The most important major theatrical undertaking now going on in this country is the American Shakespeare Festival and Academy at Stratford, Connecticut. At last, Shakespeare is leaving the printed page; the man who bequeathed us the largest canon of great plays is beginning to get the respect and service he deserves from both the theatrical profession and the American public at large.

Shakespeare's own native England was in no hurry to serve him properly; and for generations the plays were offered in the "improved" versions of Nahum Tate, Colley Cibber, Thomas Shadwell, David Garrick and the like.

When we think of Shakespearean productions, our minds usually turn to the Stratford-on-Avon Festival and the Old Vic. These are now established institutions; the former began on the play-wright's tercentenary in 1864 and after rough sledding has continued as we know it from 1879, while the Old Vic has been a home for Shakespeare since 1914.

But Shakespeare is not a national possession; he belongs to the whole world. Six years ago Canada founded its own Shakespeare Festival at Stratford, Ontario. And four years ago the United States saw the start of its own annual Stratford Festival. We often do things with amazing speed in this country, and these four short years have enabled Stratford-on-Housatonic to raise its head high among the other Stratfords.

Until recently, Shakespeare in this country (as in England) suffered from an inflated conception of the leading role and the personality of its portrayer, and from settings and props so ponderous and realistic that the long between-the-scenes waits necessitated wholesale abridgements of the text. No wonder the audiences, patience was exhausted.

But the fast-moving and imaginative productions of Margaret Webster proved a stimulus and an eye-opener. And now our Stratford has a handsome, air-conditioned theatre, which contains Rouben Ter-Arutunian's magnificent basic stage and a surrounding physical plant that can accommodate the demands of all Shakespeare's plays with amazing speed and versatility.

The entire Festival and Academy are under the artistic direction of John Houseman. It is inspiring to see a man who can command huge fees from Hollywood and television give up so big a part of each year to Shakespeare out of sheer love, devotion and hope. He is giving us productions that flow swiftly; yet the only adverse criticism I have of his general approach concerns the shows' running-time. There are fewer cuts than used to be the case, but he still seems reluctant to give us the full texts. So what if a production does run over three hours? We are willing nowadays to sit through four-hour movies and O'Neill plays, and we certainly can do the same for Shakespeare. It is always dangerous and ill-advised to cut works of art; and the part excised is always somebody's favorite bit--maybe even the critic's.

When all is said and done, though, the core of the whole project is its roster of performers. The goal is to have a real repertory company at Stratford in the summer to put on exciting productions, which will then be toured during the rest of the year--thereby bringing Shakespeare to many parts of the country and providing extended employment for the actors, actresses and staff; and, in addition, to have an ancillary school, where the youngest talents of today can be helped to become leading Shakespearean practitioners of tomorrow.

Ideally, the hope should be to develop a company in which every actor could do a creditable Hamlet tomorrow and every actress a Lady Macbeth the day after. The aim must be kept high if great results are to be achieved.

What are some of the desired attributes of the ideal Stratford performer? He must, of course, have a God-given talent and a personal magnetism (which is unanalyzable). He needs a voice of wide range and many timbres. He must be able to speak and project with utter clarity at all dynamic levels. He should be able to convey the music and poetry of the text. He must know how to breathe properly (Shakespeare is unusually difficult in this regard). He needs a feeling for rhythm and tempo; and must be able to get at and put across the meaning of the words.

Aside from vocal matters, he has to be a master of gesture and movement. Walking is particularly important here; I am tempted to say that you can tell more about a person from his walk than from any other thing except his speech. An instructive case in point is Alec Guinness' performance in Bridge on the River Kwai. Guinness must have employed at least two dozen different walks for this role, and he was thereby able to convey even without a word, the subtlest changes of condition or attitude.

Finally, our ideal performer benefits from versatility, from the ability to convey to an audience any reaction to any situation whatsoever at will.

This is a tall order. But the Stratford players have already made big strides in this direction. In general, there is a laudable clarity of speech, though breathing and musicality of diction still need work. And a number of members of the troupe have shown extraordinary versatility in the types of role they can do well.

It takes time to develop these qualities. And the group has, in Morris Carnovsky and Will Geer, two older men with long experience and finely controlled technique. But most of the performers are young; and this is as it should be. The longer they work together, the better the company will become. The Festival's future lies with them.

The company has, in Earle Hyman, Ellis Rabb and Richard Waring, the three persons that come closest to the ideal performer outlined above. These three speak Shakespearean verse best; they move best; and they are versatile (though Waring has not yet shown so wide a range as Hyman and Rabb). Richard Easton continues to do fine work, especially in comedy. And John Colicos has increased in stature since joining the company and bids fair to improve still more.

On the distaff side, Inga Swenson has in her first season proved an invaluable addition; lovely to look at, she can sing as well as speak beautifully. Nancy Marchand and Nancy Wickwire are already accomplished actresses, and show promise of further growth. And Barbara Barrie has a special gift for comedy.

So here is the core of a truly superb Shakespearean repertory company. I am not unaware of the Shakespearean achievements at the Antioch Festival in Ohio and elsewhere, but the sun is shining most brightly over Stratford, Connecticut. If great things are done for Shakespeare, they seem certain to be done here. Much progress has been made, much remains to be made. The people involved must not slacken for a moment. We must support them to the limit and say, "Get on with the job." They in turn must do just that; for that is now their duty as well as their privilege.