"The theater, bringing impersonal masks to life, is only for those who are virile enough to create new life: either as a conflict of passions subtler than those we already know, or as a complete new character"

Alfred Jarry’s declaration foregrounds the transformative and creative power inherent in theater. The reference to “impersonal masks” invokes both literal and metaphorical meanings, masks worn by actors and the personas or archetypes conveyed through performance. These masks are inherently devoid of life, waiting for the actor’s energy and vision. The true art of theater, then, is the act of animating these empty vessels, turning the abstract into a unique experience pulsing with human feeling and intention.

Jarry stipulates that bringing such masks to life is not a task for the faint-hearted, but for those with the vitality, what he calls “virile,” or creative force, necessary to generate something original. This creative force isn’t just about following scripts or tradition. It is about imbuing established forms with new meaning, or even inventing entirely new forms. The actor or playwright must possess an inner strength that allows for the birth of what has not yet been seen, a willingness to look past what is familiar.

Two methods of this theatrical creation are offered. The first is to stage a “conflict of passions subtler than those we already know”; that is, to explore emotions and psychological struggles that evade cliché or caricature, demanding a nuanced understanding of the human experience. The dramatist or performer becomes a kind of explorer, investigating the depths and subtleties of passion to present audiences with feelings and contradictions that resonate on fresh levels.

Alternatively, the theater artist may invent a “complete new character,” an entity not previously encountered in the canon of drama. Such originality does not merely replicate known types but challenges expectation, broadening the emotional and imaginative landscape of the audience. For Jarry, theater is not simple mimicry; it achieves its highest purpose when it expands the territory of human possibility, breathing original life into forms that once seemed static or impersonal.