Category Archives: Performance

MABOU MINES/BECKETT: ‘IMAGINATION DEAD IMAGINE’–DIRECTED BY RUTH MALECZECH (12/21-12/17) ·

MABOU MINES/BECKETT: ‘IMAGINATION DEAD IMAGINE’–DIRECTED BY RUTH MALECZECH (12/21-12/17)

Ruth Nelson (Voice) & Clove Galilee (Figure)
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Light, voice, hologram and music play against one another in undulating patterns. Beckett himself could have been describing the eerie effect of Miss Maleczech’s stage piece when he wrote in his text about the striking contrast between the ”absolute stillness and the convulsive light.” ‘Imagination Dead Imagine’ lasts only 14 minutes, but it is a paradigmatic example of the Mabou Mines mastery of technology in the name of art.

– Mel Gussow, NY Times 1

**Streaming access can be purchased between 12/21 and 12/27. Once your order is processed you will receive a viewing link to watch anytime through 12/27.**

SAMUEL BECKETT’S

IMAGINATION DEAD IMAGINE

DIRECTED BY Ruth Maleczech

WITH

Ruth Nelson (Voice)

Clove Galilee (Figure)

PREMIERE

The Performing Garage – NYC , 1984

Running time 17 min

See full production page here. 

BUY TICKETS

SAMUEL BECKETT’S

IMAGINATION DEAD IMAGINE

DIRECTED BY

Ruth Maleczech

” the equivalent of hearing poetry read to sculpture … “

MEL GUSSOW – NEW YORK TIMES

5 EXTRAORDINARY SOVIET CLOWNS ·

 

Yuri Belinsky/Sputnik; Yevgeny Ivanov, Semyon Mishin-Morgenshtern/MAMM/MDF/russiainphoto.ru

Just like any other clowns, they wore funny clothes, had painted faces and behaved in a silly way. Funny enough, in the Soviet Union, circus clowns probably played more important roles than silver screen stars. They helped those behind the Iron Curtain cope with mundane matters, proving the age old adage that laughter is always the best medicine.

1. Mikhail Rumyantsev (1901-1983)

Mikhail Rumyanyntsev was much inspired by Charlie Chaplin’s famous character, the Tramp.

Mikhail never cried over bad grades at school – he was born with a gift of laughter. At the beginning of his career in the late 1920s, Rumyantsev was profoundly moved and inspired by Charlie Chaplin’s famous character, the Tramp. Like Chaplin, Rumyantsev, whose stage name was Karandash (“The Pencil”), was also fairly clumsy, awkward and funny, and constantly found himself in embarrassing situations.

There was something innately comical and sad about him. He would turn up on stage dressed in an oversized suit and a hat. Despite being very short, just 142 cm tall (that’s less than five feet) he never worried about his looks (his wife was tall, beautiful and twenty years younger than him). The way he carried himself left no chance for an inferiority complex.

Rumyantsev’s partner in crime on stage was a Scottish Terrier nicknamed ‘The Blot’. During his long career, Karandash had performed with at least 13 Scotties.

Rumyantsev’s partner in crime on stage was a Scottish Terrier.

Rumyantsev actually became a clown quite by chance. In 1926, America’s sweetheart of silent cinema Mary Pickford and one of Hollywood’s founding fathers, Douglas Fairbanks, paid a visit to the Soviet Union. Rumyantsev saw the pair and decided to become an artist. He chose his stage name in 1935, to pay tribute to the 19th century French satirist Caran D’ache (whose pseudonym, in its turn, was a creative French transcription of karandash (карандаш), the Russian word for ‘pencil’).

The Soviet artist worked in the circus for over 55 years and his name on the billboard was invariably the guarantee of a sold-out show. However, Karandash didn’t like posters with his name. His peers said he was too modest to brag about success. On stage, he was just an ordinary bloke, good-natured, witty, cheerful, full of childlike spontaneity and charm.

His performances crossed genres, boasting stunts in acrobatics and gymnastics. Karandash became the first Soviet clown whose popularity transcended the geographical barriers of that time. In his best years, he had an army of fans in Finland, France, UK, Germany, Italy, Brazil and Uruguay.

