Page 22 - the NOISE March 2015

ORIGINAL THEATRE
maRChes into FlagstaFF this month
ABOVE: The cast of Angels in America BY ClaiR anna Rose
at rehearsal before opening night.
photos BY Rene R. RiVas
eXamining FeaR thRough theateR
Angels in America written by Tony Kushner in 1993, and di- rected by Christina Gutierrez-Dennehy, is now in the middle of its run at Northern Arizona University.
“It’s a play in two parts — Millennium Approaches (which nAU is producing), and Perestroika,” explains Ms. Gutierrez- Dennehy. “It is an ensemble piece featuring eight actors play- ing 20+ roles. The story deals with a number of relationships
— among them a straight Mormon couple and a homosexual couple — all of which are influenced to a large degree by fear. One character suffers from AIDs, another with his sexuality, and others with their fear of being alone, or of not being able to handle the pain of watching a loved one suffer.
“The play weaves their lives together in the context of Rea- gan-era new York, exploring our feelings about religion and disease and exposing common human fears. Kushner has subtitled the play, A Gay Fantasia on National Themes, a sub- title which, I think, captures both its scope and its interest in the fantastical. The ‘angel’ in the show, for instance, is very far from what I think most of us expect. There is little redemption in the show, but there is a great deal of humanity and beauty.”
Ms. Gutierrez-Dennehy found her way to Flagstaff after completing her Ph.D. work in Austin, Texas. “I am a Lecturer in the Theatre Department at nAU, where I teach acting, di- recting, script analysis, and modern/contemporary drama,” she tells me about herself. “In Austin, I began the 7 Towers Theatre Company, of which I remain the Producing Artistic Director, even though I spend at least 9 months of the year in Flagstaff. 7 Towers is known for site-specific work — a kind of theatre I explored with nAU last spring for The House of Bernarda Alba, which we produced at the La Posada Hotel in winslow. I also work as a freelance director, and will be direct- ing Doubt for Theatrikos in April. My scholarly work tends to focus on shakespeare, and, more specifically, on his represen- tation of the Middle Ages through his cycles of history plays.”
Telling me what she hopes the audience experiences through watching this play, Ms. Gutierrez-Dennehy says, “I want them to see the humanity and the suffering of these characters, and to examine the degree to which fear influ- ences and/or motivates their own lives.”
Angels in America addresses the fear that came with the AIDs epidemic, and Ms. Gutierrez-Dennehy relates it to our modern times. “Although I think the majority of the Ameri- can population is no longer terrified of AIDs to the degree we were in the 80s and early 90s, we just experienced a similar fear — and a similar desire to isolate and marginalize — in reaction to the recent ebola scare. I think that this makes the play incredibly timely.”
The performance of Angels in America goes beyond the typi- cal scope of a theater production, “we’re planning a number of outreach activities to explore public discourse around disease, epidemics and, again, this notion of fear. These activities will include pre-show discussions of the play’s issues, which will
happen before the Friday and saturday night performances.” Angels In America will be performed at nAU’s Clifford e. white Theater February 27 through March 8, with specific
times listed online. nau.edu/CAL
stoRies in ouR sCaRs
Maia DellaCascata’s plays have been frequenting the Play- wright Café, and this March Theatrikos’ Playwright Café will present the last of three plays composed during a winter stay at her sister’s ranch outside of Flagstaff.
Like the other two plays composed during this time pe- riod, Scars again draws on a re-occurring theme. “If you had to define the core message, it seems to be and maybe it’s no surprise — because this is what life is: the story of the choice between love and fear,” explains Ms. DellaCascata. “Probably, The Peeps Show was the most overt messenger of that, but Scars is a cautionary tail of fear over love. In a way, unlike the other two plays, Scars makes me uncomfortable as a play- wright because it’s so out of my ordinary, it really is twisted. People who have read it, including the director, Mickey Mer- cer, said it has haunted him.”
Ms. DellaCascata tells me more about the play, which is dif- ferent from her others, told with a darker theme. “It’s very dark, twisted, surreal, supernatural and unhealthy,” she describes.
