|
The
Clay Play
by Libby Zilber and Theatre of Yugen company May 8 - 18, 2002
The Clay Play explores the inner dialogue of an artisan as she creates her work. In this case, the "everyman" artist is a potter. Through the use of movement woven with text, music juxtaposed with silence, the visceral and sculptural alongside the ethereal, verbal Zen thought with visual Japanese aesthetics, a potter at her wheel and a whole lot of clay, The Clay Play examines the mundane battle of incessant inner commentary. An overarching theme of The Clay Play is how to justify an artist's path with the consciousness of human suffering, an issue which has taken on new weight in light of our recent devastating experience of terrorism and the ensuing "weltschmertz". The Clay Play
|
|
|
The
Clay Play was conceived by potter/actor Libby Zilber and
developed collectively by the performers (Libby Zilber, Lluis Valls
and Jubilith Moore) ... whose fusion-style work is based in the traditional
Japanese theater forms of Noh and Kyogen. Costumes designed by Marilyn
Yu, Lighting Design by Stephen Siegel and Set Engineering
by Tim Rodriquez
s
a pivotal first venture into discovering how years of Noh and Kyogen
training have affected the way these artists interpret and create
their individual work. There is a growing movement for theater artists
to go beyond method style acting and develop a physically-based vocabulary
to use in the development of new works- Tadashi Suzuki's method, and
Anne Bogart/SITI's Viewpoints are two such established examples (these
forms, by the way, were heavily influenced by Noh). A concurrent exhibit
of ceramic work will be on display in the theater's lobby featuring
the work of California Coastside Artists: Carolyn Rodgers, Nancy
Quickert, Patricia Dailey, Becky Maddalena, Catherine Riis, Holly
Himes , Randall Reid and Pat Oyama - also a former company member
of Theatre of Yugen. A potter's night and reception TBA. Audience
members will be invited to stay after the show ends to play with clay
themselves and take part in an informal gathering and discussion.