READ MORE: 10 funny Pepe the Frog doodles by Russian artists (PICS)

2. Slava Polunin (b.1950)

For Russia’s most famous clown, hope and laughter are like Siamese twins, bound together at some physical level. A sense of humor once helped Slava get through the turbulent times. Which is why Slava brings laughter wherever he goes.

Polunin's signature clown character ‘Assissai’ became the epitome of comic relief.

One of the founders of the Litsedei pantomime theater in St. Petersburg, Polunin is a master of tragi-comedy. His yellow clown character ‘Assissai’ became the epitome of comic relief.

Polunin made headlines shortly before the Berlin Wall fell in 1989. He organized the so-called ‘Peace Caravan’, in which mimes and clowns from across the globe got together to give street performances in Europe.

His major tour de force – ‘Slava’s Snowshow’ – has been staged in more than 80 countries worldwide, praised for warmth and wit, wisdom and sadness. Veering between laughter and tears, it was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event and won dozens of theatrical awards, including the coveted Laurence Olivier award in 1998. 

His major tour de force – ‘Slava’s Snowshow’ – has been staged in more than 80 countries worldwide.

Polunin’s signature theatrical performances are like this: you laugh to keep from crying. Slava blends freedom with anarchy as naturally as a knowledgeable bartender mixes tomato juice with vodka. Polunin did himself a big favor when he allowed himself to be not only the clown, but also the artist and the thinker. 

(Read more)

BRENDAN A. BRADLEY: HOW TO CUSTOMIZE #FUTURESTAGES VR THEATER FOR YOUR SHOW ·

Welcome to the future–#FutureStages. Above creator/guru, Brendan A. Bradley.  Watch his introductory video below.

On 10/30, he spoke to Bob Ost, executive director of Theater Resources Unlimitedabout free, cutting-edge tools to help navigate creatively during the pandemic and beyond, at Tru’s Friday community gathering. Visit truonline.org .

From Bob: Think Outside the (Black) Box: New Virtual Platforms. Integrate emerging technologies in live performance, supporting the next generation of multi-disciplinary storytellers. Learn about streaming tools for live performance, including building a customizable virtual theater.

I can’t go on.  I will go on. 

Grab all the assets from brendanAbradley.com/futurestages and follow along! CLICK FOR SHORTCUTS TO TOPICS: — 00:00 – Pre-roll chat 00:29 – Overview of The Future Stages 02:47 – Using OBS to Livestream 03:38 – Overview of Mozilla HUBS Scenes 04:13 – Virtual Walkthrough of Theater (Sample Set Up) 04:32 – Explanation of the Lobby View 05:42 – Controls to navigate Mozilla Hubs 07:22 – Interactive features of Mozilla Hubs 10:07 – STEP ONE: Go to brendanAbradley.com/futurestages 10:51 – STEP TWO: Click to Remix the template in Mozilla SPOKE 12:40 – Don’t worry about the error message for Vimeo 14:12 – STEP THREE: Double Click on Top Right Assets to Add Your URLs 15:31 – STEP FOUR: Replace Video Backdrop with your Livestream Link (Twitch, YouTube, etc) 16:46 – STEP FIVE: Create Your Own Show Art 21:26 – STEP SIX: Replace Show Art with Links to your Show Art 23:29 – STEP SEVEN: Double Click on Lobby View 23:37 – STEP EIGHT: Publish your Customized Theater 26:51 – STEP NINE: Create a Room for each Performance 27:38 – STEP TEN: Double Check it is set up the way you like 28:03 – STEP ELEVEN: Use OBS to broadcast live on stage 29:45 – READY TO PERFORM! 30:00 – PAUSE HERE TO HAVE A SENSE OF WHAT IT SHOULD LOOK LIKE (Disrupted by my live-streaming the tutorial) 31:12 – Wrap up and answer questions

THE SHOW MUST GO ONLINE: ‘HENRY IV, PART I’ ·

THE SHOW MUST GO ONLINE: HENRY IV PART I

 

