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THE OSWEGONIAN, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 1972

~ J e a n G e n e t ' s The Ba lconyPAGE 17

A n A n a l y s i s & R e v i e wby Jack Cadwallader

Jean G enet, French playwright,author, ex-convict, and self-canonized saint depicts reality inlife as Peer Gynt visualized theonion in his hand - there isn'tany. W hereas Peer 's metaphor-ic onion repre sented the totalpretense, layerafter layer of skinembodying an empty core, Genet's nihilistic belief in the "Sophistr y of the. Nay" demands aneven stronger metaphor of pretense - the mirror. Symbol ofthesis and anti-thesis, the mirror, not only portrays a false

representation; its image rever ses the original figure it represents .

Throughout "The Balcony*' op-posites converge as if one wasa reflection of its polar form.P r o s t i t u t e s a r e c o n s i d e r e dsaints , religion appears as aform of diabolism and appearance can be substituted for funct ion.  (McMahon, a Genet critic,states "when reality is indiscernible from illusion, l ife fromdeath, actuality from role, thenopposites will coincide.")

Genet's paradoxical mirrorreflects us all: we as students,as actors and even as audience.For example, Oswego audiences,often referred to by outsiders as"The Phi l i s t ines / ' are responsible for allowing value judgements to become definitive . . •the fictional - fact.

The X-rating o bserved by thestudents on the billboard displaying "The Balcony" may pos

sibly be dismiss ed as hype. The"on sta ge copulation" a studentoverhears in the lunch line willbe given somewhat more consideration, that of a healthy rumor. If more than three reliablefriend s confirm th is then theblurbs have held up under rigidtesting controls and the rumorcongea ls: "The Balcony" (colon)titil lating (comma) a must see.

"The Balcony" sold out all f ivenights - a rarity in Oswego.

Just what did the audience s ee?Well, the "must see," the titi l-lation that is, they never sawand the entertainment was lessexperienced than the experienceof Genet's accusing finger wasentertained. Under the dire ction of Dave Burr, Genet's paradox was entertained very well -appearance is all the realitythere is.

SET IN A BROTHELThe entire play revolves

around Madame Irma's brothelwhich she proudly claims is herHouse of Illusions. Outside herhouse the revolution is threatening to overthrow the government as well as the infamousbrothel. Inside insignificant custome rs are allowed to enjoymuch more than the fruit s of theordina ry John. Abandoning bull e t s ,  death and all forms of thereal world outside, the customers dress up and portray in their"reality" whichever grandiosefantasy figure they desire.

A gasman, dre ssed in bisho p s '  m itre, gold cloth and laces"absolves" a penitent - the roleof the prostitute. Another client ente rs in peasants r ags, isstripped, given a general's uniform with padded shoulders andis allowed to act out his funeral as a hero worthy of the Dukeof Wellington, while riding "his"woman dressed as a hor se. Butit is the phony judge, completewith pressed wig. long flowinggown and soap box buskin thatmouths the irony of Genet thecrimin al. Genet the outsider

Jucfee (to the "thieD: "Lookhere: you've got to be a modelJudge . . . You need only re fuseto be w ho are you - what youa r e ,  therefore who you are - forme to cease to be . . . to vani s h ,  evapora ted . . . You won'trefu se to be a thief? That wouldbe wicked It would be crim inal. You'd deprive me of being ~

This is Genet's condemnationof society's artificial structureThe law cannot be "real." cannotexist within  itself,  because itneeds the existence of crime,

crime, the judgeto be. Without sin.

purpose of religion would belimited to social gatherings.

This notion of criminal - as -saint is merely one of the coinciding opposites mentioned earlier. The image we attach toreligious, military heroes, orany hero, l ike rumors, becomedefinitive. As the storie s spreadgrowing to mythological proport i ons,  the figure no longer n eedsthe buskin and padded should ersto appear larger than life.

Now Genet's "onion skin " begins to unravel. Not only are

the General, Judge and Bishop

THE HEAD rebel, Roger, assumesthe role of Chief of Police in thebrothel. Here Cliff Barbaritoattempts to destroy "an image."

unreal (because they find it necessa ry to be someone else ), notonly are the figures they pretendto be are unreal (because they arethe emanation of an unreal mind)but now, the real leaders of ourarmy, our religions, our lawsare also under fire of i l lusion.

