Interview: Julie Taymor on A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM and Theatre on Film

Julie Taymor is no stranger to being innovative in the theater. In 1997 she became the first woman to win the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical for her production of "The Lion King." That same night she also walked away with the prize for costume design. No one had ever seen a production on Broadway that was even remotely similar to "The Lion King."

Taymor used to great effect techniques she had learned while studying masked dance-drama and puppetry in Indonesia (she had also studied these techniques at the American Society for Eastern Arts in Seattle.) Her combination of stunning visuals and expanded story telling led to an immediate hit - which is still running today and is one of the highest grossing musicals of all time.

In recent years, Taymor has expanded her arsenal and is single handedly spearheading a new medium which she calls the Theater-Cinema hybrid. I spoke to Julie on the phone before the premiere of her new film version of her "A Midsummer Night's Dream" which screened at TIFF last week.

Alan: Is there something specific that inspired your vision for this production? Where did you take inspiration from?

Julie: Yes, well the theatre itself, which was built - the Polonsky (Shakespeare) Center in Brooklyn for Theatre For a New Audience gives wonderful opportunities to put audiences in difference configurations. The one I chose, and that I think is going to be the most popular configuration for that theatre allows the audience to wrap around the stage on three sides. That creates an extremely intimate and exciting relationship between the audience and the actors. We had three levels (on stage), and we went deep into the basement as well, and the upstage wall that we could transform. We had a show that was both minimalist and that allowed us to use unique dream-like imagery.

Alan: You've talked a bit about the production being so centered on the space it was in. Do you think those aspects come across as effectively on the film version?

Julie: What we decided to do, because I've done a few of these films, was to shoot it live and during the daytime we did on-stage cameras and put them in incredible positions. We also spent the appropriate amount of time in post-production editing it. In the end we had about seventy hours of footage. And what was different in the film from the theatre is that the camera can move into any position. Each shot in the film is the absolute best place to see that moment from. When you're in the theatre (in the round), quite often you'll have the back of an actor to you - which is fine, but in the movie we could always get the reaction shots and the close up shots. We got to break the wall because we could shoot and edit it like a real movie (but also shot it live in front of an audience.) It works equally well on film in a different way.

Alan: Were any changes made between the live show and what audiences will see on film?

Julie: For example, we had a great score which worked well in the live theatre - but some of it didn't work taped because actors are different every night. We couldn't get things exactly on a specific breath or pause. When we went back to finishing the movie the composer was able to add a third of new music. There had been a love theme he created before we did the live show that I couldn't use because it didn't work consistently. In post-production, we were able to reapply it to the film and that worked because it was a fixed amount of time to score exactly to the expression of the actor, and that - I loved.

Alan: You've said in the press that you don't think that this production will ever "see the light of day again as a live production" due to its complexity, but is there another Shakespeare or classic play you'd like to re-imagine in the future?

Julie: We've been invited (places) but it's a cast of 35, and Shakespeare. It's not the easiest thing to tour. There's been interest in China, Japan - and that would take an enormous amount of organization. If it can be done, I'm all for it. But more often than not, it isn't done. A lot of my productions do not go on and on. There's very few Lion Kings out there. It's become a lot harder to tour shows of this scale without a big star. But it can live on in the film version.

Alan: It's a shame more productions don't get recorded for posterity.

Julie: Well, not even for posterity. This film cost a lot of money on one hand, and very little relative to most movies. But we and the unions have to change our attitude about it. You've got to encourage producers to put the money up, to get it recorded, and to allow them to sell it before having to pay everyone back. There has to be more talk in the theatre community because this is what keeps theatre alive. This is what makes more people want to go and see live theatre. You know, every time there is a movie about a musical - it makes more people go and see the stage show. It's not in competition with live theatre, it's enhancing it.

Alan: And of course it opens it (live theatre) up to many people who wouldn't normally have access to New York.

Julie: Absolutely! The National Theatre has proven that this works, but we in New York don't have the arrangements with unions worked out yet. We need a summit, really, to get people talking. Anyways, it's a whole world to talk about it. If you want to help organize it with me, let's go! (Laughing) It's all very complicated and something to get into. We have to support the producers and investors so they can find buyers before they have to start paying. Because, if we make it to expensive up front - no one is going to want to do it. It's too risky! Why should they do that? I'm very much in support of the producers in this. They're taking all the risk and everyone else has (already been paid).

Alan: Is there another Shakespeare or classic play you'd like to do next?

Julie: I don't know what the next play or Shakespeare will be. I'm open! Well, there were a couple I wanted to do that are being done. The Scottish Play is being done and I'd have loved to do that. We've had enough King Lears! I have to find one that's not so well known or done all the time. I'm not sure what that's going to be right now. I have a few upcoming film and theatre projects, but they're not classics.

Follow Alan Henry on twitter @alanhenryTO.