Medea Phase II Performance Update

Got some very exciting news yesterday…

I can confirm that we will be performing Seneca’s Medea at the BWAC Cultural Space in Red Hook on July 23/24th!  If you’ve never been to BWAC to see their quarterly arts show, it’s a very charged community and it takes place in an awesome warehouse.

(If you know me, then you know how obsessed I am with awesome warehouses…)

So, put that on your calendar.  You’ll be seeing both Phase I and Phase II…the mystery will be unveiled.

More to come.

SS

Seneca’s “Medea” – Phase I Video

For our final performance on Sunday, April 3, we filmed the piece from the back of The Old Stone House.  A pretty interesting result, and I think it captures the force and simplicity of the work.  Comments welcome.

(Note this film is rather crude, and was basically taken for our archive.  For the August performances, a more complete filming will take place)

We’re now onto Phase II, with work slated to begin in May and performances in later June (dates TBA).

Thanks and enjoy!

Sat/Sun Shows Completely BOOKED, + Some Rehearsal Pics

If you’d like to see Seneca’s Medea (Phase I) this week, you’ll need to let me know asap (please let me know by clicking here).

Saturday & Sunday shows are completely booked now.

The Thursday performance is at 930pm and Friday’s is at 830pm. Both will be held at:

Jaya Yoga Center
1626 8th Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
(Corner of 8th Ave & Windsor Place)

I urge you to book asap as seats are truly going quickly.

Also, here’s a link to some pics from our Saturday rehearsal (with thanks to Theresa Sgobba, the photographer):

Phase I Performances: Reserve Your Seat Now!

Seneca’s Medea

“This day shall see a deed that ne’er shall be forgot”

I am very proud to announce the four upcoming work-in-progress viewings of Seneca’s Medea.  The venues we will be in are quite cozy so I strongly advise you to reserve a seat in advance (see below).  We will allow for walk-ups, but only if there are unreserved seats.

CAST:

Medea: Judith Barnes
Nurse: Jennifer Fisher
Creon: Thomas Cox
Jason: Stephen Shelley

Phase I of the project is the very simple presentation of Seneca’s work.  We have very minimal implements and staging, exposing the work in its barest, most powerful form.   Our goal is to convey this tragic and profoundly riveting story in the most intimate, simple way possible.  The performances listed in this announcement are the Phase I viewings.

Phase II will culminate with performances in early June where we construct a second piece to coexist around the simple Medea play.  Those performances will, again, be a work-in-progress viewing for a long weekend.  Finally, our wish is to be accepted into this year’s Fringe Festival in August to present the entire work in its final form.  More on Phase II and our August performances to come.

Below is the information for the Phase I performances from Thursday, March 31-Sunday, April 3.  If you would like to come, I urge you to reserve a seat asap.  Seating is very limited.  There is no charge for these viewings (donations, however, are greatly appreciated)

DATES:

Thursday, March 31st, 9:30pm, Jaya Yoga Center, Park Slope
Friday, April 1st, 8:30pm, Jaya Yoga Center, Park Slope
Saturday, April 2nd, 7:00pm, Old Stone House, Park Slope
Sunday, April 3rd, 4:00pm, Old Stone House, Park Slope

ADDRESSES:

Jaya Yoga Center
1626 8th Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
(Corner of 8th Ave & Windsor Place)

Old Stone House
336 3rd Street
Brooklyn, NY
(Western edge of park flanked by 4th Ave & 3rd St)

To reserve seats, please email tdlfete@gmail.com.  Due to very high demand, we urge you to reserve your seat(s) asap.  You will receive an email response as confirmation of your reservation.

2 Forms

What interests me is the convergence of 2 forms at once, forming a unique 3rd form – something that could not have been possible otherwise.  In the Medea instance, I want to examine the combination of 1 rather rigid form of theater (the story of Medea) along with a form entirely loose and free.

Words are interesting, and necessary, but not the most important aspect to a theatrical event.  The most purely theatrical form that I’ve ever witnessed is dance – and in particular, modern dance.  Many plays are better suited to film, for example – thus making the theatrical element dispensable.  So then, the question which interests me is – how to make theater important, and not simply a forum for story and words.

Empty Theater.  Without another form, more traditional and conventional, E.T. would not work.  But, with something else there to support it, it can exist.  The aim then is to have 2 differing works occuring simultaneously, that do not distract from the other but that support the other.

Glossary of Terms Used

I’ve created the attached document which describes the many allusions and references used in the play.  This was a fascinating process, as many of these bring an entirely new light to the passages.  As I compiled this, I remarked many times to myself that the woman to play Medea (in particular) is to be taken for quite a journey.  Many of the images she creates are wildly intense, horrific, and very, very specific.  I am struck at how often she plays with the story of Hercules.  He was certainly an Argonaut, and therefore references to him can be seen as topical.  Quite possibly she relates to Hercules.  She is being tried by the Gods, in this case, and must survive – much as he was given the 12 labors to complete.  She sees herself as something above human, or mortal.  She is the granddaughter of Helios (Phoebus Apollo) and relates this often.  These aspects will provide for some meaningful flesh to apply to the bones of the role.

Nevertheless, attached is the glossary.  If you are reading the script and would like to utilize this as a companion, feel free.  It opens the text up beautifully.

