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FOR MORE ON MY EXPERIENCE AT BECKETTFEST, SEE MY PAGE HERE. |
UPDATE: 9/3-10/3/04
BECKETTFEST
RTC is doing a really amazing festival featuring all 19 of Beckett's plays onstage and/or on film. The festival runs from September 18 - October 3, 2004. "Waiting For Godot" (Ted's latest outing - which opens on 9/2/04) is part of this festival. I will be helping to house manage during this festival (thanks SO MUCH for the opportunity, Karyl Lynn), and I will let all of you know what it was like, and how Ted is - while I am there, if I can use a computer, or when I get back if I don't get the chance. Below are articles from Insidevc.com and Santa Barbara News-Press that talk about this great event, and the Backstage 9/1/04 preview, as well as the calendarlive listing in the 9/3/04 LATimes, the 9/8 & 25/04 LATimes Reviews, the Santa Barbara News-Press Review, the 9/16/04 Whittier Daily News review, and the listing on the Barkerductions website:
http://www.backstage.com/review/opening-this-week-waiting-for-godot/
http://www1.venturacountystar.com/vcs/on_stage/article/0,1375,VCS_253_3153798,00.html
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http://www1.venturacountystar.com/vcs/on_stage/article/0,1375,VCS_253_3153804,00.html
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The
waiting is over
Rubicon's 'Godot' starts today, kicking off a Beckett fest By Karen Lindell,
KLinedell@VenturaCountyStar.com "Yes, in
this immense confusion one thing alone is
clear: We are waiting for Godot to come." Academics have been playing the "Waiting for Godot" game for more than 50 years, pondering, "Who or what is Godot?" God? A savior? A metaphor for meaning in a chaotic world? One thing is clear: No one has figured it out. Beckett himself answered the question about Godot's elusive identity. "If I knew, I would have said so in the play," he said. After all, one doesn't win the Nobel prize for literature by merely tacking "ot" on to God. Fifteen years after Beckett's death, and 35 years after becoming a Nobel laureate, the author and his works continue to confound � and captivate � audiences. Ventura will become a Beckett mecca when the Rubicon Theatre Company presents BeckettFest, the first major West Coast festival devoted to the author. Rubicon's production of "Waiting for Godot," directed by Walter Asmus, who was a friend and colleague of the playwright, will be a highlight of the event. The festival, Sept. 18 through Oct. 3,
will feature all 19 of Beckett's plays
presented live or on film, stage adaptations
of his poetry and prose, and lectures and
discussions about his works. |
 Vladimir (Joe Spano, left) and Estragon (Robin Gammell) grapple with carrots and the meaning of existence in Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot," staged by the Rubicon Theatre Company as part of BeckettFest in Ventura.
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It's not clear how Beckett, a private man who avoided explanation and analysis of his work, would view an event devoted to his life and writing. According to the playwright's 1989 obituary in The New York Times, Beckett, when approached by authors about writing his biography, said his life was "devoid of interest." The obituary's headline suggested otherwise: "His 'Godot' Changed Theater." The kudos keep coming. In 1999 "Waiting for Godot" was voted the most significant English-language play of the 20th century in a British Royal National Theatre poll of 800 playwrights, actors, directors and journalists. But when the play opened at the Theatre de Babylone in Paris in 1953, and three years later in the United States at the Coconut Grove Playhouse in Miami, it was a puzzle to audiences and critics unaccustomed to quirkiness in the theater. When the U.S. production moved to Broadway in 1956, a New York Times critic called the play "a mystery wrapped in an enigma," and the show closed after 59 performances. But like other misunderstood masterpieces, "Waiting for Godot" has since become a classic. Beckett had a difficult time finding a director willing to stage the play because he had thrown out all the usual theatrical conventions. "Waiting for Godot" has a minimal plot, characters we don't know anything about who act like vaudevillians and seem to engage in random dialogue, and a bare-bones setting. Drama was supposed to be ... dramatic, with action and conflict. "Waiting for Godot," however, is all about inaction, opening with the line, "Nothing to be done." Except wait. The main characters, homeless men Estragon and Vladimir, spend most of their time bantering back and forth in two- or three-word sentences about matters both trivial and profound, arguing and contradicting each other, and finding ways to bide their time until Godot shows up. The other two characters, Pozzo and his slave, Lucky, show up to provide more fodder for discussion, returning in the second act blind (Pozzo) and mute (Lucky), without any explanation for their ailments. After all that, in the end Godot never even shows up. Yet it's all incredibly profound and entertaining.
Director Asmus dismisses any criticisms that "Waiting for Godot" is abstract, bleak or a philosophical exercise for intellectuals only. " 'Godot' is playful, with a lot of humor, and has nothing to do with philosophy or knowing about literature," said Asmus, who served as Beckett's assistant director for a production of "Waiting for Godot" in Berlin in 1974. He's directed all the author's plays, on both stage and screen, and was co-organizer of a Beckett festival in Berlin four years ago. The characters' conversations "are just as real as the dialogues we have with our friends," Asmus continued. "There's nothing abstract; you find your own reality in them." And waiting, he added, is something we can all relate to, whether we're in line at a bank, standing on a street corner until a bus arrives � or even serving a prison sentence. In 1957 the San Francisco Actors Workshop staged "Waiting for Godot" for inmates at San Quentin Prison. The prisoners, who were inspired to form a drama group after seeing the play, had no problem comprehending the idea of endless waiting. ("The San Quentin Drama Group," a discussion featuring an interview with convict-turned-actor Rick Cluchey, is part of the BeckettFest, 1:30 p.m. Sept. 24 at Ventura City Hall.) The characters in "Waiting for Godot" ask minor questions ("Are there no carrots?") and major ones ("Do you think God sees me?") ... The play itself, which Beckett labeled a tragicomedy, asks who we are and why we exist. But to the consternation of audiences used to seeing problems resolved at the end of two tidy acts, the play doesn't give any concrete answers. Likewise, all scholarly attempts to lump Beckett in with various isms � absurdism, nihilism, existentialism, modernism � are similar to Estragon and Vladimir trying to impose order on their lives. "We all have a very strong desire for answers," Asmus said. "It's not the task of a poet to give answers. That's what I learned from Samuel Beckett: Don't impose any interpretation on it." So if somebody in the audience thinks Godot is God, "fair enough," Asmus said. "If somebody else is hoping to win a million dollars in the lottery, that's fine for me too. It's this human yearning for something better." So waiting for Godot, said Asmus, is hopeful rather than hopeless. The director's favorite line from the
play is spoken by Pozzo: "They give birth
astride of a grave, the light gleams an
instant, then it's night once more." That
line, Asmus said, expresses "what we do
in life. It's a relentless truth." And a
truth that's clear. Rubicon Theatre Company presents Samuel
Beckett's play, starring Joe Spano, Cliff
DeYoung, Robin Gammell and Ted
Neeley, Sept. 2 through Oct. 3
at 1006 E. Main St., Ventura. The show has
previews at 8 p.m. Sept. 2-3, then opens at 7
p.m. Sept. 4. Regular performances continue at
7 p.m. Wednesdays, 8 p.m. Thursdays and
Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays and 2 p.m.
Sundays, with an additional 2 p.m. matinee
Sept. 9. Tickets for regular shows cost
$23-$45. Opening night tickets, which include
a post-show party with the cast, are $150. For
tickets or more information, call
805-667-2900. |
|
| 2004
� The E.W. Scripps Co. Ventura
County Star subscription
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http://events.calendarlive.com/top/1,1419,L-LATimes-Theater-X!EventDetail-107248,00.html
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 September 3, 2004 | 
Waiting for Godot Rubicon Theatre Company at the Laurel   1006 E. Main St., Ventura Rubicon Theatre Company presents Samuel Beckett's absurdist classic, with Joe Spano, Robin Gammell, Cliff DeYoung and Ted Neeley. Staged by German director Walter Asmus. Sep. 4 - Oct. 3 Opens Sept. 4, 7 p.m. Runs Wed., 7 p.m.; Thu.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sat.-Sun., 2 p.m. Price: $35-$45 Tickets: Box office: 805-667-2900. Write a review |
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http://search.newspress.com/2004/09/03/090304_onstage1.html
 9/3/04 -
Santa-Barbara News-Press Story |
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Those who waitTHE RUBICON THEATRE COMPANY CELEBRATES SAMUEL BECKETT WAITING FOR GODOT By Tom Jacobs Samuel Beckett's best-known remark did not come from one of his plays or novels. It is, rather, an extemporaneous comment made as he walked with a friend through a London park. As the story goes, the friend, remarking on the beautiful weather and glorious surroundings, said it was the kind of day that made one glad to be alive. Beckett's reply was sharp and succinct: "I wouldn't go that far." With its bleakness tempered by wit, the comment has come to exemplify the outlook of the Nobel Prize-winning Irish writer. Walter Asmus, Beckett's longtime friend and collaborator, called the exchange "quite typical" of the playwright, noting that he "liked to make little jokes and puns." "He was a very civilized person - very friendly, very cultured," Asmus added. "But he could also totally withdraw."
Thirty years ago, Asmus served as Beckett's assistant director on a celebrated Berlin production of "Godot." He has specialized in the playwright's work ever since, gradually establishing a reputation as one of the foremost Beckett interpreters in the world. In a major coup, Ventura's Rubicon Theatre Company convinced him to come to the West Coast and direct its production of "Waiting for Godot," which opens Saturday night. It will be the centerpiece of an ambitious Beckett festival, featuring supplemental productions of his shorter plays, "Brown Bag Beckett" lunchtime discussions, film screenings and conversations with artists and scholars. "The world is catching up to Beckett," said the Rubicon's James O'Neil. "If his work was ever dense or unrecognizable, it no longer is." That is in part due to Asmus, whose revelatory staging of "Godot" for the Gate Theatre of Dublin toured all over the world, including to UCLA in 2000. O'Neil and Karyl Lynn Burns, the Rubicon's co-artistic directors, saw that production in Ireland in the early 1990s. When they decided to produce the play, they tracked him down in Hanover, Germany, and convinced him to once again tackle Beckett's tale of two tramps who bide their time while waiting for their rescuer to arrive. "It's a tricky thing to do well, and it's a wonderful play," said Joe Spano, who plays one of the tragicomic tramps. "It moves me. It scares me. It makes me laugh. It seems very accurate in its depiction of the human experience."
