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Max Reinhardt was born Max Goldmann on September 9th, 1873 in Baden, near Vienna. He was the oldest of the seven children born to Wilhelm and Rose Goldmann, an Orthodox Jewish couple. With his only brother, Edmund, young Max played long hours with puppets and from their balcony watched the real puppets in the streets. "He was educated at the Untergymnasium, and was in a banking business till seventeen" (Carter 33).
"Though his parents were remote from theatrical life, they were sympathetic to his fascination with the actors of the Vienna Burgtheater, and, at the urging of one of these, they allowed their son to exchange his boredom as a bank clerk for the excitement of drama school" (Britannica). Although he proved to be an inhibited actor,
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Aside from his performances, one of his most distinguished characteristics was that of his relationship with the actors or actresses in his plays. " "Reinhardt was the first!
major producer to use this combination of large and small theater, and it was he who virtually instituted experimentation" (Brockett 213). Purchasing a tavern next door, Reinhardt remodeled it into a small theater for plays that needed intimacy with the audience. "American theatrical activities include a workshop for stage, screen and radio in Hollywood, a California Festival on the Salzburg model, several film projects, and the beginning of a promising repertory theater in New York, which fostered collaboration with up-and-coming playwrights" (Binghamton). His methods and techniques are copied even by the most professional directors. This is especially true of Reinhardt's stage, due not only to the strong influence which Reinhardt exerts on the actor but to the individual training the actor receives under Reinhardt" (Sayler 111). They were not considered, in his eyes, to be any less than the main actor. Reinhardt was very well known for casting understudies at the last minute or days before the performance when the main actor showed signs of egotism. Brahm was devastated, no understudy had rehearsed and the production company risked loss of money.
"Every stage represents the individuality of its manager, especially when the dramatic text is not the sole factor of importance, but is only one of the means to a desired end. Fr!
om this moment his progress was assured. "The Miracle, a work involving more than 2,000 actors, musicians, dancers, and other personnel and without dramatic dialogue, was a modern-day reunification of drama and ritual.
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