ABSTRACT
The director is neurotic, authoritarian and nurtures fantasies of omnipotence. He begins the process with a clear, governing idea of the artistic, affective and moral outcomes. He is pushing his theatre away from the actor and towards spectacle. He robs cast members of their agency, marionettes them around the stage space, and checks their libertarian streaks with threats, magic and mind-games. But despite his control freakery, the spontaneous creativity of the individual breaks out in song, dance and rebellious laughter. Chastened by the experience, the director is finally forced to renounce his quest for absolute authority.