In the play itself the realleader s are consumed. The bishop's severed head is supposedly ornamenting the handle barsof a bicycle; the Attorney General dies of fright and the mosthigh General has gone mad. In

scene five, as the plot itselffinally begins to take form, theChief of Police (Irma's formerl o v e r ) ,  who is in charge of quelling the rebellion, decides to utilize the House of Illusio n. W

rhy

should the Bishop, Judge and General play a grandiose role justto please themselves, when theycould be deluding the rebels andkeeping the heroic symbol aliveamonst the populace?

Photographers are called into feed the crowds with the papof symbolis m. They freeze "thedefinitive image" of the threeimpo sters. According to thephotographers, the world oughtto be bombarded with the picture of pious men."

The crowds accept the delusion with open arm s. Quote theBishop, "You know whom I sawtoday with his pimples and decayed teeth? And who threwhimself on my hand to kiss ther ing . . . I thought to b i te me

and I was to pull away my finders . . . who? . . . my fru itand vegetable man."

For the crowds, as well asGenet, appearance is now reality

BURR'S REFLECTORSIf Genet considers "The Bal-

cony" the "glorification of thelinage and the Reflection.  dir ector Burr compliments the author's craving for images by adding his ow n. With the aid of scen edesign er. William Start andelectric al technician photographer, Jon Vermilyea. two modern image reflectors are utilized the closed - circuittelevision (Irma's spying device) and multiple slide projec-

"extras" to reflect and accentuate the events occuring at center stage.

However, where Genet's omnipresent mirrors evoke a fun-house impression (mirrors areprominent in decor in all but twoof the nine scenes), the Companyas they are called, evoke the impression of being lost in the fun-house.

In fact, "the extras " may bethe one lead actor in a playdevoid of lead actors . Constantly milling and searching forsomeone to ape, they portray theeve r - fickle, ever - changingcrowd, whose near - neuroticimpulse to follow and imitatethe leader image is insatiable.

In one scene, the entire acting troop gazes into the seatsand mim ics the audience - oneof Genet's most popular targets.Before the play even begins, theclosed - circuit television focuses on members of the audience, who can watch themse lvesor camera as they could anyprime - time celebrity.

For both Genet and Burr, theaudience is a part of the show -a directorial conception not overly ap precia ted, judging by thelarge number of early - evening retrea tists. It is extremely difficult for an on-lo oker to rationalize that the author is attacking the person next to him,while being psychologicallystripped by one of the gaping"extras."

However, Genet doesn't attackthe audience for their civic -mindedness nor their moral decay; as the social outsider, hefee ls numb toward both. He attacks the viewers lack of  self-

recognition -- the motive behindbeing entertained.

Wrhether the viewer's pleasure

is ide ntity with the matine e idolor the security of judging a tragedy as a referee from theirfront - row - seat , whether thethrill be critic incentive or catha r s i s ,  the viewer's main intenton entertainment is a temporaryescap e from their everyday -self,  n n a i u i t  General, Judgeand Bishop attempt on stage is,

Whereas the revolution's banner carried Chantal, the striker's banner carr ied four deceased fellow students. Bothstarted out as honest attemptsand both rapidly disintegrated.To stop fighting for reasons andto begin fighting for heavenlycauses is, once again, the incurable human yearning of thehuman rac e to be something otherthan  itself.

A TOTALITYSummarizing in one word (im

possible), the Balcony may be

described as a totality. UnderBurr's direction. Genet's verbaldivesting of all persons withinearshot of the actors does remain intact.

Genet does not believe in actor immunity. The slighted members of the audience who feltthe play was a one- sided battle,must rem ember that the actorcan't blush over their sins ofillusion - - they rehease them toolong. Beside s, Genet claims

that the actor's "starting point,their reason for being, is exhibitionism." (Even Genet isbecoming definitive no*.)

The technical crew backstagewere als o dependent on thisscheme of totality. Consideringthat over fifty percent of theusual lighting and tech crew wereon tour in Cortland, the 20-manstaff deserves recognition. Adjusting to a light scheme ofover 600 light cues, including

280 slides and closed circuittelevision, is an impr essivegroup effort, considering thata lighting er ror cannot be ad-libbed.

