From Giorgio Strehler to Victor Garcia

I have arbitrarily paired these two directors in order to give an account of two entirely different theatrical practices, two processes of production which I had the opportunity to follow when I attended the 1978 rehearsals of La Trilogie de la villegiature by Goldini , produced by Giorgio Strehler at the Odeon Theatre with actors from the Comedie-Francaise; and the 1979 rehearsals of Gilgamesh (adapted from the Sumerian epic), produced by Victor Garcia at the Chaillot Theatre with an Arab cast. Rather than dealing with the performances themselves, I shall discuss here the rehearsals, the concepts of theatrical production, and the ways in which Strehler and Garcia choose to influence the people they are directing.