Spano described Asmus as a conductor and the actors as instruments, trying to master "Godot's" intricate rhythms. "It is wonderfully musical," he said of the play. And like a great symphony, "It seems to me there is no end to what it means, because it doesn't limit itself to meaning any small thing." "Waiting for Godot" was written in 1949, in the bleakness of post-World War II Europe. It premiered four years later in Paris (where Beckett lived most of his life), dividing critics and baffling audiences. It opened on Broadway in 1956, in a production starring Burt Lahr; once again, the press and public were perplexed and puzzled. It closed after only 59 performances. But within just a few years, it became clear that Beckett had written something truly groundbreaking. He had created a spare vision of mankind at its most lost, stripped of its ideologies, theologies and philosophies, but refusing to give up hope. Vladimir (Spano) and Estragon (Robin Gammell) have no idea why they are alive, or what would constitute a productive use of their time. All they can do is wait for that person, or thing, that will provide them with the answers they crave. From time to time, they come across a wealthy landowner named Pozzo (Cliff DeYoung) and his slave Lucky (Ted Neeley). The pair provides a bit of diversion, but no answers. Contemporary critics - at least those who didn't dismiss the work for its lack of plot and conventional characters - compared Beckett to Jean-Paul Sartre and the existentialists. "Godot," they declared, was about the meaninglessness of existence. Asmus sees it differently. For him, the play illustrates "our yearning for salvation," as well as the ways we find to pass the time while we wait for that need to be met. "Fifty years ago, people didn't know so much about psychology," he noted. "We have developed in this respect. We recognize the patterns in the play and can apply them to our own behavior." It is a notoriously difficult drama to pull off. Even a high-profile 1988 production in New York City, with Mike Nichols directing Steve Martin and Robin Williams, failed to fully ignite. Some stagings err on the side of bleakness, while others, according to Asmus, push the physical humor too far. "There are vaudevillian routines in there," he said. "But I don't like productions so much when you make it vaudevillian acting from the beginning. It is very poetic, of course. But I try to find a certain realism, in terms of recognizable situations between two people. "What I'm striving for is a touch of the lightness - not making it a heavy experience." Asmus, 63, speaks admiringly of Beckett's 1974 production, calling it "very difficult to top. He worked everything out in such a functional, practical, economical way. But we can't (re-create his staging) mechanically. You have to adjust it to the actors." Indeed, Beckett, more than any other playwright, asks his actors to simply be themselves on stage. This has proven somewhat disconcerting to Spano, who was part of the ensemble of the long-running television drama "Hill Street Blues." "With Walter, the specific challenge is trying to clear out all the overlay of bad habits and indicating and overacting that accrues to one over the course of a career," he said. "He's trying to make us as spare and direct as possible." This approach means the cast must work "in a very different way," said Burns. "As actors, we want to motivate everything, justify everything. But it's so important to preserve the ambiguity of those words." For all the challenges he presents, Beckett is an irresistible draw for theater artists, as Burns discovered in putting together the festival. It started with an invitation to DeYoung to perform the one-man Beckett show he gave at Cal State Los Angeles two years ago. Then "the other people we consider core actors with the company got excited and proposed ideas," she said. The festival began to grow exponentially, to the point where, for the last two weeks of "Godot's" run (beginning Sept. 18), several events are scheduled every day, as early as 10 a.m. and as late as midnight. The other plays to be staged during BeckettFest include "Happy Days," with Robin Pearson Rose as a woman who maintains a cheery fa�ade in spite of the fact she is trapped in a mound of dirt; "Krapp's Last Tape," in which a man (Rick Cluchey) listens to a recording made by his younger, more optimistic self; and a double bill of two short works, "Rockabye" starring Susan Clark and "Footfalls" starring Linda Purl. (See schedule.) Asmus, who is also directing "Footfalls," generally takes a "Beckett Knows Best" approach, but he is careful to give his performers latitude. He recalled that, for the 1974 Berlin production, Beckett specified the way Lucky should carry a set of bags. When Asmus staged the play in Paris some years later, film director Roman Polanski played the role, and he insisted on working out the details for himself. "Three days before opening, he said, 'Walter, I've been thinking about it. I'll carry the bags like this.' He showed it to me, and it was exactly the way Beckett had worked it out!" Asmus smiled at the memory. "It's natural for an actor to say, 'No, let me figure it out,' " he said. "As long as we arrive at a result that matches the pattern of the production, it's OK." And if it takes the performer a while to get there, that's OK as well. He doesn't mind waiting. IF YOU GO, WHAT YOU'LL SEE "Krapp's Last Tape," starring Rick Cluchey, in a
production originally directed by Samuel Beckett. 5 p.m. Sept. 29, 2
p.m. Sept. 30. �2004 Santa Barbara News Press |
http://search.newspress.com/2004/09/03/090304_onstage2.html
| 9/3/04 -
Santa-Barbara News-Press |
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Demystifying the dramatist of darkness
UCSB ENGLISH PROFESSOR PORTER ABBOTT BELIEVES SAMUEL BECKETT IS JUST MISUNDERSTOOD
By Tom Jacobs
Who's afraid of Samuel Beckett? Pretty much everybody, it would seem. The Irish writer, who lived from 1906 to 1989, is widely admired; historians credit him for altering the course of the 20th-century theater with his dazzlingly creative and deeply profound work. And yet, there's a certain hesitation to go near him on the part of many theatergoers. It's as if his flame burns so brightly, and with such purity, that we'll get burned if we venture in too close. But if we shy away from Beckett, we lose access to an extraordinarily rich body of work, according to Porter Abbott, longtime English professor at UCSB. The author of several studies of the writer and his work, Abbott edits the Samuel Beckett Endpage (http://beckett.english.ucsb.edu), a resource site for Beckett scholars and neophytes alike. Abbott will lead several panel discussions during the Rubicon Theatre Company's upcoming BeckettFest. In a recent interview, he shared his enthusiasm for the "compulsively original" writer. QUESTION: The popular perception is Samuel Beckett
wrote disconcerting plays about the meaninglessness of existence. To
what degree is that assessment accurate? A lot of the early criticism of Beckett was inflected by the darker and more depressing aspects of existentialism. Nobody caught all the wonderful play and humor and elegance of his art. Q: So what is his view of the human condition? What he is saying is that (human life) is a really strange set-up, when you start to look at it from the aspect of eternity. After 4.5 billion years, creatures develop who happen to have individually specific self-consciousness. They know themselves from the inside, as one person out of six billion. There you are, with an intense feeling you're important - which may or may not be true. It's within that metaphysical frame that all the action takes place - and all the humor. Q: I have read both Christian and Buddhist
interpretations of "Waiting for Godot." Do you consider him
a religious writer? Q: I suspect his recurrent themes - fear,
helplessness, the realization that our reasoning ability, however
well-developed, cannot give us spiritual comfort - are felt by many
people, but only in the final days or moments of their lives. Q: In "Godot," "Endgame" and
elsewhere, Beckett writes about the relationship between master and
slave. What did that dynamic represent for him? Q: If, as Beckett believed, we have no answers to
life's most fundamental questions, doesn't that logically lead to
inertia? He gave away most of his money to people he thought deserved it. He lived on very little; he needed very little. If you look at his plays in this context, rather than stressing (the notion that) it's all hopeless, then you see compassion. We're in this together, and the only recourse is to work together. �2004 Santa Barbara News Press |
http://www.barkerductions.com/mainframe.htm
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LOS ANGELES TIMES 9/8/04 REVIEW:
http://www.calendarlive.com/stage/cl-et-brandes8sep08,2,854181.story
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http://www1.venturacountystar.com/vcs/culture/article/0,1375,VCS_4316_3167878,00.html
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http://www1.venturacountystar.com/vcs/on_stage/article/0,1375,VCS_253_3167880,00.html
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http://events.calendarlive.com/top/1,1419,L-LATimes-Theater-X!EventDetail-107248,00.html
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Waiting for Godot Rubicon Theatre Company at the Laurel 1006 E. Main St., Ventura
In an extraordinary coup for a regional company, Ventura's Rubicon Theatre enlisted German director Walter Asmus, Beckett's longtime friend and collaborator and an internationally prominent authority and interpreter of the author's work, to helm its revival of "Godot," the centerpiece of a star-studded month-long Beckett Festival. The result here is nothing short of a revelation, showing us why Beckett's vision still matters.
-- Philip Brandes
Special to The Times Through Oct. 3 Wed., 7 p.m.; Thu.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sat.-Sun., 2 p.m. Times review: 'Beckett's vision still matters' (Sept. 8, 2004) Price: $35-$45 Tickets: Box office: 805-667-2900. Write a review |
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http://search.news-press.com/2004/09/09/090904theater.htm
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SANTA BARBARA NEWS PRESS
WAITING FOR GODOT |
Whittier Daily News 9/16/04 Review:
http://u.whittierdailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,215%257E24383%257E2406639,00.html
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Karyl Lynn's RTC
9/15/04 Crossings Newsletter:
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C R O S S I N G S RUBICON THEATRE E-NEWS OF 9/15/04
MENTION THIS E-MAIL AND SAVE $5 OFF YOUR BECKETTFEST TICKET PURCHASE (does not apply to prior purchases and may not be combined with other offers).
Dear Patrons Great theatre makes us think about the meaning of life and our place the world. Religious leaders, critics and philosophers have debated the meaning Nobel Laureate Samuel Beckett�s plays, poetry and prose for more than 50 years, calling his plays, poetry and prose confounding, courageous, funny and frustrating.
Whether you love
Beckett�s work, despise it, or know nothing at all about it, I
guarantee that the plays, films and events in This festival is a gift. It has come at a very dear price -- through extraordinary financial and personal sacrifices made by many of the artists and attendees and by local residents Micheline and Al Sakharoff; through superhuman commitments of time and energy on the part of staff and City personnel; and because our board recognized that, although this festival is grass-roots, with your participation it has the potential to be an artistic and cultural opportunity of international scope and significance. Please
don�t miss BECKETTFEST 2004! � an opportunity of this kind
will not come again in our community in our lifetime.
Order your tickets today! And be sure to join us this Saturday for the first event: a FREE welcome reception and chance to meet many of the artists at the Pierpont Inn on Saturday (see below). Oh,
here�s another way that you can help. We are on a limited budget
and want to spread the word. Do you know of someone who might like
to attend? Please e-mail or forward the schedule below to others
who might have an interest. Thanks!
Frances
McDormand, Joe Spano, Cliff DeYoung, Bill Irwin, Ted Neeley, Rick
Cluchey, Robin Gammell, Susan Clark, Conor Lovett, Barry
McGovern, Ted Neeley, David Payne, Linda Purl, Robin Pearson Rose, Jenny
Sullivan, Bruce Weitz, Rudy Willrich RUBICON
THEATRE COMPANY PRESENTS THE
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Audiences
at film festivals from Cannes to Toronto to Venice have
been transfixed by this �Beckett on Film� series,
conceived and produced by Michael Colgan, Artistic
Director of the Gate Theatre in Dublin and Alan Maloney,
both of Blue Angel Films. With RTE4 and the Irish Film
Board, they filmed all 19 of Samuel Beckett's plays,
bringing together a �Who�s Who� of the most
distinguished actors and directors working in theatre and
film today. Directors include Atom Egoyan (�The Sweet
Hereafter�), Neil Jordan (�The Crying Game�),
director and playwright Conor McPherson (�The Weir�),
Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and film director David
Mamet (�Glengarry Glen Ross�), artist Damien Hirst,
Anthony Minghella (�Truly, Madly Deeply�) and Karel
Reisz ("The French Lieutenant's Woman"). The
exceptional acting talent includes Michael Gambon, the
late John Gielgud, John Hurt, Jeremy Irons, Julianne
Moore, Harold Pinter, Alan Rickman, Juliet Stevenson,
Kristin Scott Thomas and many others. All
performances are at the Ventura Downtown Century Theatres,
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�Endgame�
The ultimate Beckett. Who is the mysterious man with the red face? Is he a man at all? Something more? Or less? You decide. Beckett asks the questions. You find the answers. Or do you? Just remember, Endgame is a mind game. Do you dare to play? Conor McPherson directs Michael Gambon , David Thewlis and an outstanding cast. �Hopefully, the film will demystify Beckett's reputation for being hard going,� says McPherson. "I just wanted to make sure it was funny, because, if it was funny, it could be understood. It's a comedy, a bittersweet comedy.�
Mon.,
Sept. 20, 10 am; Fri., Sept. 24, 10 am; Thurs. Sept. 30,
�Play�
and �Krapp�s Last Tape�
Anthony
Minghella directs Alan Rickman, Kristen Scott Thomas and Juliet
Stevenson in thrilling tour de force performances in �Play,�
the story of a love triangle where each character narrates a
bitter history and their role in it; ollowed by John Hurt�s
exquisite rendition of �Krapp�s Last Tape,� directed by Atom
Egoyan.