SS.

Click here to download:  Glossary Of Terms

First Reading…The Date is Set, May 27th

Looks like the first reading of the text will be held on May 27th, a Thursday evening.  So far, 3 spots have been filled.  Am still seeking men to read for Creon.  If you know of anyone, please have them contact me.

Two Pieces At Once

In short, that is the work.  The text for Medea, preserved in its entirety and unchanged, will be one piece.  The second will be a more open, purely theatrical work which exists around the Medea play.  I call this ‘empty theater’.

Why?

I have always been interested in the idea of a “universal language” in theater.  Peter Brook certainly searched for this (does he continue to do so? Hard to say).  Brook’s work still stays very close to text, which distances certainly the non-english speaking spectator but, as well, the culturally different too. 

In my days working with Merce Cunningham, one thing was immediately apparent.  We were travelling constantly to non-english speaking countries.  His work was open, accessible and universal.  It was pure movement.  There were no stories attached, no plain-motifs, no seeming ‘worldly’ relationships either (this could be argued, but I think this is generally the case).  You were watching movement for movement’s sake.  Merce was exploring the possibilities of the human organism in motion (and, in stillness). 

John Cage had a similar exploration with music, sound and silence.

As I watched Merce’s work, night-in, night-out, I kept wondering if this sort of atmosphere could be created without dancers, but with actors.  Can a purely theatrical event be staged that is not about movement (as I am not a dancer or choreographer, as my friends will attest) per se, nor is it about story, character, plot, or even emotion.  Is there something that exists, that can be found, that we can call pure “theater”?

My first attempt at this was a piece I did in 1996 called “Noah’s Flood”.  I used three players, and we explored both the original Miracle Play chronicling Noah’s saga.  But, we then broke the words down into pure sounds and engaged in a theatre game using pennants of differing colors.  These were sort of “magic wands” with fabric attached to the end of differing shades of blue, purple and gold.  The audience was asked to be interested in the game, of what would happen “next” with these objects.  The text, or sound score (as I called it), was the platform for the game.  It was a way for us to stay together, connected, while we did something else.

Next, I worked with a piece I called “Tale of the Magic Glove”.  I still intend to do this work, though after a few other pieces.  It’s scope and magnitude are large, it’s possibilities – endless.  It tells the story of any human society which evolves and then destroys itself.  It centers around the discovery of a “magic” glove in a box which, when worn, produces a sound in the wearer.  In this sense, a new verbal language is created every single time the show is staged.  There are only 5 players, but once the 5 sounds have been introduced, the players then morph sounds, and are able to steal new ones they hear from the audience.  Someone coughs?  Great – we can use that as a sound. 

Through this vehicle, we searched for a basic society that we could then color in any way that we chose.  Here we had 5 individuals, speaking – suddenly – language.  They would then search for ways to attach meaning to the sounds, to convey thought with the sound, to pursue an aim with the sound, and to connect with others.  It was an extraordinarily large possibility. 

The other aspect here, that I must relate even though it is slightly separate from this theme of a “universal language”, is that in having an open society in this way, we could explore any “first” we wanted to.  So:

• The first kiss
• The first ritual
• The first dance
• The first prayer
• The first fight

There were suddenly countless ones.  In each of us, we had to search for HOW – through our own DNA – these things might have happened.  Was there a trace of some pure impulse within us that could serve as a guide?

This project was shelved, as it suddenly mushroomed into this enormous work – once that I was not ready for.

But, the curiousity in discovering theater that is universal continues.  Listen, I like to travel and always marveled at how Merce’s work could literally reach anyone – it was open and pure.  Any audience could sit in front of his work and have a sincere impression of it.  You cannot say the same for a play or opera.  Unless the audience speaks english, you won’t be booked overseas.

Of course, it is not solely about travel…but about a search.  My opinion: the theater art has stalled.  With the exception of a few, bold artists (Robert Wilson, the largest example of this in our current culture), the theater art has stalled – it has simply agreed with its followers to repeat the same, basic form over, and over, and over, again…the Play.

I haven’t a thing against a play, but it is really the only form we can discover? 

Two Pieces At Once, say I.  And here’s why.  One that is truly a play – the Medea play, in this case.  Another which exists around it, to explore ideas completely separate from the Medea, but that can also support Medea.  Oh, and the Medea play will be asked to support the empty work as well.

The very interesting piece is what happens in between?  What is the atmosphere created when these 2 works come together?  This is not about the chaotic “happenings” of the 60s where 2 pieces distracted from each other (or more than 2…) vying for attention in the same space/time. 

No, this is about us, as artists, exploring the space between the 2 works, and making something THERE.  It is there that I believe something rather universal, significant and purely theatrical exists.  It is also about the relationship between the 2 works, and in exploring ways that the 2 can influence the others.  Can they support the other along its journey towards its own, independent conclusion.

And, isn’t this a little like life, relationship and vying for space in this, our new 21st Century world?

We’ll see.

SS.

The Text Of The Play

I wanted to quickly add this here, as I would like for any/all persons interested in the piece to freely download the text here.  It is the F.J. Miller translation from 1907.  The lyricism and beauty is stunning.  It is a large challenge to play, but far outreaches other translations of Seneca’s work.

Medea Text

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.

SS.