Lots of Laughs in Waiting for Godot!

The Long Beach Playhouse is currently presenting their Studio Theatre production of Samual Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. This is probably Beckett’s best known works among his Irish avant-garde plays and poems. It was somewhat surprising to me to see so few people in the audience. Almost as surprising as the myriad of questions I had after reading this play in college. After all, what the heck is this play all about?

In short Waiting for Godot is about waiting, friendship, the human condition & faith. Vladimir (Anthony B. Cohen) and Estragon (Karl Schott) wait in a nondescript desert-like setting characterized only by the presence a lonely bare tree and large rocks. Andrew Vonderschmitt’s stylized set design is reminiscent of a Salvador Dali painting and provides a perfect setting for the surreal nature of the play.

The two men are waiting for a character named Godot. To pass the time, Vladimir and Estragon create various trivial activities talking, eating, and arguing through their day. They constantly tease each other and when the boredom becomes overwhelming, they contemplate suicide. However, the most entertaining part of the play is when Vladimir and Estragon receive a bizarre visit from what appears to be slave owner Pozzo (Steven Biggs) and his servant Lucky (Kyle Bryan Hall).

Surprisingly, considering Beckett is the source of this madness, there is never a dull moment in this production. It is as funny as it is thought provoking. All the actors involved give energized full-throttle performances, including Kyle Bryan Hall who doesn’t speak for what seems like an eternity, but communicates his character with gesture and facial expression, until the moment when he is asked to “think” and cannot be persuaded to shut-up.

There are a million ways to interpret this play (none of which are right or wrong) and LBPH does an excellent job letting the play speak for itself. This is a must see production for any theatre artist, student and theatre admirer. Waiting for Godot is a classic piece that does not come around nearly as often as it should. So please support Southern California theatre and purchase a ticket today. You will not be disappointed and you will be talking about the play with friends for hours upon hours.

Waiting for Godot at the Long Beach Playhouse Studio Theatre through May 7. General admission tickets are $22; $20 for seniors. Student tickets are $12 with valid student ID. Performances are Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8pm, and Sundays at 2pm. at 5021 E. Anaheim St. Call (562) 494-1014 for reservations and information. Tickets are also available online at http://www.lbplayhouse.org/.

Anton Webern

I have been trying to start my research for the new play Transfigured Night by Todd Rew and I thought, “Why not start with the music?”.

The play is based on the composer Anton Webern who is best known for his use of twelve-tone technique, a method of musical composition devised by Arnold Schoenberg. I have to say that for me the music isn’t as pleasing or as satisfying as listening to Bach or Schubert (my personal favorite), but I am starting to find the beauty in it.

I have only just begun, but here is my favorite Webern piece so far:



Also, here is a brief history fo Schonenberg's Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night), followed by part one of the Opus.

Verklärte Nacht (or Transfigured Night), Op. 4, is a string sextet in one movement composed by Arnold Schoenberg in 1899. Transfigured Night is considered his earliest important work. Composed in just three weeks, the work was inspired by Richard Dehmel's poem of the same name, along with Schoenberg's strong feelings upon meeting Mathilde von Zemlinsky (the sister of his teacher Alexander von Zemlinsky) whom he would later marry.

Dehmel's poem describes a man and a woman walking through a dark forest on a moonlit night, wherein the woman shares a dark secret with her new lover: she bears the child of another man.

Verklärte Nacht was controversial when it premiered in 1902. No only was the structure of the music before its time, but Dehmel's explicit references to sexual themes in the origional poem were a topic of great controversy. Unusual for its time, the music strays far from the home key, though the work is clearly rooted in D minor. A particular point of controversy was the use of a single inverted ninth chord, which resulted in its rejection by the Vienna Music Society because they claimed such a chord is 'nonexistent'. Schoenberg once remarked "and thus (the work) cannot be performed since one cannot perform that which does not exist".

Transfigured Night Casting!

I will officially be playing Wilhelmine (Minna) Webern in a staged reading of the new play Transfigured Night by Todd Rew. Blue Moon Theatre Company will host this event on June 4th at 2:00 PM. I am privileged to be included in the very first stage reading and to reunite with director Phil Brickey. Until our first meeting as a cast, it is time to listen to some surrealist music and invest in an Austrian/German pronunciation dictionary.

Americans for the Arts E-Advocacy Center

I just took action on this important arts issue and I hope you'll take a moment to do the same. With the pending government shutdown, we need people to stand up for the arts more than ever. Europe and other parts of the world recognize the importance of arts funding. Let's help the U.S. do the same.

Please Follow This Link to Take Action on Important Arts Issues: http://capwiz.com/artsusa/utr/2/?a=32534501&i=1234&c=

Why do the arts matter? - Learn more about Arts Advocacy Day here: http://www.artsusa.org/news/afta_news/default.asp  

A Chili First

I just returned from my first rehearsal of Chili Con Carnage at Write Act Repertory. I was very pleased to see Michael Eiden, my director. He brings such a wonderful energy to the space and I feel completely safe in his hands.

We were also very fortunate to have the playwright at the rehearsal, Ann Gibbs, who is an experienced television writer. Ann was eager to answer our questions and give us some valuable insights. She also presented us with 10 pages of rewrites which dramatically changed my character’s development and the feel of the piece.

I am looking forward to receiving the final script this week, which I hope with remain at least somewhat intact since we have very few rehearsals left. I am continuing to work on my dialect and character development, but have postponed any further memorization until I receive the next set of rewrites.