Mon.,
Sept. 20,
70
minutes
�
�Ohio
Impromptu� captures that universally human emotion of losing the
one you love the most and expresses it in its purest and most
terrifying form. �Rough
for Theatre I� features a blind man and a physically disabled
man, who meet by chance and consider the possibility of joining
forces to unite sight and mobility in the interests of survival. In
�Rough for Theatre II,� two men try to assess the life of a
third, who is ready to jump out of the window. Jeremy
Irons, Julianne Moore, Milo O�Shea and other remarkable actors
illuminate these provocative plays.
Tues.,
Sept. 21, 10 am; Sat., Sept. 25, 5 pm; Fri., Oct. 1,
Documentary:
"Check the Gate: Putting Beckett on Film"/Discussion
with the Filmmaker
New
York Times syndicated columnist Ivor Davis introduces this
documentary with filmmaker Michael Colgan, Principal in Blue Angel
Films and Artistic Director of The Gate Theatre in Dublin.
Following the documentary, Mr. Colgan will answer audience
questions about this epic and important undertaking which was
described as one the �Best Film Series of the Year� by both
the New York Times and Entertainment
Weekly.
Wed.,
Sept. 22,
�Breath,�
�What Where,� �Come and Go,� �Acts Without Words I and
II,� �That Time�
Shorts
from the series the New
York Times called �stunning,� with Susan Fitzgerald, Sean
Foley, the late John Gielgud and some of the finest actors and
directors in the world.
Wed.,
Sept. 22, 10 pm; Sat., Sept. 25, 10:30 pm; Sat., Oct. 2,
VISUAL
ART EXHIBIT
Paper
Sculptures by Leo Monahan, Fine Artist and Set Co-Designer for Waiting
for Godot
Mon.
� Sun., Sept. 18 to Oct. 3, 10 am to 5 pm, 30 minutes prior to
each show and during intermission.
Reception
with the artist on Sun., Sept. 19,
BECKETTFEST
� THE ACTORS
SUSAN
CLARK (Woman
in �Rockaby�) studied at the Royal Academy
of Dramatic Art in
RICK
CLUCHEY (Krapp in �Krapp�s
Last Tape�), at the age of 70, has been the mainstay of the
San Quentin Drama Workshop for over 40 years and a directorial
collaborator of Samuel Beckett�s. Rick�s adult life began as a
boxer and small time criminal on
The
group performed at the Edinburgh Festival and Rick remained
abroad. There, Rick discarded the Barbed Wire name and the group
became what it always had been: The San Quentin Drama Workshop (SQDW).
Rick persuaded the U. S. Information Agency in
CLIFF
DeYOUNG (Pozzo in
�Waiting for Godot�/Man in
�Collected Works�) appeared on Broadway in the original
production of Hair and
in the Tony� Award-winning drama Sticks
and Bones by David Rabe. He played Marc in Yasmina Reza�s Art
on stage with
ROBIN
GAMMELL (Estragon in
�Waiting for Godot�) makes his
BIL IRWIN (Ensemble for Gala Reading) as an original member of KRAKEN, directed by Herbert Blau, and the Pickle Family Circus of San Francisco, where he worked with Larry Pisoni and Geoff Hoyle. He is an associate artist with the Roundabout Theatre Company. On Broadway, Bill appeared in The Goat, or, Who is Sylvia? directed by David Esbjornson), Fool Moon (with David Shiner), Largely New York (an original work nominated for five Tony� Awards, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards), The Regard of Flight, Accidental Death of an Anarchist and 5-6-7-8 Dance! Bill�s Off-Broadway credits include Scapin, The Tempest (directed by George C. Wolfe), Garden of Earthly Delights (directed by Martha Clarke) and A Flea in Her Ear (directed for Roundabout Theatre). He has also appeared Off-Broadway in Samuel Beckett�s Waiting for Godot (directed by Mike Nichols), and in Texts for Nothing (first adapted and directed by Joseph Chaikin, then as director and performer of a second version). Bill�s regional credits include The Seagull (directed by Des McAnuff), A Man's a Man (directed by Robert Woodruff), 3 Cuckolds (co-directed with Michael Greif), Waiting for Godot (directed by Doug Hughes) and The Regard of Flight. Mr. Irwin�s TV credits include "Third Rock from the Sun," "Northern Exposure," "Sesame Street," "Elmo's World," "Saturday Night Live," "The Tonight Show," "The David Letterman Show," "The Regard of Flight" (Great Performances), the Closing Ceremony of the 1996 Olympic Games and "The Cosby Show." For HBO, he was pleased to appear in "The Laramie Project" (directed by Mois�s Kaufman), "Subway Stories" (directed by Jonathan Demme) and "Bette Midler: Mondo Beyondo" (directed by Thomas Schlamme). His film credits include The Manchurian Candidate, Popeye, Eight Men Out, Silent Tongue, Illuminata, My Blue Heaven, A New Life, Hot Shots, Scenes from a Mall, Stepping Out, How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Igby Goes Down. He has appeared in the music videos "Don't Worry, Be Happy," (Bobby McFerrin) and "Let Me into Your Heart" (Mary Chapin Carpenter). The Signature Theatre Off-Broadway dedicated their entire season to the work of Mr. Irwin last year. His upcoming projects include a Broadway revival of Who�s Afraid of Virginia Woolf with Kathleen Turner. Mr. Irwin has been the recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts Choreographer's Fellowship, as well as Guggenheim and MacArthur Fellowships.
CONOR
LOVETT (Actor in
�Trilogy�/Man in �A Piece of the Monologue�) was born
in
FRANCES
McDORMAND (Ensemble for
Gala Reading) received the Academy� Award for her
performance in the film �
BARRY
McGOVERN (Ensemble for
Gala/Guest Lecturer) first appeared at the Gate Theatre as
Lucky in Waiting for Godot in
1972. He had previously played his first Beckett role, Clov in Endgame,
while a student in University College Dublin. Since then, he has
played Clov three times, most recently with the Gate as part of
the Beckett Festival which toured to
TED
NEELEY (Lucky in
�Waiting for Godot�) returns to
LINDA
PURL (May in
�Footfalls�) last appeared at
ROBIN
PEARSON ROSE (Winnie in
�Happy Days�) appeared on Broadway playing Ottilie in Hal
Prince�s production of The Visit, and Julia in Phillip
Barry�s
JOE
SPANO (
BRUCE
WEITZ (Ensemble for
Gala Reading) has sixty theatre productions to his credit on
Broadway, Off-Broadway and in regional theatre. Broadway
highlights include Death of a Salesman with George C. Scott
and The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel with Al Pacino. He
made his
RUDOLPH
WILLRICH (Willie in
�Happy Days�) returns
to
BECKETTFEST
� THE DIRECTORS
WALTER
D. ASMUS (Director,
�Waiting for Godot,� �A Piece of Monologue� and
�Footfalls�/Lecturer/Panelist) is a distinguished German
theatre director. Walter worked with Samuel Beckett on many
occasions for the stage and television, beginning in 1974, when
they first met at the Schiller Theater in
MICHAEL
COLGAN (Director,
Festival Gala/Lecturer/Panelist) has been the Artistic
Director of the Gate Theatre,
JUDY
HEGARTY (Director
for �Trilogy�) is from
DAVID
PAYNE (Director,Rockaby)
worked extensively in British Theatre at the Royal Court, Open
Space, Royal Shakespeare Company, Citizen's Theatre,
DENNIS
REDFIELD (Director,
�Cliff DeYoung in the Collected Works of Samuel Beckett�)
received his M.A. in Theatre from Cal State Los Angeles. In
1967, he was a founding member of the Company Theatre, one of the
first important experimental theatres in
JENNY
SULLIVAN (Director,
�Happy Days�) is an Artistic Associate at
BECKETTFEST
� THE PANELISTS, LECTURERS AND OTHER FESTIVAL PARTICIPANTS
H.
PORTER ABBOTT (Panelist/Moderator)
is the author of two books and numerous articles on the work of
Samuel Beckett, and is a past president of the Samuel Beckett
Society. His most recent book on Beckett is �Beckett Writing
Beckett: The Author in the Autograph� (Cornell). Porter is a
Professor of English at the
HERBERT
BLAU (Lecturer/Panelist)
was Co-founder and Co-Director of The Actor�s Workshop of
San Francisco for more than a decade, where he supervised and/or
directed more than 100 plays. His directing credits there included
The Playboy of the Western
World, Summer and Smoke,
Venus Observed, Oedipus
the King, The Balcony,
King Lear, The
Firebugs, Uncle Vanya,
The Crucible, Mother
Courage, The Plough and
the Stars, and Waiting
for Godot. His production of Waiting
for Godot was invited by the State Department to represent the
JOHN
BLONDELL (Panelist/Moderator)
is Founder and Director of the Lit Moon Theatre
Company, an award-winning physical theatre ensemble, and is
Founder of the Lit Moon World Theater Festival, an international
theatre festival produced yearly at
KARYL
LYNN BURNS (
JOSEPH
FUQUA (Moderator)
is
JESSICA
KUBZANSKY (Panelist)
is the Co-Artistic Director of The Theatre at
ALAN
MANDELL (Panelist)
is an actor and director who collaborated with Samuel Beckett on
several occasions. Mr. Mandell�s
JAMES
O�NEIL (
MICHELINE
SAKHAROFF (Lecturer/Panelist)
is Professor Emeritus of French Literature at
STEVEN
SCHIPPER (Panelist)
has been the Artistic Director of the Manitoba Theatre Centre of
Winnipeg, Canada, for the past fifteen seasons. During his tenure
at MTC, Schipper is credited with enhancing the company's artistry
and developing a new base of audience members and donors. Trained
at
JOHN
SLADE (Panelist) is
an educator who, from experience, believes that students �get
Beckett.� For thirty years, Slade has also been a professional
actor and director. He has brought humor and menace to numerous
cop, lawyer, and bad-guy guest star roles on network television,
and in such films as Slam Dance, Titanic and L.A.