“The whole inspiration was noticing physical scars and real- izing they were tied to stories. I started thinking about the stories and realizing they were not just physical scars, but in- visible scars inside. I started realizing many of us walk around with not only the physical, but also the invisible scars which are actually much deeper wounds and way more damaging. This tale, like all of my work, just took on a life of its own. In all of my writing I realized there’s so much of myself in every single thing I write. If you see Scars, not everything is from my life but it’s based on a lot of my own experiences and rela- tionships, hopes and dreams, and fears and disappointments. And despite all the pain of life, the hope refuses to die. I’m a jaded optimist, but I don’t ever want to lose the belief that dreams will come true.”
Scars is set in Chicago, where Ms. DellaCascata lived for a period of time. “The story is set in the southside,” she shares. “The neighborhoods are really strong, so the southside is utter- ly different from the northside. It’s almost like a religious dif- ference. A northsider named nora comes down to the south-
side and she’s basically looking for anything that will stop the pain. she’s deeply, deeply scarred. she encounters in a south- side bar a man who is her counterpart in terms of having been as blasted by life. Both of them despite their anger and their fear are still hoping that there may be love and maybe healing. so they end up with each other and in the course of spending the night together, they share their journeys.”
Scars will be performed one night only at Charly’s in the Hotel weatherford March 29 at 6:30PM. Theatrikos.com
two plaYs in two weeKends
This March Zoo Story starring Joe Sweet & Michael Levin, and The Death Monologues written & performed by Giselle Suarez, are both under the guidance of Mary Guaraldi, who has been part of the professional theater world for 40 years. Ms. Guaraldi is the director of Canyon Moon Theater in sedona when she isn’t in Massachusetts, where she takes on the role as head of the Boston Children’s Theater new works Program.
“I am not directing either show in the traditional sense,” says Ms. Guaraldi. “I am working with talented, motivated theatre artists on projects they initiated to help them shape their ideas. I am doing the production with Mike and Joe because they are such talented, committed theater artists. when Mike asked me to direct Zoo Story, I was intrigued. I had worked on the show when I was 16 and was interested to see how my life affected my insights into the play. I wanted a challenging project that would be unusual for Flagstaff. There are only two people in the show and the second week, Mike and Joe are switching roles. exciting, challenging work with two won- derful actors — what director wouldn’t jump at the chance?”
with The Death Monologues, it was Ms. suarez who sought an experienced collaborator. “she told me she was writing a series of pieces about death,” Ms. Guaraldi says. “I told her I would help. she did the show at The Fringe Festival in new York and, recently, in europe. I have worked with her as she honed the script and her performance.”
Zoo Story will play February 27 & 28, and March 6 & 7, while The Death Monologues is a one night only event on March 8. Both productions will be held at the Doris-Harper white Com- munity Playhouse, 11 w. Cherry Ave.
Coming up at theatRiKos
Theatrikos is now accepting submissions to their Play- wright Café Junior Ten Minute Playwriting Contest for high school and college students. send entries to drew@theat- rikos.com by April 1 to enter this contest. The winning play will be showcased at Firecreek Coffee in May.
On March 27, Theatrikos premiers its production of Funny Money by Ray Cooney and directed by Alisa Carlson. Funny Money will play at the Doris Harper-white Community Play- house through April 12.
Upcoming Auditions for two Theatrikos plays are hap- pening this March beginning with Doubt, A Parable by John Patrick shanley and directed by Christina Gutierrez-Dennehy. Come prepared with a 1-2 minute monologue March 2 & 3 at 6PM. Performance dates are April 17, 18 and 19. Auditions for william shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, directed by Virginia Brown & Linda sutera, takes place March 30 & 31 at 6PM with callbacks on April 2. Performances will be May 29 through June 14. Theatrikos.com
| Clair anna Rose has got the scoop on what’s happening on the stage. arts@thenoise.us
22 • MARCH 2015 • the NOISE arts & news • thenoise.us