PLAYLIST: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list… SUPPORT THE CAST AND CREW: https://patreon.com/theshowmustgoonline HOMEPAGE: https://robmyles.co.uk/theshowmustgoo… Follow: @TSMGOnlineLive on Twitter | @TheShowMustGoOnline on Facebook/Insta TIME IN AWARDS: bit.ly/2UYLQCu ENTER: The Show Must Go Online – Shakespeare for everyone: a global movement creating new productions of the Complete Plays, performed live every Wednesday, free forever CAST: HENRY PERCY “HOTSPUR” – Mark Laverty HENRY “HAL”, PRINCE OF WALES – Seb Yates-Cridland @seb_wyc KING HENRY IV – Andy McLeod @AndyMcleod09 THOMAS PERCY, EARL OF WORCESTER – Gillian Barmes SIR JOHN FALSTAFF – Jack Baldwin @JonJackBaldwin OWEN GLENDOWER – Leo Atkin SIR RICHARD VERNON – Sakuntala Ramanee EDMUND MORTIMER, EARL OF MARCH – Naila Mansour @NailaMansouroff LADY PERCY – Natalie Ann Boyd @natalieannboyd ARCHIBALD, EARL OF DOUGLAS – Julie Martis @juliemartis SIR WALTER BLUNT – Callum Lloyd @CallumLloydT EARL OF WESTMORLAND – Shamiso Mushambi @ShamisoMushambi EDWARD POINS – Duncan Hess @TheRealMrHess HENRY PERCY, EARL OF NORTHUMBERLAND – Simon Balcon RICHARD SCROOP, ARCHBISHOP OF YORK – Henry Jenkinson @henryjenkinson BARDOLPH – Daniel Cordova @dancordova ENSEMBLE – Rhiannon Willans @rnwillans, Jason Blackwater @JasonBlackwater, Philippa Hammond @philippa_uk, Sasha Wilson @_sashawilson SWINGS – Danny Adams @dannyeadams, Phoebe Elliott @phoebeelliott96 GUEST SPEAKER: Eric Rasmussen Eric Rasmussen is Foundation Professor of English at the University of Nevada. He is the co-editor, along with Sir Jonathan Bate, of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Complete Works of Shakespeare. PRODUCTION TEAM: Director: Robert Myles @robmyles Producer: Sarah Peachey @PeacheyLDN Casting Director: Sydney Aldridge @sydneyamee Stage Manager & Master of Props: Emily Ingram @EmilyCIngram Fight Direction/Stunts: Yarit Dor & Enric Ortuno @YaritDor @EnricOrtuno Sound Design: Adam Woodhams @AdamWoodhams1 Guest Speaker Curation: Ben Crystal @bencrystal Associate Producers: Natalie Chan @NatalieNat_Chan Matthew Rhodes @RhodesTheatre Social Media & Patreon Manager: Ruth Page @ruthfpage Infrastructure Support: Dr Ed Guccione, Dr Kay Guccione PR: Kate Morley @KMorleyPR Welsh Translations: Lynwen Haf Roberts

BERLINER ENSEMBLE: “MOTHER COURAGE AND HER CHILDREN” WITH HELENE WEIGEL, “AN UNMISSABLE OPPORTUNITY”–UK GUARDIAN ·

STREAMING FROM FRIDAY FOR A WEEK: BERLINER ENSEMBLE–“MOTHER COURAGE AND HER CHILDREN” WITH HELENE WEIGEL, FROM 1957  

View

Stay at home – BE at home: While the doors of the Berlin ensemble must remain closed to our audience, we provide you with a recording of a repertoire or historically significant staging as an online stream once a week. The stream of the week is always available from Fridays and then for a week.

We are very pleased that we can now show you, in collaboration with the Bertolt Brecht Archive of the Academy of the Arts, a recording of Bertolt Brechts and Erich Engels’ staging of “Mother Courage and Her Children” with Helene Weigel from 1957 (German audio only!). We can now make this staging, which is important in terms of theater history, accessible to a larger audience for the first time and thank the Bertolt Brecht heirs and Suhrkamp Verlag for this. The stream is available free of charge until midnight on May 21, 2020 at “BE at home”.

From May 22, 2020, 6:00 p.m., we will show a recording of Heiner Müller’s “Macbeth” in a production by Michael Thalheimer (with English Surtitles!).

Further digital offers from the Berlin Ensemble can be found at www.berliner-ensemble.de/be-at-home.