Confidential. His stage credits include the title role in
Shakespeare�s King John (L.A. Drama Critics� Circle, L.A.
Weekly, and Drama-Logue
awards); and Vaclav�s Havel�s Temptation (with
Robin Gammell) at the Mark Taper Forum. Slade won a Drama-Logue
award for his direction of Shakespeare�s Henry V. He
directed Quilters for Santa Susanna Rep, Kentucky Cycle
at Loyola Marymount, and An� Push da Wind Down at USC.
(The latter won the American College Theatre Festival Award and
was presented at the
WHERE
TO BECKETTFEST �
Coming
from out of the area? May we recommend...
Pierpont Inn and Racquet Club
550 Sanjon Blvd.
Ventura, CA 93001 (805) 653-6144
OFFICIAL HOTEL SPONSOR
Enjoy
Beckett by the beach! Save up to 45% on 1 to 4-day BeckettFest
2004 hotel packages. All packages include complimentary hot
breakfast in Austen�s ocean view restaurant Monday through
Saturday (not Sunday) morning served in the dining room 6:30 am to
8:30 am and passes to the club. Please provide preference of two
queen beds or 1 king bed. The Pierpont Inn is an historic
Craftsman-style hotel with small town hospitality and big-city
service. The hotel is just a five-minute stroll from the ocean and
close to
Hotel
package rates for BeckettFest attendees at Pierpont Inn (savings
of up to 45%)
Package
Midweek
Weekend
1
night
$85
$95
2
nights
$170
$190
3
nights
$255
$285
4
nights
$340
$380
We
also recommend the following hotels in the area:
Holiday
Inn
450 E. Harbor Blvd. 2055 Harbor Blvd. 122 E. Ojai Ave., Ojai
(805) 648-7731 (805) 643-6000 (805) 646-5573
Other nearby properties range from Motel 6, to Best Western to the Victorian Rose Bed-and-Breakfast (just a block away) to the Biltmore and San Ysidro Ranch in Santa Barbara
Need
more info? Call the
(800)
483-6217 or call (805) 648-2075
Or
to go to www.ventura-usa.com
Look
for the starfish on our building to locate our welcome center at
89
HOW
TO BECKETTFEST
Passes
(Save 50% or more!)
Regular Event Single Tickets $10 - $45
Special Event Single Tickets (see above)
BeckettFest
2-day
BeckettFest
4-day Flex pass (any events over four days other than galas or
dinners) $175
Full
Festival Pass $750 (access to everything except Artistic
Director�s Tasting Dinner - including dinners and opening gala)
Premium
Patron Pass $1,800 (includes all events including gala and
Artistic Director�s Tasting Dinner, plus reserved VIP seating at
each event, plus a $700 tax-deductible contribution to RTC.)
*Must
be high school, college or graduate student enrolled in an
accredited institution for at least 12 hours
For
further information or single tickets, call the RUBICON THEATRE
COMPANY at 805/667-2900.
For
press information or press comps, contact David Elzer/DEMAND PR at
818/508-1754 or at ElzerD@aol.com.
GayLinkNews.com posted article on 9/10/04
http://www.gaylinknews.com/prdetail.cfm?ID=4299
RUBICON THEATRE COMPANY celebrates Samuel Beckett with first ever
"BECKETTFEST!" MEDIA
ALERT FOR THEATRE EDITORS AND REVIEWERS AND CALENDAR LISTINGS Frances
McDormand, Joe Spano, Cliff DeYoung, Bill Irwin, Ted Neeley, Rick
Cluchey, Robin Gammell, Susan Clark, Conor Lovett, Barry McGovern,
David Payne, Linda Purl, Robin Pearson Rose, Jenny Sullivan, Bruce
Weitz, Rudy Willrich RUBICON
THEATRE COMPANY PRESENTS THE FIRST-EVER WEST COAST FESTIVAL
CELEBRATING NOBEL PRIZE LAUREATE SAMUEL BECKETT BECKETTFEST
2004 Actors
and directors from Canada, England, France, Germany, Ireland and
the United States celebrate one of the major voices in 20th
century theatre! Presented in association with Manitoba Theatre
Centre, Micheline and Albert Sakharoff, the City of Ventura Office
of Cultural Affairs and Century Theatres ALL
19 OF BECKETT�S PLAYS PRESENTED LIVE ON STAGE OR ON FILM; STAGE
ADAPTATIONS OF BECKETT�S POETRY
AND PROSE; FILM SERIES; INTERVIEWS WITH FILMMAKERS; CELEBRITY
READINGS; , SYMPOSIA, AN ART EXHIBIT AND SPECIAL EVENTS! BEGINS
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 18th AT RUBICON THEATRE IN VENTURA September
9, 2004, Ventura Rubicon Theatre Company presents the first West
Coast BECKETTFEST, a celebration of one of the most influential
and important playwrights of the twentieth century, Samuel
Beckett.. BECKETTFEST, which takes place September 18 through
October 3, is the first major West Coast Festival featuring all 19
of Samuel Beckett�s plays presented live on stage or on film.
Festival events also include stage adaptations of Beckett�s
poetry and prose; a star-studded �Beckett on Film� series;
interviews with the filmmakers; celebrity readings and special
events; symposia, panel discussions and lectures; and an art
exhibit. The centerpiece of the festival will be Rubicon�s
production of WAITING FOR GODOT, directed by internationally
renowned German Director Walter Asmus (Beckett�s former
Assistant Director and longtime collaborator) and starring Joe
Spano, Cliff DeYoung, Ted Neeley and Robin Gammell and which
opened on Saturday, September 4th and continues through Sunday,
October 3rd at Rubicon Theatre in Ventura. Actors and directors
participating in the festival include Walter Asmus, Susan Clark,
Rick Cluchey, Cliff DeYoung, Robin Gammell, Bill Irwin, Frances
McDormand, Conor Lovett, Barry McGovern, Ted Neeley, David Payne,
Linda Purl, Robin Pearson Rose, Joe Spano, Jenny Sullivan, Bruce
Weitz, Rudy Willrich and others. Panelists and or/moderators
include Porter Abbott, Ph.D. (Professor of English, UCSB and noted
Beckett scholar), Herbert Blau, Ph.D. (Founder of the San
Francisco Actor�s Workshop and KRAKEN, the experimental company
which included Bill Irwin, Sharon Ott and Julie Taymor), John
Blondell (Founder, Lit Moon Theatre Company), Michael Colgan
(Artistic Director, The Gate Theatre and Principal in Blue Angel
Films), Alan Mandell, an actor and director who has been directed
by Beckett and recreated Beckett�s stagings), James O�Neil
(Founding Artistic Director, Rubicon Theatre Company), Micheline
Sakharoff (Retired Professor of French Literature, Cal State
Northridge), Steven Schipper (Artistic Director, Manitoba Theatre
Centre), John Slade (regional theatre director and educator) and
others. The schedule of BECKETTFEST is as follows: PRE-FESTIVAL
INFORMANCES September 2 . September 17 Preview: �The
Hitchhiker�s Guide to the First West Coast BeckettFest. Discover
how best to fest with live program notes and a 15-minute preview
of coming events from Rubicon Artistic Directors Karyl Lynn Burns
and James O�Neil. If you love �Waiting for Godot�, and you
will!, stay after the
show and get all the festival gossip! Learn about the lure and
lore of Samuel Beckett, hear behind-the-scenes stories about the
making and mission of the festival, and get daily updates about
BeckettFest 2004 activities and attendees. Wednesdays to Sundays,
September 2 to September 17 following each performance of
�Waiting for Godot� Rubicon Theatre, Yunker Hall, 1006 E. Main
Street, Ventura BECKETTFEST -- The Special Events SEPTEMBER 18
BeckettFest Welcome Reception Hosted by Mayor Brian Brennan, City
of San Buenaventura, the City of Ventura Office of Cultural
Affairs, Southern California Wine and Spirits and the Ventura
Visitors and Convention Bureau. Meet visiting dignitaries, local
representatives and BeckettFest guests from around the world. Pick
up your welcome packet with an area map, a brochure of visitor
activities, and a discount card to local attractions, shops and
restaurants. Saturday, September 18, 5 pm Austen�s Lounge,
Pierpont Inn & Racquet Club, 550 Sanjon, Ventura Free hors
d�oeuvres and California Central Coast wines; half-priced mixed
drinks SEPTEMBER 20 Director�s Dinner: �To Boldly Go Where
Beckett Has Gone Before�. Where does the impulse for innovation
come from? Who is doing groundbreaking work in the theatre now? In
what environment can this type of work develop and flourish? Six
directors share their thoughts and opinions about the future of
world theatre: Walter Asmus (renowned German Director who was
Beckett�s longtime collaborator beginning with the famous
Schiller Theatre production), John Blondell (Founding Artistic
Director of Lit Moon Theatre Company and Festival), Michael Colgan
(Artistic Director, The Gate Theatre in Ireland), British director
David Payne (Founder of Nomad Theatre Company); Steven Schipper
(Artistic Director, Manitoba Theatre Centre, Canada) andJames
O�Neil (Founding Artistic Director, Rubicon Theatre Company).
Facilitated by Karyl Lynn Burns, Producing Artistic Director,
Rubicon Theatre Company. Guests enjoy a tasting menu specially
prepared by French Chef Didier Poiriot. Monday, September 20, 5 pm
71 Palm French Restaurant, Upstairs Dining Room, 71 Palm St.,
Ventura $250 per person ($150 of which is a tax-deductible
contribution to RTC�s Innovation Initiative); free to
BeckettFest Premium Pass Patrons. Advance reservations required.
