New Directions Conference

The New Directions Conference, sponsored by Hamilton’s Actor’s Lab Theatre and held over the weekend of October 29, was highlighted by the appearance of three highly alert speakers — Andre Gregory, Jerzy Grotowski, and Charles Marowitz. Coming together in order to deal with the experimental theatre in its present manifestations as well as its future directions, the trio managed to turn the conference into a “festival” of the death of theatre (in most of its contemporary forms) and a conspiratorial annunciation of the birth of a new order. Of the three, Marowitz was the most reluctant to inculpate himself in these crimes. He spoke of maintaining an enlightened status quo armed with theatrical nonsense detectors. (For a transcript of Marowitz’s remarks see page 132). However, both Grotowski and Gregory (men who have worked together and are drinking pals as well) were more than prepared to set their sights on the “untheatrical” future.