My Head Was a Sledgehammer: Six Plays

Rating:
Summary: Essential Foreman collection, not the best intro to him
Review: For an introduction to Richard Foreman's theories, manifestos, and practice of theatre, one should look to UNBALANCING ACTS, which includes several essays by him in which he describes clearly the revolutionary direction he is taking with his plays, written and directed by him annually at his little theatre space in New York City, the Ontological-Hysteric Theatre.

This collection of his plays through the mid 1990's includes a valiant introduction and, to its credit, something that UNBALANCING ACTS lacks: a facsimile of one of Foreman's unusual play texts without production stage directions or line attributions. (Foreman, you see, doesn't start out with characters, per se, and distributes the lines during his rehearsal process.)

Your correspondent is among those who feel Richard Foreman's work is highly visionary and way ahead of our time. It is also wonderfully funny and has the power to make you feel creative yourself.

But really, it is time to publish more photographs of these productions, as Foreman's talents as a scenic designer are getting overlooked!