SEPTEMBER 21 Rubicon Theatre West Coast BeckettFest Gala Michael
Colgan, Artistic Director of the Gate Theatre in Dublin directs
Barry McGovern, Irish star of stage and screen, and American stars
Bill Irwin (multiple Tony nominee), Academy Award-winner Frances
McDormand and Emmy Award-winner Bruce Weitz in a 45-minute staged
reading of excerpts from Samuel Beckett�s plays, novels and
poems. After the reading, meet the artists at a three-course
sit-down dinner-under-the-stars in Nona�s, the romantic Italian
courtyard restaurant inside the Bella Maggiore Inn. Tuesday,
September 21, 6:30 pm Rubicon Theatre, Yunker Hall, 1006 E. Main
St. and Nona�s at the Bella Maggiore Inn, 67 S. California St.,
Ventura $75 for reading; $175 for reading and dinner with artists
Black-tie optional. Advance reservations required. OCTOBER 3
Post-Festival Wrap Party Before bidding adieu to newfound friends
from the Festival, join us for a farewell gathering. Sunday,
October 3, 7:30 pm Austen�s Restaurant at the Pierpont Inn and
Racquet Club, 550 Sanjon, Ventura Complimentary hors d�oeuvres
and non-alcoholic beverages; no host bar BECKETTFEST THE PLAYS All
stage performances for BeckettFest are presented in the intimate
200-seat historic Rubicon Theatre. Seats for Waiting for Godot are
reserved, with open seating for all other productions. �Waiting
for Godot� Instilled with a large dose of Irish wit, Samuel
Beckett�s groundbreaking �play about nothing� explores the
delicate line between hope and despair as two tramps wait by the
side of a deserted road for a salvation that never comes. As they
question, argue and complain, comedy rises to tragedy in a
predicament reflecting humanity�s search for meaning. The play
that changed the course of dramatic writing in the 20th century is
directed by internationally-renowned director Walter Asmus, and
features Emmy� Award-winning actor Joe Spano as Vladimir,
television and stage actor Robin Gammell (Guthrie/Old Globe) as
Estragon, Cliff DeYoung (Broadway/Rubicon�s �Art�) as Pozzo,
and Ted Neeley (stage and film versions of �Jesus Christ
Superstar�) as Lucky. Directed by renowned German director and
Beckett�s longtime collaborator Walter Asmus. Asmus has directed
the entire Beckett canon and helmed acclaimed productions at BAM
and the Gate production which toured internationally (recently to
Shanghai). Sat., Sept. 18, 8 pm; Sun., Sept. 19, 2 pm; Wed., Sept.
22, 7 pm (talkback with actors and director after the show);
Thurs., Sept. 23, 8 pm; Fri., Sept. 24; Sat., Sept. 25, 2 & 8
pm; Sun., Sept. 26, 2 pm; Wed., Sept. 29, 7 pm; Thurs., Sept. 30,
10 am (special student matinee with post-show talkback); Thurs.,
Sept. 30, 8 pm; Fri., Oct. 1, 8 pm; Sat., Oct. 2, 2 pm & 8 pm;
Sunday, Oct. 3, 2 pm Ticket prices for Godot are as follows:
Wednesdays at 7 pm, Thursdays at 8 pm, and Saturdays and Sundays
at 2 pm - $35; Fridays at 8 pm - $40; Saturdays at 8 pm - $45.
Tickets for all other productions (listed below) are $35. Student
tickets are $15; $10 for student groups of 12 or more. Study
guides are available for high school and college teachers.
�Happy Days�. Now children, some days are happy, some days are
sad. But how do you feel when you�re buried up to your neck in
dirt? Winnie, the eternal optimist faces the harsh realities of
the world with a smile and impenetrable cheerfulness. With aching
and audacious humor, Beckett probes humankind's search for meaning
and questions the ties that bind. Jenny Sullivan, whose credits
include Off-Broadway, Williamstown, the Long Wharf and Pasadena
Playhouse, directs award-winning actors Robin Pearson Rose and
Rudolph Willrich. Sun., Sept. 19, 7 pm; Thurs., Sept. 23, 2 pm;
Sun., Sept. 26, 11 am; Mon., Sept. 27, 3 pm (post-show �Happy
Talk�, a discussion with director and actors); Sat., Oct. 2,
5:30 pm (post-show �Happy Talk� downstairs - $25 gourmet box
supper available with advance reservations). �Rockaby� and
�Footfalls� Beckett explores the relationships between mothers
and daughters. In Rockabye a woman recounts her life from a
rocking chair. In Footfalls, a daughter paces repeatedly as she
tends her beloved sick mother British Director David Payne directs
Emmy� Award-wining actress Susan Clark, and Walter Asmus directs
Linda Purl (Blanche in Rubicon�s acclaimed Streetcar) in these
compelling short pieces. Mon., Sept. 20, 3 pm (post-show
discussion with the director and actress); Thurs., Sept. 23, 4:30
pm; Sun., Sept. 26, 5 pm (post-show discussion); Mon., Sept. 27, 7
pm; Sun., Oct. 3, 5:30 pm �Cliff DeYoung in the Collected Works
of Samuel Beckett�. This one-man compilation, originally created
by Beckett�s favorite actor Jack McGowran, was presented in the
U.S. for the first time in 30 years in L.A. in 2002 with renowned
actor Cliff DeYoung (also Pozzo in Rubicon�s Waiting for Godot).
Rubicon Theatre brings this unique theatrical event to life once
again. The Los Angeles Times says, �DeYoung brilliantly mines
Beckett�s irony, despair and absurdity.� Directed by Dennis
Redfield. Tues., Sept. 28, 7 pm (post-show talkback); Fri., Oct.
1, 2 pm �The Beckett Trilogy (Molloy, Malone Dies and The
Unnamable�) Samuel Beckett's brilliance as a dramatist has
tended to overshadow his gifts as a novelist, yet he's
unmistakably one of the great fiction writers of the 20th century.
Beckett considered this trilogy to be his masterpiece, as did the
New York Times Book Review: �More powerful and important than
Godot... Beckett is one of the most positive writers alive. Behind
all his mournful blasphemies against man there is real love. And
he is genuine: every sentence is written as if it had been
lived." Judy Hegarty Lovett, Artistic Director of the Gare
St. Lazare Players, directs Paris-based actor Conor Lovett in the
American premiere of this monumental and moving stage adaptation
of Beckett�s prose, which recently received rave reviews in
Europe. Mon., Sept. 20, 7 pm; Fri., Sept. 24, 3 pm �A Piece of
Monologue� Renowned German Director Walter Asmus, who was Samuel
Beckett�s assistant of many years, directs this production
created just for the West Coast BeckettFest with acclaimed Irish
actor Conor Lovett, in which a speaker tells a fragment of a story
about birth and death. Sun., Sept. 26, 7 pm; Tues., Sept. 28, 2 pm
(post-show talkback) �Krapp�s Last Tape� A slovenly old man
sits alone at a desk, surrounded by boxes of tapes and a single
recorder. The tormented Krapp records a self-deprecating and
conflicted diatribe of longing, hopelessness and regret on the
occasion of his 69th birthday. Rick Cluchey, who has been the
mainstay of the San Quentin Drama Project for 40 years, stars in a
revival of the production originally staged by Beckett himself.
Wed., Sept. 29, 5 pm; Thurs., Sept. 30, 2 pm BECKETTFEST �BROWN
BAG BECKETT� LUNCHTIME LECTURES AND DISCUSSIONS �Beckett
First-Person� New York Times syndicated columnist Ivor Davis
interviews Walter Asmus, who offers a short biography and personal
observations of Samuel Beckett. Mr. Asmus was Samuel Beckett�s
Assistant on the famous Schiller Theatre Godot in Germany, and has
directed productions at Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Gate
Theatre in Ireland, and recently in Shanghai. He also directed
�Footfalls� for the Beckett on Film Series for Irish
Television. Sat., Sept. 18, Noon; Rubicon Theatre Downstairs
�Gee, How Lucky Can You Get?� Tom Jacobs of the Santa Barbara
News-Press and Backstage West interviews four actors who have
played Lucky in Waiting for Godot: Conor Lovett, Bill Irwin, Ted
Neeley, Barry McGovern talk about the meaning of the monologue,
what that long white hair is all about, and their individual
approaches and experiences playing the role. Mr. Lovett played the
role recently on tour in Shanghai. Bill Irwin played the role in
the Mike Nichols production on Broadway (with Robin Williams and
Steve Martin). Mr. Neeley plays the role in the current Rubicon
Theatre production. Barry McGovern first assayed the role at the
Gate Theatre in Ireland. Cliff DeYoung, who performs Lucky�s
monologue in his one-man show, also offers insights into the role,
as does Walter Asmus (who has directed the production on numerous
occasions, including a film version with Roman Polanski as Lucky).
Mon., Sept. 20, 1 pm; City Hall �After Beckett: Or, The
Commodius Vicus of Beckett: Vicissitudes of the Arts in the
Science of Affliction�. Herbert Blau, founder of the San
Francisco Actor�s Workshop and KRAKEN, the experimental theatre
company which included Bill Irwin, Sharon Ott and Julie Taymor,
offers a scintillating essay which he presented to wild interest
and acclaim for the Beckett Festival in Sydney exploring the
future of experimental theatre and discussing the Beckett�s of
the current and next generation.
Tues., Sept. 21, 1 pm; City Hall �Directing Beckett on Film�
Critics and purists argue that Beckett�s works for stage should
never be translated to other mediums. Enjoy a lively discussion
with Michael Colgan of Blue Angel Films, producer of the
�Beckett on Film� series, Walter Asmus (�Footfalls� for
that same series), and other film directors TBA who offer their
perspective on the subject as they also share the challenges and
joys of translating Beckett�s work from stage to film. Wed.,
Sept. 22, Noon; City Hall �The World of Samuel Beckett�
Costume designers Ann Bruice (South Coast Rep/ACT), Marcy
Forehlich (BeckettFest); Ovation Award-winning lighting designer
Jeremy Pivnik (BeckettFest) and Kristie Roldan (Rockaby); fine
artist and paper sculptor Leo Monahan; set designer Jeff G. Rack
(Waiting for Godot); and Leslie Finlayson (Lit Moon Theatre
Company), describe their approach to creating a physical
environment for Beckett�s plays. Thurs., Sept. 23, Noon; City
Hall �Beckett Time� Scholars Micheline Sakharoff, Ph.D. and
Porter Abbott, Ph.D. join musicians and actors Cliff DeYoung and
Ted Neeley and director Walter Asmus in an examination of the
musical nature of Beckett�s works -- the silences and the
cadence of the language, as well as Beckett�s particular use of
time and space. Fri., Sept. 24, 1:30 pm; City Hall. �They Want
to be Entertained!� : Performing Beckett� Don�t miss this
enlightening lecture with the great Irish
stage and film star Barry McGovern. Q & A moderated by Karen Lindell,
Theatre Writer, Ventura County Star. Sat., Sept. 25, Noon; Rubicon
Theatre Downstairs �Acting Beckett on Stage� Susan Clark,
Robin Gammell, Linda Purl, Conor Lovett, Robin Pearson Rose, Joe
Spano and Rudolph Willrich engage in a panel discussion about
acting in Beckett�s works. Facilitated by Rubicon Company Member
Joseph Fuqua. Mon., Sept. 27, 1 pm; City Hall �The San Quentin
Drama Group� Inspired by the San Francisco Actors Workshop
staging of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot at San Quentin
Prison on November of 1957, the inmates formed a drama group. Over
a ten-year period this workshop presented some 35 plays for their
prison audience. Steven Leigh Morris, Theatre Editor of the L.A.
