Medea

For 10 years I have been mulling over a directing project involving Seneca’s “Medea”.  In the last 2 months, I’ve decided to proceed with the work.  This will not, however, be produced in a conventional format.

*I invite anyone who might be interested in participating in the piece, as an actor or in some other capacity, to email me via this blog (or, simply comment below and I will contact you). 

I intend to produce a work which utilizes Seneca’s “Medea” as a focal point, but not the entire event.  When “offstage” each player will be fulfilling other tasks along the perimeter of the piece.  This will serve as another theatrical work, not bound by words, story or character.  I seek an appropriate compliment to the “Medea” story through the service of, what I call, “empty theater”.

“Empty Theater”, a phrase I create from Peter Brook’s “The Empty Space”, is an exploration of purely theatrical ideas.  Theatrical ideas are actions within the realm of performance which can ONLY exist within the confines of the theater.

It is my view that the contemporary theater has become stuck within a slim variety of theatrical ideas, most notably: The Play.  But, aren’t there other ways to reach an audience?  Aren’t there other avenues for exploring beauty in live performance?  Are there not other forms which can move an individual, provoke thought, inspire action?  These are the questions I pursue with the “empty theater” work existing within the same space/time as “Medea”.

Will one distract from the other?  Perhaps.  My goal is to find a creative way for both works to emphasize and support the other.  This requires an entirely new way of working with actors, designers and space.

More to come.

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