 6). Rather, the director must take apersonal involvement and thus learn to understand the play and itscharacterizations from the inside out. He felt that it was important tobuild off the traditions of the past rather than rejecting them outrightlike the modernists of his time did. . David Belasco felt that the movement toward modernism was wrongbecause it placed too much emphasis on talk and too little on action. In his view, American audiences wanted to see real lifecharacters and situations handled in a realistic way. In addition, he founded theBelasco Theater in 19 6 as a means for him to control his own productionswithout the interference of the Theatrical Syndicate (Hughes & Savage x).With his own theater, Belasco had a chance to truly show off his uniquegenius as playwright, producer, and director. In this way, it can be seen that Belasco was an important figure inthe development of theatrical realism during his time. In fact, it has been noted thatBelasco wrote his first play when he was only twelve years old (Hughes andSavage ix). Thus, in 1881, David Belasco wentto New York in the hopes of selling a play he had written entitled La BelleRusse. That play called for a severe winter storm totake place on the stage, and Belasco handled the task with great talent.In that scene, "a storm symphony of thirty-two stagehands reproduced theshrieking and the moaning of the gale, as snow sifted through the cracksand crevices of the cabin and ice formed on the window panes" (Timberlake285). He lived and worked at the turn of the century, atime when many of his contemporaries were becoming increasinglyphilosophical and abstract for the sake of "modernism." Belasco rejectedthis tendency and decided instead to build off the traditions of the pastrather than rejecting them. . In October of 1882, he got his first chance to directa play on Broadway. The Life of David Belasco, Volume II. Thus, "Belascoconstantly revised his plays during rehearsal if he found it necessary"(Marker 55). In addition, Belasco liked working with realism because itheightened the visual appeal of his plays for his audiences. However, in the fall of 1882, Belasco madeanother trip to New York City--and that time he met with greater successthan he had before. In his own productions, Belasco always usedstage lighting as a means for enhancing the realism of his plays. His working studio was always filled withsheets of paper upon which he would be writing, rewriting, and reorganizinghis ideas. Inall of those areas, he was a perfectionist. The following year, in 1865, the Belasco familymoved back to San Francisco. Taylor sued him oversimilarities between his play, Caprice, and Belasco's own play entitled MayBlossom (Timberlake 12 ). The Theater Through Its Stage Door. Of all his contributions to the theater of his time, perhaps Belascois best remembered today for his work as a producer. Although he worked his players hard, at the same timehe treated them with love and respect. As in the case of his work asa producer, Belasco's greatest success as a director was attributable inpart to his all-encompassing approach and his attention to detail. As part ofhis quest for realism, Belasco generally chose to not use music ororchestration of any sort in his theatrical productions. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.