Weekly, interviews actor Alan Mandell, who was a part of that
landmark Actor�s Workshop production, and Rick Cluchey about
this astounding and true story. Because of his involvement in the
Drama Group, Cluchey, who was an inmate at the time, was pardoned
by the Governor of California and has made presenting Beckett�s
works to prisoners and to young people in juvenile detention
centers his life�s work. Tues., Sept. 28, Noon; City Hall
�Directing Beckett for the Stage� Veteran directors Walter
Asmus (renowned German director and Beckett�s former assistant),
David Payne (Royal Shakespeare Company/National Theatre), Alan
Mandell (numerous Beckett plays here and abroad, including
recreating Beckett�s staging) and John Slade (Santa Susana Rep,
who also recently directed high school students in a moving
production of Waiting for Godot) discuss their individual and
varied approaches to presenting Beckett�s work on the stage. Facilitated by Jenny Sullivan, Rubicon
Artistic Associate. Wed., Sept. 29, 1 pm; Rubicon Theatre
Downstairs �A
Solitary Life� Journalist Tom Jacobs of Santa Barbara News-Press
and Backstage West facilitates a conversation about the themes of
loneliness and isolation in Samuel Beckett�s work with Walter
Asmus, renowned German director who was Beckett�s assistant and
who has directed the entire Beckett canon; actor and director Alan
Mandell, Rubicon Artistic Associate Jenny Sullivan; and Porter
Abbott, Ph.D., Beckett scholar and author and Professor of English
at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Thurs., Sept. 30,
Noon; City Hall �Knowing the Unknowable, Naming the Unnamable:
Religious Themes and Images in Beckett�s Writings� This panel
discussion and debate brings together director Robert Menna (Dramaturg,
Denver Center/Ojai Playwrights Festival) and convict-turned-actor
Rick Cluchey with religious leaders in our community who draw
personal meaning from Beckett�s works about our struggle to know
the meaning of life and the nature of our existence. Waiting for
Godot and Endgame will be the primary focus of this discussion.
Moderated by John Blondell, Professor, Westmont College and
Artistic Director, Lit Moon Theatre Company and Festival. Fri.,
Oct. 1, Noon; City Hall �Before and After Beckett: Samuel
Beckett�s Influence on Pinter, Stoppard, Albee, Mamet and Other
Modern Dramatists� Panel discussion with British director David
Payne (Royal Shakespeare Company, also Founding Artistic Director
of Nomad Theatre Company); Jessica Kubzansky, Co-Artistic
Director, Boston Court Theatre; and scholar Micheline Sakharoff.
Facilitated by Porter Abbott, Professor of English, UCSB and
author. Sat., Oct. 2, Noon; Rubicon Theatre Downstairs BECKETT
UNBOUND SERIES� DINNER LECTURES AND INTERVIEWS Dinner
discussions and interviews with scholars, historians, actors,
designers and others on various topics related to Samuel Beckett.
All meals prepared by Regina�s Quality Catering. Presented at
Rubicon Theatre in the Ventura County Star Rehearsal Room
downstairs in Laby Hall, 1006 E. Main St., Ventura. �Beckett
Basics� An accessible, interactive lecture about Samuel
Beckett�s life history, the influences of his time and culture,
a short overview of his plays and novels, a discussion of his
themes, and his impact on current literature and society.
Presented by Micheline Sakharoff, Ph.D., Retired Professor of
French Literature, Cal State Northridge. Sun., Sept. 19, 5:30 pm
$25 includes lecture and a gourmet box supper of cold
poached salmon available with advance reservations; open seating
�Sam and Me: Beckett Beyond Biography� Michael Colgan,
Artistic Director of the Gate Theatre in Dublin and talks about
meeting and working with Samuel Beckett and his personal passion
for Beckett�s work � a passion which has driven him to produce
multiple festivals, plays and films on, by and about Beckett.
Thurs., Sept. 23, 6:15 pm $25
includes the interview, Q & A, and a meal of Irish stew, brown
bread and Guinness with advance reservations; open seating BECKETT
ON FILM Audiences at film festivals from Cannes to Toronto to
Venice have been transfixed by this �Beckett on Film� series,
conceived and produced by Michael Colgan, Artistic Director of the
Gate Theatre in Dublin and Alan Maloney, both of Blue Angel Films.
With RTE4 and the Irish Film Board, they filmed all 19 of Samuel
Beckett's plays, bringing together a �Who�s Who� of the most
distinguished actors and directors working in theatre and film
today. Directors include Atom Egoyan (�The Sweet Hereafter�),
Neil Jordan (�The Crying Game�), director and playwright Conor
McPherson (�The Weir�), Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and
film director David Mamet (�Glengarry Glen Ross�), artist
Damien Hirst, Anthony Minghella (�Truly, Madly Deeply�) and
Karel Reisz ("The French Lieutenant's Woman"). The
exceptional acting talent includes Michael Gambon, the late John
Gielgud, John Hurt, Jeremy Irons, Julianne Moore, Harold Pinter,
Alan Rickman, Juliet Stevenson, Kristin Scott Thomas and many
others. All performances are at the Ventura Downtown Century
Theatres, 555 E. Main St., Ventura. Films are $10 per ticket; open
seating. �Endgame� The ultimate Beckett. Who is the mysterious
man with the red face? Is he a man at all? Something more? Or
less? You decide. Beckett asks the questions. You find the
answers. Or do you? Just remember, Endgame is a mind game. Do you
dare to play? Conor McPherson directs Michael Gambon, David
Thewlis and an outstanding cast. �Hopefully, the film will
demystify Beckett's reputation for being hard going,� says
McPherson. �I just wanted to make sure it was funny, because, if
it was funny, it could be understood. It's a comedy, a bittersweet
comedy.� Mon., Sept. 20, 10 am; Fri., Sept. 24, 10 am; Thurs.
Sept. 30, 5:30 pm; 84 minutes �Play� and �Krapp�s Last
Tape� Anthony Minghella directs Alan Rickman, Kristen Scott
Thomas and Juliet Stevenson in thrilling tour de force
performances in �Play�, the story of a love triangle where
each character narrates a bitter history and their role in it;
followed by John Hurt�s exquisite rendition of �Krapp�s Last
Tape�, directed by Atom Egoyan. Mon., Sept. 20, 10:30 pm; Fri.,
Sept. 24, 10:30 pm; Thurs., Sept. 30, 10:30 pm; 70 minutes �Ohio
Impromptu�, �Not I�, �Rough for Theatre I and II�
�Ohio Impromptu� captures that universally human
emotion of losing the
one you love the most and expresses it in its purest and most
terrifying form. �Rough for Theatre I� features a blind man
and a physically disabled man, who meet by chance and consider the
possibility of joining forces to unite sight and mobility in the
interests of survival. In �Rough for Theatre II�, two men try
to assess the life of a third, who is ready to jump out of the
window. Jeremy Irons, Julianne Moore, Milo O�Shea and other
remarkable actors illuminate these provocative plays. Tues., Sept.
21, 10 am; Sat., Sept. 25, 5 pm; Fri., Oct. 1, 10:30 pm; 84
minutes Documentary: "Check the Gate: Putting Beckett on
Film"/Discussion with the Filmmaker New York Times syndicated
columnist Ivor Davis introduces this documentary with filmmaker
Michael Colgan, Principal in Blue Angel Films and Artistic
Director of The Gate Theatre in Dublin. Following the documentary,
Mr. Colgan will answer audience questions about this epic and
important undertaking which was described as one the �Best Film
Series of the Year� by both the New York Times and Entertainment
Weekly. Wed., Sept. 22, 3 pm; 52 minutes �Breath�, �What
Where�, �Come and Go�, �Acts Without Words I and II,�
All That Time� Shorts from the series the New York Times called
�stunning�, with Susan Fitzgerald, Sean Foley, the late John
Gielgud and some of the finest actors and directors in the world.
Wed., Sept. 22, 10 pm; Sat., Sept. 25, 10:30 pm; Sat., Oct. 2, 10
am; 82 minutes VISUAL ART EXHIBIT Paper Sculptures by Leo Monahan,
Fine Artist and Set Co-Designer for Waiting for Godot Mon. - Sun.,
Sept. 18 to Oct. 3, 10 am to 5 pm, 30 minutes prior to each show
and during intermission. Reception with the artist on Sun., Sept.
19, 4:30 pm Rubicon Theatre Company, Laby Hall Downstairs, 1006 E.
Main St., Ventura BECKETTFEST �THE ACTORS� SUSAN CLARK (Woman
in �Rockaby�) studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in
London and worked in the English repertory system at York,
Newcastle, and Sunderland Shakespeare Festival. Returning to
Canada, she appeared in Hay Fever (Crest Theatre); Man and
Superman and Misalliance (Shaw Festival); and starred in seven CBC
Festival productions, including The Taming of the Shrew, Mary of
Scotland, and Hedda Gabler. A contract with Universal Studios
brought Ms. Clark to L.A., where she starred in 20 feature films,
including, � Tell Them Willie Boy is Here�, �Coogan�s
Bluff� and �Night Moves�. She studied with Stella Adler and
returned to the theatre frequently, appearing in The Second Man,
Sherlock Holmes The Animal Kingdom and Amphitriyon 38
(Williamstown); Getting Out (Mark Taper Forum); Macbeth, (Seattle
Rep); Eleanor in Lion in Winter and The Vortex (Walnut Street
Theatre); The Sisters Rosensweig (George Street Playhouse);
Afterplay and the World Premiere of Bicoastal Woman, (Pasadena
Playhouse); and the U.S. Premiere of The Body at The Matrix in Los
Angeles. Her roles at Rubicon include Amanda in The Glass
Menagerie, Mrs. Dudgeon in Shaw�s The Devil�s Disciple, Kate
in Dancing at Lughnasa, and Lady Bracknell in The Importance of
Being Ernest. Susan�s stage readings for Rubicon fundraisers
include Lettice and Lovage and Christmas Memories. Susan starred
in 150 episodes of the hit comedy �Webster�, as well as 15
Movies, including �Babe� (Emmy� Award), �The Choice�,
�Amelia Earhart� (Emmy� Nomination) and �Butterbox
Babies� (Gemini Nomination). She is delighted to be
participating in BeckettFest. RICK CLUCHEY (Krapp in �Krapp�s
Last Tape�), at the age of 70, has been the mainstay of the San
Quentin Drama Workshop for over 40 years and a directorial
collaborator of Samuel Beckett�s. Rick�s adult life began as a
boxer and small time criminal on Chicago�s Southside. At the age
of 21, he was sentenced to life without parole in San Quentin
Prison for his role in a botched Los Angeles armed robbery in
which his victim was injured.
