Award Winning Comedy for the Theater-deprived: Virtual and Free

From: Next Stage Theatre Southwest
Sent: Monday, July 20, 2020 5:42 PM
Subject: Great Theater in a New Medium -- FREE

 

Award Winning Comedy for the Theater-deprived: Virtual and Free

In 2016 Tucson audiences were treated to a sharp production of Yasmina Reza's Tony Award-winning God of Carnage under the direction of Mark Klugheit, who has now reconfigured the play for presentation as a dramatic reading in the virtual Zoom medium. Performances will be Saturday July 25 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, July 26 at 6:00 pm. Tickets are free, but attendance is limited and space must be reserved in advance. Presenting the show is Klugheit's new virtual theater company, Next Stage Theatre Southwest, with a cast that includes veteran Tucson actors Cynthia Jeffery, Steve McKee (who was in the 2016 cast) and Clark Andreas Ray.

Carnage is always a gripping evening of theater, with a simple story punctuated by moments of dramatic intensity and laugh out loud humor. Two couples meet in an upscale Brooklyn apartment to have a "civilized" discussion of a playground fight that injured one of their children. The discussion lasts 90 minutes, but civilization only endures for about five. "Ms. Reza's streamlined anatomy of the human animal incites the kind of laughter that comes from the gut as the actors rip the stuffing out of one another, tear up the scenery and stomp on their own vanity." (New York Times)

With most theaters now shuttered due to COVID concerns, Klugheit and other directors have begun to explore outlets for approximating the experience of live theater without bringing audiences and actors into enclosed spaces. And Carnage seemed a perfect work for this medium. It has a small cast, sharp dialogue that can stand on its own, and a situational intensity that ought to jump almost as sharply off a computer screen as a stage. To make this performance as real as possible, there will be open microphones for audience members so that (as in live performance) the actors can hear them as well as vice-versa. There will be a talk-back with the actors and production team after each performance.

Although tickets for these virtual Zoom performances are free, viewers are encouraged to contribute to the Artists' Relief Fund providing small grants for local theater professionals who have lost their livelihood due to COVID shut-downs. http://tucson.com/theaterhelp  

To reserve your space for either performance of God of Carnage, go to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/113173854044  (July 25) or https://www.eventbrite.com/e/113220397256  (July 26)

 

 

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