Ah, Saturday night at the theatre, and it was time to take in "Ghosts" at ABET. With all of our science fiction and horror flicks today, the title can be mis-leading. I, as usual, did my homework and read some synopses of the play before heading to the beach. (I've found that I'm not one who enjoys a show I know nothing about. I need to have read the plot or a synopsis so I can sit back and enjoy.) I was most anxious to see Erik DeCicco again and see Deborah Jordan in a show. As Tamara McClaran said in her Shorelines article: "ABET’s production offers a rare opportunity to see Deborah Jordan, head of the acting/directing program at Jacksonville University, perform in the community theater setting." It was also a suprise, and joy, to see Richard Sheffler again. I saw him in "Other Peoples Money" at Limelight a few years ago.
Lanford Wilson's version of Ghosts is a very trimmed down version of the original. Act 1 was only 30 minutes long. At intermission, folks were asking, "Is this intermission?" Acts 2 and 3 are run back to back with only a black-out inbetween. I absolutely loved the curtain call - perfect for this show.
Deborah and Erik did not disappoint. Still learning this craft, I made a point of watching Deborah when she was in a scene but not in the conversation. I was enthralled with her acting because it didn't seem she was acting at all. Everything was natural.
It was a fun evening, seeing a good show and chatting with friends.
TTFN!
Article on Jacksonville.com
http://jacksonville.com/community/shorelines/2010-01-13/story/new_translation_of_ghosts_on_stage_at_atlantic_beach_experimen
Director's Notes
Henrik Ibsen finished the script of Ghosts in 1881. The original script was penned in Danish, and Ibsen’s title for the piece was Gengangere, which literally translated means, the ‘again walkers’. The play was then translated into English by William Archer, who, chose the title Ghosts. The play received its world premiere in Chicago in 1882, and has since been engulfed in a sea of negative publicity, mainly due to the subject matter. The play, Ghosts, is approaching its one hundred and thirtieth birthday, and still engages social questions that remain relevant today: alcoholism, sexual disease, and infidelity.
This particular version, translated by Lanford Wilson, pushes the envelope even further, drawing special attention to the transgressions of each character, not one or two. The action of this play sends the characters through multiple journeys, which force all of them to change and adapt. It is within this growth that the ghosts of past generations are unknowingly awakened and the ghosts of future generations are unwillingly created.
That was a GREAT thing to notice about Debbie's performance. Acting is about REacting ... what you do onstage when you're NOT speaking is INFINITELY more important and significant than your line delivery. Hopefully I'll get out to see it, but now with my theatre life getting back into full swing ... who knows?
ReplyDeleteWhen I was Reverend Parris in "The Crucible", my favorite part was the trial scene when I got to spend a long time on stage glaring and reacting to Proctor. I didn't have a line to say, but I enjoyed saying so much!
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