Years later, he received word of Governor Jerry Brown�s
pardon for him in Samuel Beckett�s presence in the midst of
their working collaboration. The distance he traveled between
these two points is just one of the elements that makes Rick�s
story so astonishing. The 1998 film Weeds, starring Nick Nolte, is
based on Rick�s life. In 1957, the San Francisco Actors Workshop
produced a landmark production of Beckett�s Waiting for Godot at
San Quentin with Alan Mandell and Jules Irving (directed by
Herbert Blau). The strange play had an overwhelming effect on the
convicts who witnessed it. A group of convicts then petitioned the
Warden to allow them to start a workshop at the prison for its
rehabilitative possibilities. Rick began to read Beckett�s work
and to educate himself in theatre literature. He studied with Alan
Mandell, who came weekly to the prison and who became the
co-founder of the San Quentin Drama Workshop. Because of Rick�s
good conduct and the support of the chaplain, who had helped him
to rediscover his Catholic faith, Rick�s cell restrictions were
lifted and he began to participate in the workshop�s night
rehearsals, both acting and directing. A milestone in the
workshop�s development came with an in-house staging of Waiting
for Godot, to which the San Francisco actors were invited. Rick
lobbied to mount performances of other Beckett plays and soon
produced both Endgame and Krapp�s Last Tape. He later tried his
hand at playwriting and created an �agit-prop� play entitled
Le Cage in a mythical French prison. �Cells mean life. Cages
mean death.� Ken Kitch, the San Francisco Actors Workshop
director who had been working with the prisoners, decided to
produce The Cage at the theatre across the Bay. Although Rick
could not attend his opening night, his play created a sensation
for �The Prison Playwright.� Through a combination of his
spotless prison record, his work for the chaplain, his leadership
of the San Quentin Drama Workshop, and relentless lobbying by the
chaplain and members of Actors Workshop, Governor Edmund Brown
paroled Rick Cluchey during his final days in office, and Rick was
released after 12 years in San Quentin. For his parole work, Rick
worked for the halfway organization Seventh Step that sought to
assist the ex-convicts in their transition from jail to freedom
through theatre work. Rick then became head of The Barbed Wire
Theater, a group of ex-con actors who toured the nation, raising
the Public�s consciousness about the conditions in the
nation�s prisons. The group performed at the Edinburgh Festival
and Rick remained abroad. There, Rick discarded the Barbed Wire
name and the group became what it always had been: The San Quentin
Drama Workshop (SQDW). Rick persuaded the U. S. Information Agency
in Paris to host his production of Endgame and invited Beckett to
attend. Beckett was already aware of Rick�s history and his
consuming passion for the Irishman�s work. Beckett further had a
special feeling for inmates because of his wartime experiences in
the French Resistance. The two men met and hit it off and Beckett
invited Rick to observe his staging of Waiting for Godot in
Berlin. This association eventually led to Beckett�s decision to
direct Rick and members of the SQDW in definitive English language
productions of Waiting for Godot, Endgame and Krapp�s Last Tape
between 1977 and 1988. Rick got to work so intimately with Beckett
that people jokingly referred to him as �Beckett�s stepson�.
Along with The Cage, these three plays became the basis of the
SQDW�s repertory and the group successfully toured the world
presenting the Beckett trilogy as Beckett Directs Beckett. In the
course of all this work, Rick was also a member of the Obie�
Award-winning cast of David Mamet�s Edmond that played in
Chicago and New York in the mid-Eighties. After Beckett�s death,
Rick began the filming of the Beckett Directs Beckett. In the 90s,
Rick resettled in Los Angeles. He directed several of Beckett�s
shorter pieces and continued to tour in Krapp�s Last Tape and
The Cage. He continues his work as a guest artist and lecturer at
colleges, universities and juvenile detention centers. Rick
completed his memoir �From the Dead� in 2004. His produced
plays include Le Cage, The Cage, The Wall is Mama, The Bug, Aout,
Shepherd�s Song, Strike 1992, Homeland 2002 and Aout 2002. CLIFF
DeYOUNG (Pozzo in �Waiting for Godot�/Man in �Collected
Works�) appeared on Broadway in the original production of Hair
and in the Tony� Award-winning drama Sticks and Bones by David
Rabe. He played Marc in Yasmina Reza�s Art on stage with Rubicon
last season. Cliff made his television debut starring in the TV
film and subsequent series: �Sunshine�. His television movies
and miniseries roles include Charles Lindbergh in �The Lindbergh
Kidnapping Case� with Anthony Hopkins, Robert F. Kennedy in
�King� and John F. Kennedy in �Robert Kennedy and his
Times.� Other notable appearances include roles in the ABC
series �Relativity�, the mini-series �Centennial�,
�Master of the Game�, Stephen King�s �The Tommyknockers�,
�Seduced by Madness: The Diane Borchardt Story� opposite
Ann-Margaret and �The Last Don�. He appeared in three
television films with director John Frankenheimer: �Andersonville�, �George
Wallace� and �Path to War�. On the big screen, Cliff has
appeared in a wide variety of films, including the Oscar-nominated
�Glory�, �The Suicide Kings�, �Independence Day�,
�F/X�, �Protocol�, �The Hunger�, �The Substitute�,
�The Craft�, �Flashback�, �Harry and Tonto�, �Blue
Collar�, and �Shock Treatment� - the sequel to �Rocky
Horror Picture Show� in which he played Brad. He has
guest-starred in over 50 TV series, including �The West Wing�,
�The District�, �JAG�, �Alias�, �The Practice� and
�The X Files�. More recently, Cliff has been seen on the small
screen opposite Mia Farrow in �The Secret Life of Zoey� and
Hallmark�s �Love�s Enduring Promise�. Cliff lives in L.A.
with his wife Gypsi and 16-year-old daughter Manzi. ROBIN GAMMELL
(Estragon in �Waiting for Godot�) makes his Rubicon debut with
this production. Robin�s extensive theatre credits include
Cinders, Hamlet and The Tempest at the New York Shakespeare
Festival; Hedda Gabbler at The Shakespeare Theatre; Temptation,
Largo Desolato, Chekhov in Yalta and Twelfth Night at the Mark
Taper Forum/Center Theatre Group; Arturo Ui, House of Atreus,
Homecoming and Tango at the Guthrie Theatre; Richard III, The
Soldier�s Tale and Arturo Ui at the Long Wharf Theatre; School
for Scandal, Cymbeline, Italian Straw Hat, King Lear, A Midsummer Night�s
Dream at the Stratford Festival in Canada; Peer Gynt at the
Sheffield Playhouse; and the title role in Julius Caesar at The
Old Globe. Robin was a founder of the Matrix Theatre Company in
L.A., where he appeared in Endgame, Waiting for Godot, Dangerous
Corner, Mad Forest and The Tavern. He is also a founding member of
ACT, where his credits include Six Characters in Search of an
Author, King Lear, The Devil�s Disciple, Beyond the Fringe and
Samuel Beckett�s Endgame. Internationally, Robin appeared in
Alma with Teatro Aldui in Venice, Italy. On film, Gammell has
appeared in �Dave�, �Guilty by Suspicion�, �Circle of
Two�, �Bulworth�, �Austin Powers�, �Full Circle�,
�Sister Act II� and �Star Chamber�, among others. His
television credits include �Providence�, �Judging Amy�,
�The Practice�, �If These Walls Could Talk�, �WIOU�,
�The Commish�, �Civil Wars�, �Party of Five�, �Star
Trek�, �Amazing Grace�, �Lincoln, The Blue and the
Gray�, and �Raid on Entebbe�
BILL IRWIN (Ensemble for Gala Reading) was an original
member of KRAKEN, directed by Herbert Blau, and the Pickle Family
Circus of San Francisco, where he worked with Larry Pisoni and
Geoff Hoyle. He is an associate artist with the Roundabout Theatre
Company. On Broadway, Bill appeared in The Goat, or, Who is
Sylvia? directed by David Esbjornson), Fool Moon (with David
Shiner), Largely New York (an original work nominated for five
Tony� Awards, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards), The
Regard of Flight, Accidental Death of an
Anarchist and 5-6-7-8 Dance! Bill�s Off-Broadway credits
include Scapin, The Tempest (directed by George
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All
Beckett, all the time
Festival about playwright features 16 days of plays, films and lectures September 16, 2004 The Rubicon Theatre Company presents the first major West Coast festival devoted to author Samuel Beckett, Sept. 18 through Oct. 3 at various locations in Ventura. The festival will feature all 19 of Beckett's plays presented live or on film; stage adaptations of his poetry and prose; and panel discussions and lectures with scholars, filmmakers, actors and directors. A brochure with complete descriptions of events, actors and panelists is available at the theater, 1006 E. Main St., Ventura, or by calling 667-2900. Access the schedule online at http://www.rubicontheatre.org/becfest/beckettfest.htm. |
 Photo by John Minihan Playwright Samuel Beckett, who died in 1989 from respiratory problems, had no problem challenging theatrical conventions. BeckettFest will explore his influence on modern drama.
RELATED
STORIES |
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All stage performances will be presented in the Rubicon Theatre. "Waiting for Godot" tickets cost $33-$45. Tickets for other performances are $15-$35.
On film The "Beckett on Film" series, produced by Colgan, features movie versions of every Beckett play. Among the featured directors and actors are Atom Egoyan, Neil Jordan, David Mamet, Anthony Minghella, Michael Gambon, John Gielgud, John Hurt, Jeremy Irons, Julianne Moore, Harold Pinter, Alan Rickman and Kristin Scott Thomas. All performances are at the Ventura Downtown Century Theatres, 555 E. Main St. Cost is $10 per ticket.
A series of 30- to 45-minute Beckett-related interviews, lectures and panel discussions will take place during lunchtime. Suggested donation is $10; free for students.
Dinner lectures and interviews The following lectures take place at the Rubicon Theatre. Tickets, $25, include dinner.
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The heart of Beckett Rubicon Theatre explores emotional core of playwright's canon during 16-day festival By Karen
Lindell, klindell@VenturaCountyStar.com "Think different," urged a popular Apple Computer marketing campaign. The slogan, meant as a salute to misfits who managed to change the world, was paired with photos of geniuses like scientist Albert Einstein, artist Pablo Picasso and writer Samuel Beckett.
Anyone who's ever read Beckett's uncompromising work didn't need Apple's input to know just how differently the late, Nobel Prize-winning playwright could think. But Beckett did more than just think. He felt, too. Deeply. And it's something that's all too commonly overlooked. |
 Photo by John Minihan While the rest of the world waits two years to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Samuel Beckett's birth, the Rubicon Theatre gets a jump on the festivities by staging a festival devoted to the late author's life and Nobel-winning works. RELATED STORIES All Beckett, all the time |
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Once more, with feeling "I, of whom I know nothing, I know my eyes are open, because of the tears that pour from them unceasingly." -- Narrator, Beckett's "The Unnamable"
Karyl Lynn Burns, co-founder of Ventura's Rubicon Theatre Company, used to count herself among those who thought Beckett's works devoid of emotion. "I had seen 'Waiting for Godot' before, and couldn't wait for the show to be over so I could leave," she said. That opinion changed in 1991, when Burns and her husband, Jim O'Neil, Rubicon's artistic director, attended a Beckett Festival in Dublin, Ireland. They saw a production of "Godot" directed by Walter Asmus, a longtime Beckett friend and collaborator, "and were completely enthralled," said Burns. "We laughed and we cried," she said. "This production had all that incredible wordplay but was also filled with emotion. I finally understood that each different beat of the play represented the way we try to fill our lives with meaning." After all, Beckett didn't win the Nobel Prize for literature by filling readers' lives with emptiness. Thirteen years after their Beckett awakening, Burns and O'Neil are exploring the emotional core of Beckett's canon in unprecedented depth. They've invited Asmus to Ventura to direct Rubicon's production of "Waiting for Godot," which is being performed now, and are staging the first major festival on the West Coast devoted to Beckett. BeckettFest, which begins Saturday and runs through Oct. 3, will feature presentations of every Beckett play, either on stage or on film (and sometimes both), plus panel discussions, symposia and lectures with actors, directors, filmmakers and scholars.