Photo: © Hainer Hill ©AdK, Berlin

 

Read more from Chris Wiegand in the Guardian:

Mother Courage

Achtung! Here’s an unmissable opportunity to catch a piece of German theatre history (though without English subtitles). The Berliner Ensemble is streaming a different production each week for its BE at Home programme, and from 15-22 May you can see Brecht’s classic play about the 30 years war in Europe. Legendary actor Helene Weigel, Brecht’s wife, plays the title role. Weigel played the part of the indomitable profiteer and matriarch more than 200 times in her career.

For further streaming events

 

Synopsis, from Wikipedia:

Mother Courage and Her Children

The play is set in the 17th century in Europe during the Thirty Years’ War. The Recruiting Officer and Sergeant are introduced, both complaining about the difficulty of recruiting soldiers to the war. Anna Fierling (Mother Courage) enters pulling a cart containing provisions for sale to soldiers, and introduces her children Eilif, Kattrin, and Schweizerkas (“Swiss Cheese”). The sergeant negotiates a deal with Mother Courage while Eilif is conscripted by the Recruiting Officer.

Two years thereafter, Mother Courage argues with a Protestant General’s cook over a capon, and Eilif is congratulated by the General for killing peasants and slaughtering their cattle. Eilif and his mother sing “The Fishwife and the Soldier”. Mother Courage scolds her son for endangering himself.

Three years later, Swiss Cheese works as an army paymaster. The camp prostitute, Yvette Pottier, sings “The Fraternization Song”. Mother Courage uses this song to warn Kattrin against involving herself with soldiers. Before the Catholic troops arrive, the Cook and Chaplain bring a message from Eilif. Swiss Cheese hides the regiment’s paybox from invading soldiers, and Mother Courage and companions change their insignia from Protestant to Catholic. Swiss Cheese is captured and tortured by the Catholics having hidden the paybox by the river. Mother Courage attempts bribery to free him, planning to pawn the wagon first and redeem it with the regiment money. When Swiss Cheese claims that he has thrown the box in the river, Mother Courage backtracks on the price, and Swiss Cheese is killed. Fearing to be shot as an accomplice, Mother Courage does not acknowledge his body, and it is discarded.

Later, Mother Courage waits outside the General’s tent to register a complaint and sings the “Song of Great Capitulation” to a young soldier anxious to complain of inadequate pay. The song persuades both to withdraw their complaints.

When Catholic General Tilly’s funeral approaches, the Chaplain tells Mother Courage that the war will still continue, and she is persuaded to pile up stocks. The Chaplain then suggests to Mother Courage that she marry him, but she rejects his proposal. Mother Courage curses the war because she finds Kattrin disfigured after being raped by a drunken soldier. Thereafter Mother Courage is again following the Protestant army.

Two peasants try to sell merchandise to her when they hear news of peace with the death of the Swedish king. The Cook appears and causes an argument between Mother Courage and the Chaplain. Mother Courage is off to the market while Eilif enters, dragged in by soldiers. Eilif is executed for killing a peasant while stealing livestock, trying to repeat the same act for which he was praised as hero in wartime, but Mother Courage never hears thereof. When she finds out the war continues, the Cook and Mother Courage move on with the wagon.

In the seventeenth year of the war, there is no food and no supplies. The Cook inherits an inn in Utrecht and suggests to Mother Courage that she operate it with him, but refuses to harbour Kattrin. Thereafter Mother Courage and Kattrin pull the wagon by themselves.

When Mother Courage is trading in the Protestant city of Halle, Kattrin is left with a peasant family in the countryside overnight. As Catholic soldiers force the peasants to guide the army to the city for a sneak attack, Kattrin fetches a drum from the cart and beats it, waking the townspeople, but is herself shot. Early in the morning, Mother Courage sings a lullaby to her daughter’s corpse, has the peasants bury it, and hitches herself to the cart.

MABOU MINES: WATCH ‘DEAD END KIDS: A STORY OF NUCLEAR POWER’ ·

DEAD END KIDS:

A STORY OF
NUCLEAR POWER

Visit and give to Mabou Mines

Watch ‘Dead End Kids’

________________________

CONCEIVED AND DIRECTED BY

JoAnne Akalaitis

THE PLAY …

PREMIERE: November 11, 1980 Presented by Joseph Papp at The Public Theater – NYC

Text by JoAnne Akalaitis & Company, with excerpts from the writings of Paracelsus, Eve Curie, Marie Curie, Goethe, Jorge Luis Borges, General L.R. Groves and from institutional and government reports on nuclear weapons and nuclear energy.