But the greatest total effortwas attempted within the actingtroupe  itself.  An extra for aDave Burr play rehearses almost as much as a lead actor.For "The Balcony," practice consumed 4 to 8 hours a night. Butin a show where there is nolead actor to carry momentumthe viewers concern focuses onthe group effort. In certain instances, the force of the showis only as strong as its weakest acto r. Unfortunately, theplay's acting runs the gamut

THE JUDGE chastising the  thief, "You need only refuse to bewho you a re, - what you are . . .For me to cea se to be." (L to R:

John Mederios, Janet Hemdel, Vince Pelligrino)after all , an honest expression of from excellent to poor.

ploys a of own* a dozen

possibly dishonest needs; but itis more honest than the substitutional, suppressed kind of experience the audience is trying tohave.

In similar fashion, the •'ext r a s , "  as sidelined revolutiona r i e s ,  m imick the whine of machine gun bullets which more thanslightly resemole children playing army. They reflect onstagerebels, such as the narcissisticArmand. whose participation inthe revolution alie ns him  to be come the creature of his daydream s The more relevant projector reflects o il - stage "rer-otnbonaries" such as the Oswego cam pvs witnessed in the Maysof lt Tt and 1972.

The structure of the play demands an enorm ous amount ofplot and character developmentespeci ally in the hour - longscene s of 5 and 9. This, alongwith the exce ssive amount ofverb iage and lack of action (Genet i s mor e of a philosoph er thanplaywrig ht), left i ts toll on eventhe good acting jobs, such asthe roles of Irma (Bonita Zahn)and her favorite "illusionist."Carmen, played by Maggie Powers In the paradoxical confines of the brothel, both commanded a sense of chauvenisticdominan cy. They talked "man to

a&d treated males asor v ic t ims o f d e-

THE BISHOP (Kent William s)converses with mirror image.

Kent Williams, the Bishop,conveyed the clearest sense ofcharacter differentiation amongthe brothel's clients. His de-lusionistic advancement, from agasman to the role of priestlyreverence to the actual Bishop ,  convinced the audience thatthis parasitic "saint" could buildmonasteries and cathedrals . . .at least in his own mind.

But possibly the actor thatseemed the most comfortablein this play of coinciding op

posites was the Chief of Pol i ce ,  Tony Ras emu s. Not onlywas the role he portrayed a paradox (the Chief of Police wanted immortality by dying whenhis social image was at its mythological zenith), but even myconception of his acting grewto that of a paradoxical posit ion.  Earlier, 1 consideredTony's portrayal * inappropriate in the way he played abovethe role, pounding his fist anddeftly moving the fingers of hisgloved hand, like a flagellum,as he stalked across the stage.He appeared too much like aCaptain America .. until I  thoughtabout his silver boots and silver cape . . .

The fact that "The Balcony"is a totality doesn' t explainwhether or not the play succ e e d s .  The sum of the Pro duction parts --t h e slide s, thetelevision, the Company, - - over shoots the play's whole. Every

concept in itself i l luminates Genet's dialogue. For instance, theslide - picture of John Kennedyduring C hantal'smartrydom proposes for me a very importantquestion: just how histor icallyrevered would Kennedy be if hehad suffered through the Viet-Nam War until 1968^

But the audience is being "bombarded" too much too fast withthe picture of a talented playwright.

The play works but only within the confines of the audience'sattention span and purpose forbeing entertained. For thosewho expected  Oh Calcutta " fromthe hints of the XPG publicityrating, by far the biggest mistake of the show, the play endsin scene five after the massorgasm; the last four scenesare very anti-clima tic. Forthose hampered by the sideline gazers, the play's worthwas proportional to the amount

of attention they could keep focused on stage.

The purpose of the shorn was toevoke an audience reaction. Aviewer storming out of Waterman with an inkling of Genet'sconcept is one thing. But if theviewers ire is raised beforeany insight is discerned, then hisdeparture was motivated byactor-annoyance and not frustration with himself or the play,and this can only be considereda failure.

Appreciation of Th e Balcony"is enhanced greatly every timeit is seen. But conside ring theway Gecet and Burr attack theaudience, the onlooker is not expected to return for

Berem ties '