'Waiting for Walter' "Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." -- Beckett, "Worstward Ho" Burns said that seeing "Waiting for Godot" and other plays at the 1991 festival was the beginning of her desire to learn more about Beckett's work. BeckettFest, however, was a recent idea that started last year with Rubicon's search for Asmus to direct "Waiting for Godot." Tracking down the German director was a failure at first, similar to Vladimir and Estragon's fruitless wait for Godot's arrival. Burns left numerous phone and e-mail messages at theaters in Europe and the United States where Asmus had directed plays, but couldn't reach him. During her search, Burns spoke with Michael Colgan, artistic director of the Gate Theatre in Dublin and producer of the Beckett on Film series in the 1990s. The series, which will be presented in an abridged form at BeckettFest, features movie versions of all 19 of Beckett's plays. Noted directors such as Atom Egoyan, Neil Jordan and Anthony Minghella, and actors including John Hurt, Jeremy Irons, Julianne Moore, John Gielgud and Alan Rickman, lent their talents to the project. Colgan put Burns in touch with Asmus, who had directed "Footfalls," one of the films in the series (though not one being shown in Ventura). It took Burns three months' worth of e-mails to persuade Asmus to direct "Waiting for Godot." "I think he was reticent at first because he's done this piece so many times," Burns said, "but we wrote about how touched we were by the experience of seeing his production, and got an artistic dialogue going. "We joke now, calling it 'Waiting for Walter,' " said Burns. What happened while they were waiting for Asmus was the decision to produce BeckettFest.
A festival is born "This story is no good, I'm almost beginning to believe it." -- Narrator, "The Unnamable" When talking to Colgan, Burns learned that the Beckett on Film series had been screened at film festivals in Toronto, France, Ireland and New York but never on the West Coast of the United States. Colgan agreed to bring the film series to Ventura, and to direct well-known Irish actor Barry McGovern and noted American actors Bill Irwin, Frances McDormand and Bruce Weitz in a gala reading of excerpts from Beckett's prose and poetry. With Colgan and Asmus on board, word got around in Beckett circles. "One person and one story led to another," said Burns, who soon had a roster of famed Beckett scholars, directors and actors from around the world who were willing to travel to Ventura. Among the notables participating in BeckettFest panels and productions are Herbert Blau, co-founder of the San Francisco Actor's Workshop, which staged a famous production of "Waiting for Godot" at San Quentin Prison in 1957 (who better than prisoners to understand the idea of waiting?); and Rick Cluchey, a convict-turned-actor who founded the San Quentin Drama Workshop, a prison-based theater group, after seeing the play. Now 70, he continues to present Godot's works to prisoners. Conor Lovett, an Irish actor who's received rave reviews in Europe for his roles in Beckett's plays, will star in the American premiere of "The Beckett Trilogy," a stage adaptation of Beckett's prose works "Molloy," "Malone Dies" and "The Unnamable." Burns found a bounty of local Beckett experts, too, such as H. Porter Abbott, an English professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, who was past president of the Samuel Beckett Society and has written books about Beckett. Members of Rubicon's core acting company, including Joe Spano, Jenny Sullivan, Linda Purl and Susan Clark, will perform in various productions during the festival. Cliff DeYoung, who plays Pozzo in Rubicon's "Waiting for Godot," received acclaim two years ago for his performance in Los Angeles of "The Collected Works of Samuel Beckett," a one-man show created by Jack McGowran. He'll reprise the show during the festival. Burns said Rubicon is on the "leading edge" of the Beckett movement. In 2006, Beckett aficionados from around the world will celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the playwright's birth. Many of the attendees at BeckettFest will be participating in the centennial festivities, so Ventura County residents will get a preview of what's to come. "Of course, it would have been better to know about and plan (BeckettFest) a few years ago," Burns said, "but we felt like this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity based on a growing interest and excitement about Beckett's influence on the world."
The legacy "You must go on, I can't go on, I'll go on." -- Narrator, "The Unnamable" Beckett, who was born in Ireland and later moved to France, continued to write (in both French and English) until his death at age 83, in 1989. Modern playwrights such as Harold Pinter, David Mamet and Tom Stoppard were all influenced by Beckett's work, and his legacy continues. Beckett's "influence on the world" was his out-of-the-theater-box thinking. Although his work confounded critics and audiences in the 1950s, when "Waiting for Godot" premiered in Paris, since then experimental theater has become, well, less of an experiment. Plots can now be twisted instead of straightforward; language can be contradictory or nonsensical instead of natural; settings can be stark and undefined instead of lavish and familiar; and characters can be abstract, far removed from the typical hero or villain.
Questioning existence "You're on earth. There's no cure for that." -- Hamm, "Endgame" Beckett explores the meaning of human existence and other philosophical questions in his works, but a background in existentialism isn't required to understand or enjoy his works. "If people haven't enjoyed Beckett before, I think it's because they need to know the answers," said Burns. "This is an opportunity to ask ourselves questions and come up with our own answers." Burns said BeckettFest is for everyone, even those who haven't read the author's works or seen any of his plays. "It's so richly rewarding to delve into the mind of a playwright who so clearly and concisely poses questions about the fundamental truths about how we should live our lives," she said. You'll have a good laugh, too, because Beckett's works are full of irony, slapstick, farce, vaudevillian silliness and sheer absurdity, all in the midst of what seems like the most depressing situations. It's his knack for understanding the tragicomedy called life that makes Beckett not just a thinker but a feeler, too. As the character Krapp says in
Beckett's play "Krapp's Last
Tape": "With all this darkness
round me I feel less alone." |
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Beckett beckons Rubicon salute to the famed writer continues with plays, films, talks By Karen
Lindell, klindell@VenturaCountyStar.com Seeing the Rubicon Theatre Company's production of Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot" will set you back a few hours, but "I don't have time" is not an excuse for missing a viewing of "Breath." Surely you can spare 35 seconds. Yes, it takes longer to read Beckett's stage directions for "Breath" than to see the play performed. Here's the "plot" (spoiler warning): As a light shines on a stage strewn with rubbish, the audience hears a cry, followed by a breath and another cry. |
 Courtesy photo Rubicon Theatre Company of Ventura explores the minimalistic genius of Nobel Prize-winning playwright Samuel Beckett during BeckettFest, which features all 19 of his plays presented live or on film. The local festival ends Oct. 3. |
"Breath" is one of the lesser-known short plays written by Beckett, the 20th-century playwright famed for his theatrical innovations and minimalism. "Breath," along with other Beckett plays (his other short works, although not feature length, are considerably longer that "Breath"), will be presented on film as part of Rubicon Theatre Company's BeckettFest, a 16-day festival devoted to the Nobel Prize-winning author. If you've got more than 35 seconds to spare, meet Michael Colgan, the noted director who produced the acclaimed "Beckett on Film" series, during a dinner and lecture tonight at the Rubicon Theatre. BeckettFest, which started Saturday and ends Oct. 3, features all 19 of Beckett's plays presented live or on film; stage adaptations of his poetry and prose; and panel discussions and lectures with well-known Beckett scholars, filmmakers, actors and directors. Along with Rubicon's stellar cast of regulars such as Joe Spano, Susan Clark and Linda Purl, Irish actors Barry McGovern and Conor Lovett will lend their acting talents to various productions at the festival. A brochure with complete descriptions of events, actors and panelists is available at the theater, 1006 E. Main St., Ventura, or by calling 667-2900. Access the schedule online at http://www.rubicontheatre.org/becfest/beckettfest.htm.
All stage performances will be presented in the Rubicon Theatre. "Waiting for Godot" tickets cost $33-$45. Tickets for other performances are $15-$35.
On film The "Beckett on Film" series, produced by Michael Colgan, features movie versions of every Beckett play; most will show during the local BeckettFest. Among the featured directors and actors are Atom Egoyan, Neil Jordan, David Mamet, Anthony Minghella, Michael Gambon, John Gielgud, John Hurt, Jeremy Irons, Julianne Moore, Harold Pinter, Alan Rickman and Kristin Scott Thomas. All performances are at the Ventura Downtown Century Theatres, 555 E. Main St. Cost is $10 per ticket.
A series of 30- to 45-minute Beckett-related interviews, lectures and panel discussions will take place during lunchtime. Suggested donation is $10; free for students.
Dinner lecture and interview The following lecture takes place at the Rubicon Theatre. Tickets, $25, include dinner.
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It�s September already and let�s welcome in the initial offerings of LA theatre�s fall season. There were musical treats galore that made the summer quite a pleasant one, so it�s been a nice change of pace to attend a bevy of serious dramas in the last several weeks.
On the Pasadena Playhouse stage is Nicholas Wright�s Olivier Award-winning Best Play of 2003 Vincent in Brixton directed lovingly by Elina de Santos. What a shame to witness people walking out of this beautifully written and soul-searching piece about what influenced Vincent Van Gogh to become a great painter. Inexcusable behavior by Los Angelenos! Are they trying to prove once and for all what outsiders say, that they wouldn�t know what constitutes culture if it hit them? Wright very carefully does not stray from the bleak story of a widow (Stephanie Zimbalist) that not only experiences a complete and unexpected love once again but who genuinely cares about nurturing talent. My only complaint about this production is Graham Miller who plays Van Gogh. His Dutch accent is very unfocused, making it exceedingly difficult to comprehend him in the opening scenes. Soulful work comes from the underrated Zimbalist who to me is consistently developing into one of our finest American stage actresses. Delightful comic relief from Tracie Lockwood as the puritanical sister bent on cleaning up every mess she sees and gorgeous English country kitchen set by John Iacovelli. Through September 19. By the way Zimbalist and her dad Efrem Zimbalist Jr. will be playing Hannah and her grandfather in the Rubicon�s production of The Night of the Iguana in October.
Until then audiences will be divided over the Rubicon�s current offering of Samuel Beckett�s Waiting For Godot. You either love it or you despise it! I�ve never been thrilled by existentialism, but I must admit I came away from this production thinking more than ever about the plight of mankind and what I can do to make a difference. If Estragan (Robin Gammell) and Vladimir (Joe Spano) are �stuck� expecting to be saved, then isn�t Beckett trying to tell us to wake up and smell the roses? Life can only get better if we put on our creative hats and attempt to make beneficial changes. Nobody will do it for us! Great work from Spano, Gammell and especially Ted Neeley as Lucky (a very painful role physically) and Cliff DeYoung as Pozzo. This kicks off a month-long Beckett festival in Ventura, which is a first for the West Coast. Kudos once more to KL Burns and Jim O�Neill for their progressive vision and undying spirit. Through October 3.
http://articles.latimes.com/2004/sep/25/entertainment/et-brandes25
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WAITING
FOR GODOT
Ventura's
Rubicon Theatre enlisted German director Walter Asmus to
helm its revival of "Godot." The result here is
nothing short of a revelation.
