Born beside an altar in the sacred precinct of Dionysus, based in religious ritual, theatre has continually amazed, angered, entertained and enlightened us through the ages.

For me theatre is a form of revelation. At its best, it reveals the most profound truths of human existence, sees beyond the disharmonies of prosaic life, considers and supports a world of eternal values. This mission is essential for the artistic health of me, its working artists and its audiences.

The moral obligation of theatre artists is to pursue, constantly, the theatrical truths that speak to their time, and hopefully, to all time.

College and university theatres are especially committed to plumb the ideas and controversies of the age because they are not solely dependent upon an audience that expects only stale, unimaginative, unenlightened and non-controversial “entertainment.”

As a college teacher of dramatic art I need to devote myself to creating a theatre which, as Orson Welles so cogently indicated, is more than a place to come in out of the rain. (New Theatre for Old, Mordecai Gorelik, p. 452)

I must create theatre that rises above the marketplace, giving the drama wings to fly through the most beautiful and the most disturbing of human experiences.

Historically Suspect

Throughout history, theatre has been looked upon as a dangerous art form. It is infectious. It reveals too much, says too much, challenges too much. It is too liberal and often rebellious, capable of changing the thinking and the spirit of individuals and society.

Plato knew the dangers and would cast theatre artists from his ideal society unless they could prove the worth and value of their work. Several Church Fathers followed in his footsteps.

For me, the theatre is a temple. When I walk into Terence Donaghoe Hall, I am always struck by the love and commitment that this holy place echoes. And I feel a tremendous responsibility to the text, the student performers and the audience.

The journey in this temple of the human spirit has not always been easy. I first stepped into the footlights playing Jo in Little Women. Upon receiving a Drama Scholarship to Clarke, I appeared in musicals, dramas, comedies but knew that I wanted to direct.

For two years I had the wonderful support of BVMs Emerita Taylor and Emily Flynn at Mt. Carmel High School in Wichita as I began my teaching and directing career. Then the Lord pounded on my heart and I entered the BVMs in 1960.

While in the novitiate I directed several plays with the novices but was certainly discouraged from pursuing this as a career.

Believing that I would be teaching English and History for the rest of my life, I knelt before Mother Mary Consolatrice on first vow day. Knowing that I was being sent to Holy Name in Chicago, she whispered to me to be patient, that she would see that I got back to my chosen field.

In the summer of 1962 I was directing in Clarke's Summer Theatre program. And now in my 44th year of teaching, I am still here! The bravery and vision of the community sustained and supported me. Mother Consolatrice's faith in me and the value of my work was astonishing and fired me to be true to myself and to my art form.

No Easy Answers

Over the years there have been strong disagreements over some of the plays presented. I remember both the glory and the agony of staging Lysistrata, a play that called for a sex strike by the women until the men would end the war. The audience loved it but I recall a letter from a BVM who complemented me and Carmelle Zserdin, BVM, who had designed the costumes, on our talent and creativity but wondered if, perhaps, we would be happier anyplace other than Clarke.

The Three Penny Opera was no bed of roses either. Opponents decried the staging of the whore scenes and their “skimpy” attire and the underlying sexual innuendoes of the text. I knew the artistic merit of this play and our production of it, and refused to change what I felt to be “right” about its staging.

In 1984, the fall after the Clarke fire, I encountered resistance to the staging of Agnes of God. The subject matter was not deemed appropriate, particularly in view of our efforts to rebuild.

I felt that I had an inside track on the psychology of these characters and that my years in religious life would equip me to handle very sensitively the issues underlying this piece. I eventually replaced Agnes of God with Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, which from the moral perspective was more tenuous.

In the spring of 2005 I directed the Pulitzer Prize play, Proof. The expletives were numerous though the underlying ideas were glorious. I agonized over cutting the expletives but when I read the script without them, I realized how damaging the cuts or insertions would be to the total rhythm of the play. The expletives stayed.

Theatre, this temple of the spirit, is not always located in a pastoral setting full of song, beauty and simple folk. On the journey to arrive within its doors I must traverse a lonely landscape full of questions, anxieties and fears.

The door opens when I have faith in myself, my experience, and my commitment to explore and make art that speaks to the nature of the human condition, that speaks to those who desire to “see.” The journey has been anything but boring!

About the author: Carol Blitgen, BVM (John Carol), Clarke College drama faculty member, has received the Kennedy Center Medallion for continued artistic excellence; the Case National Silver Medalist for Professor of the Year Award, the Meneve Dunham Teaching Award from Clarke College, the Clarke College Distinguished Alumna Award, and five regional directing awards.

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© 2006 Sisters of Charity, BVM