Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, October 29, 1993 TAG: 9310290169
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-10 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE:
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Because of the constraints this poet and playwright placed on the actors, the director, the technicians and even on time - some of his pieces are as short as six minutes - Beckett rarely made its way to the general public.
This is why audiences should be ecstatic to learn of Virginia Tech's "Banquet of Beckett," a night of eight Beckett shorts.
Beckett is increasingly being considered the father of the performance art movement. He presents the audience with a stripped-down, essential visual interpretation of a metaphor and then investigates the image to completion.
"Beyond minimalistic," according to director Bob Leonard. "Yes, there are those who would call it that, but I'm not sure what that means."
Just as performance art uses the body as a vehicle for movement, Beckett explores specific images, moments, and expressions in lengthy, disciplined fashion.
Leonard said that audiences will witness in one play the image of a woman burdened by the obligation to her ailing mother. "We see the woman pacing in a kind of endless loop. And we hear her mother's voice, and the women herself also speaks," Leonard said.
Had this been an Arthur Miller play, Leonard said the story would be played out in the midst of a household with day-to-day actions.
But because this is Beckett, everything else is unimportant and the actor's body becomes "almost a living scultpure," he said.
Audiences will also find Beckett quite funny, Leonard said. "There's no `Baffo' laughter in Beckett. But there is humor in his unflinching look at the human condition," he said.
Leonard said it's been difficult delivering what Beckett requests technically - in one play, a set in which only the actor's mouth is visible, or in another play, floating urns with actors in them.
Leonard said it's been pretty demanding on the actor's, too.
Some make use of pre-recorded material - memories, spoken aloud - as they pace or ponder on stage.
Beckett was curious about the inner-life experience, Leonard said. "We remember our past, but we experience our memories in the present. Beckett is trying to bring that present tense experience onto the stage," he said.
The recording has been difficult, he said, and it also sets the timing of the show.
Leonard said the effects are making greater use of the theatre's sound system than ever before.
Tech's "Banquet of Beckett" also includes active intermissions - the audience will migrate to another theatre.
The first group of plays will be mounted in a classical proscenium theatre - with stage in front of and elevated from the audience. The second group will be presented in a modern, intimate, thrust-stage theatre. The closing group of plays will return to the proscenium.
Leonard described the migration as similar to wine-tasting. "You've got to cleanse the pallet between these pieces."
He also said Beckett's role as a poet-playwright justifies the large intermissions. "You wouldn't spend an evening reading Robert Frost, continuously. You read one poem, get up, and come back later."
Leonard said it's noteworthy that his department has been willing to tackle Beckett - but described the process as a learning experience rather than one in which to break new ground.
"We are doing this work, not because we're interested in redefining Beckett, but rather as an opportunity to discover about Beckett with young performers," he said.
Plays to be featured at the banquet include: "Come and Go," "Play," "Rockaby," Catastrophe," "Footfalls," "That Time," "Not I" and "What Whereby." Banquet of Beckett" runs Thursday through Nov. 6 and Nov. 11-13. It begins in the Banquet of Beckett" runs Thursday through Nov. 6 and Nov. 11-13. It begins in the Haymarket Theater of Virginia Tech's Squires Student Center at 7:30 p.m. and lasts (including intermissions) approximately three hours.
Tickets are $7 for the general public and $5 for students. For information or reservations, call the Squires Ticket Office at (703) 231-5615.
by CNB