“Almost single-handedly she (JoAnne Akalaitis) is giving new life to the whole notion of political theater.”

– FRANK RICH, NY TIMES

THE FILM …

PREMIERE: NOVEMBER 5, 1986 FILM FORUM I – NYC

PRODUCED BY Marian Godfrey & Monty Diamond
MUSIC BY David Byrne with additional music by: Philip Glass

Photo: Mabou Mines

 

MABOU MINES: FROM THE ARCHIVES: THE 1980’S–“HAJJ” ·

Watch

Give to Mabou Mines

 

 

FROM THE ARCHIVES: THE 1980’S

 

A NEW YORK SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL/MABOU MINES PRODUCTION
PRESENTED BY JOSEPH PAPP

HAJJ
A PERFORMANCE POEM

The Public Theater – April, 1983

WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY

LEE BREUER

 

 

PERFORMED BY

RUTH MALECZECH

“The collaborative conception of the piece meant that it was up to Maleczech to supply the “memories,” and she chose a trip she took as a child with her father in an army truck as the basis for the prerecorded video. Videographer Craig Jones, meanwhile, came up with the idea of setting the piece at a vanity table, using two-way mirrors to make the video a metaphor for observing oneself. “We also had in the back of our minds the Dorian Gray idea that the image of oneself changes in relation to one’s spiritual position,” says Breuer.”
 

Don Shewey, American Film, January-February 1983

 

“Her reflections in the mirror … stand out with the lucidity of three dimensional photographs.”

– NY Times Mel Gussow – May 11, 1983

WATCH OFFICIAL FRANKENSTEIN WITH BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH AS THE CREATURE | FREE NATIONAL THEATRE FULL PLAY—ONLY UNTIL MAY 7 ·

(National Theatre.)

Watch

A new play by Nick Dear, based on the novel by Mary Shelley. Watch Danny Boyle’s monster hit Frankenstein with Benedict Cumberbatch as the creature and Jonny Lee Miller as Victor Frankenstein. Frankenstein with Benedict Cumberbatch as the creature is streaming for free from 7pm UK time on Thursday 30 April. Available on demand until 7pm UK time on Thursday 7 May. It is subtitled and the running time is 2 hours. See the cast swap roles with Jonny Lee Miller as the creature and Benedict Cumberbatch as Victor Frankenstein, streaming for free from 7pm UK time on Friday 1 May. Available on demand until 7pm UK time on Friday 8 May on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/dI88grIRAnY Childlike in his innocence but grotesque in form, Frankenstein’s bewildered creature is cast out into a hostile universe by his horror-struck maker. Meeting with cruelty wherever he goes, the increasingly desperate and vengeful Creature determines to track down his creator and strike a terrifying deal. This filmed performance is recommended for ages 12 and up. The recording has been adjusted for YouTube. — We hope, as you enjoy this content and the weekly recorded performances, you’ll consider a donation to the National Theatre, or your local theatre.

 

If you’d like to support us, you can donate here: https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk or text NTATHOME 10 to 70085 to donate £10. We’ve launched National Theatre at Home to give you access to theatre online, worldwide. There are further titles to be announced. Find out more about National Theatre at Home: https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/nt…

 

A full list of the cast and creatives is available here: https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/si… If you’re studying this play, or sharing it with someone who is, you might find this Education Resource Pack helpful: https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/si… #NationalTheatre #NationalTheatreLive #NationalTheatreAtHome #Frankenstein — Subscribe on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/c/NationalThea… Sign up to our monthly newsletter: https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/re… National Theatre Twitter: https://twitter.com/NationalTheatre National Theatre Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nationaltheatre National Theatre Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nationalthe… National Theatre Live Twitter: https://twitter.com/NTLive National Theatre Live Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ntlive/

 

Thank you to the amazing artists who have allowed us to share Frankenstein in this way, during this unprecedented time, when so many theatre fans can’t visit their local theatres. At the National Theatre in London, we make world-class theatre that is entertaining, challenging and inspiring. And we make it for everyone. National Theatre Live is National Theatre’s ground-breaking project to broadcast the best of British theatre to cinemas in the UK and internationally. Frankenstein was filmed live on-stage in 2011 by National Theatre Live. This recording has been edited for use on YouTube.