Inside A.C.T.

By Annie Sears At the first rehearsal for Rhinoceros , director Frank Galati reminded the cast, crew, and A.C.T. staff that during the 1930s and ’40s, playwright Eugène Ionesco watched his friends succumb to popular political beliefs. In his memoir, Ionesco recalls chatting with his friends—university professors, students, journalists, critics, and other intellectuals—to dismantle fascist propaganda. All but three of those friends eventually changed their allegiance, even those who had claimed to be fascism's firmest opponents. To Ionesco, these friends were “pseudo-intellectuals” because they didn’t truly think; instead, they regurgitated predominant systems of thought. “They were caught in the mechanism,” wrote Ionesco. “They accepted everything. They became rhinoceroses.” Director Frank Galati addresses the cast and crew of Rhinoceros at the first rehearsal. Photo by Elspeth Sweatman. Absurdist theater artists such as Ionesco believed that fascist ideologies were...