Things have been getting pretty absurd at Wells College this week.
Chet Susslin / The Citizen
Julian Trutmann portrays The King in a rehearsal of “Escurial.”
Julian Trutmann portrays The King in a rehearsal of “Escurial.”
The college theater department is in the midst of a week-long program celebrating and exploring the absurdist movement. The program, which has included daily special presentations and lectures, will culminate with a run of performances highlighting some of the best work the movement produced.
Beginning Friday, the department will present a two-day run of Michel De Ghelderode's “Escurial” and Jean Genet's “The Maids.” Between the two, there will be an original dance piece inspired by the iconic plays and choreographed by local students Eden Kostick and Arianna Bickford.
Wells College theater professor Siouxsie Grady said this week that the idea to hold a program dedicated to absurdism really came from the students. It is pretty common for theater and literature students to become interested in the works of such luminaries as Samuel Beckett and Eugäne Ionesco during college, she said.
“They have been asking me about doing something like this for the last couple years,” Grady said of the students.
An experimental form of theater that became most prevalent from the 1940s through the 1960s, absurdist plays often draw on existentialist concepts to explore how humans relate to their surroundings and situations. Characters in these plays often find themselves in incomprehensible situations and make decisions without using logic or rationality.
Grady is directing the production of “The Maids,” which she described as an enamoring play. The story revolves around two maids and their mistress, and is loosely based on a true story about the brutal murder of a high society woman and her daughter.
Needless to say, these plays may not be suitable for all ages, Grady said.
“(It explores) the idea that one job in society can cause so much destruction, and looks at how the different power levels that people have can be really destructive whether they are on top of that power level or on the other side,” she said.
The second play, “Escurial,” is directed by Joe DeForest, who is technical director and facilities manager at Wells. The play revolves around a king and jester in the Spanish palace who decide to trade places while they wait for an announcement declaring the queen to be dead.
“It has all the elements that have always drawn me to theater,” DeForest said of the play in a written release. “I am completely fascinated by the relationships and characters in this play.”
Leading up to the performances, Wells has hosted daily lectures and presentations during which faculty members have explored the absurdist movement and how it relates to other aspects of culture.
Grady said the presentations have hopefully given students the background to appreciate this art form on a deeper level. But the pieces themselves can be enjoyed without the added context, she said.
“These plays really stand on their own,” Grady said.
Christopher Caskey
253-5311 ext. 282
christopher.caskey@lee.net
If you go.
What: “Escurial” and “The Maids”
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday April 3 and 4; 2 p.m. Sunday, April 5
Where: Phipps Auditorium, Macmillan Hall, Wells College, Aurora
Cost: Free
Info: Call 364-3232 or visit www.wells.edu
Beginning Friday, the department will present a two-day run of Michel De Ghelderode's “Escurial” and Jean Genet's “The Maids.” Between the two, there will be an original dance piece inspired by the iconic plays and choreographed by local students Eden Kostick and Arianna Bickford.
Wells College theater professor Siouxsie Grady said this week that the idea to hold a program dedicated to absurdism really came from the students. It is pretty common for theater and literature students to become interested in the works of such luminaries as Samuel Beckett and Eugäne Ionesco during college, she said.
“They have been asking me about doing something like this for the last couple years,” Grady said of the students.
An experimental form of theater that became most prevalent from the 1940s through the 1960s, absurdist plays often draw on existentialist concepts to explore how humans relate to their surroundings and situations. Characters in these plays often find themselves in incomprehensible situations and make decisions without using logic or rationality.
Grady is directing the production of “The Maids,” which she described as an enamoring play. The story revolves around two maids and their mistress, and is loosely based on a true story about the brutal murder of a high society woman and her daughter.
Needless to say, these plays may not be suitable for all ages, Grady said.
“(It explores) the idea that one job in society can cause so much destruction, and looks at how the different power levels that people have can be really destructive whether they are on top of that power level or on the other side,” she said.
The second play, “Escurial,” is directed by Joe DeForest, who is technical director and facilities manager at Wells. The play revolves around a king and jester in the Spanish palace who decide to trade places while they wait for an announcement declaring the queen to be dead.
“It has all the elements that have always drawn me to theater,” DeForest said of the play in a written release. “I am completely fascinated by the relationships and characters in this play.”
Leading up to the performances, Wells has hosted daily lectures and presentations during which faculty members have explored the absurdist movement and how it relates to other aspects of culture.
Grady said the presentations have hopefully given students the background to appreciate this art form on a deeper level. But the pieces themselves can be enjoyed without the added context, she said.
“These plays really stand on their own,” Grady said.
Christopher Caskey
253-5311 ext. 282
christopher.caskey@lee.net
If you go.
What: “Escurial” and “The Maids”
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday April 3 and 4; 2 p.m. Sunday, April 5
Where: Phipps Auditorium, Macmillan Hall, Wells College, Aurora
Cost: Free
Info: Call 364-3232 or visit www.wells.edu
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