Ancient and Modern

By all accounts, I was a fairly typical teenager. My extracurricular interests included hanging out at the mall, rock music, babysitting, and Greek tragedy. Huh? Yes, somehow that last one doesn't quite fit, but despite the required can of AquaNet in my purse, I became an avid reader of Sophocles, Aeschylus, and Euripides in high school. While I appreciated all of the plays I encountered, reading Antigone in my senior year left an indelible mark on me. So it's quite exciting that the local theater group, Theaterwork, is performing Jean Anouilh's adaptation of Sophocles's masterpiece. Written in and based on Nazi-occupied France, it is both an update of Antigone and a confirmation that the themes it explores are timeless and universal.

Rather than staging the production in a typical performance space, Antigone will be at the former Tino Griego pool in the same building as the Oliver La Farge Branch Library. The pool itself is the stage, and the audience will sit on the sides. In addition to Theaterwork's core troupe, members of the community have been brought in to perform, design and decorate the set, and compose original music and poetry. The production promises to be as memorable as reading the original in high school for the first time.

Antigone will run from April 7th to the 17th: Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 pm, Sunday at 2 pm. The former Tino Griego pool is located at 1730 Llano St. Ticket prices are $15 general admission; $14 for Seniors; $10 for teens. You can make reservations by calling 505-471-1799. It's open to all ages, and you might just want to convince the teenager in your life that you're never too young for Greek Tragedy.

I could not have staged this better

Does this happen to you:

You think you've read or seen something, but when you do read or see it you realize you've been mistaken the entire time?

Despite being an avid reader and theater-goer, I discovered a huge gap in my knowledge last year. It started when I checked out Cat on a Hot Tin Roof to "refresh my memory", and I realized I'd never read the play or seen a production of it. I was blown away, and just a bit annoyed at myself for not having devoured Tennessee Williams' output earlier and more regularly. Sure, I'd read a scene or two from The Glass Menagerie in some English class or other, and I know for a fact that I'd watched A Streetcar Named Desire within the past decade. But for some reason, Cat just clicked with me, and I proceeded to seek out Williams' short stories and the film adaptations of his plays. I wished with all my heart that I'd have the opportunity to see one of his plays performed, and soon.

That was last year. This year, in a delightful serendipity, the Albuquerque Theatre Guild is organizing the Albuquerque Tennessee Williams Festival 2011. You see, it's his 100th birthday, and playhouses all over the city are putting on plays both written by him and inspired by him. While I may not be able to make each and every event, one I will definitely be checking out is the Vortex Theatre's production of Night of the Iguana, starting on March 25. It seems I discovered Tennessee Williams just in time!

Check out the full schedule of the Albuquerque Tennessee Williams Festival 2011 events here. After all, you may think Albuquerque is far, but it's not as far as New Orleans.

Shakespeare: Page to Stage

A Discussion with
John F. Andrews and Jerry Ferraccio

Thursday, February 10
7:00 p.m.
Main Library Community Room
145 Washington Ave.

How do actors and directors “read” Shakespeare’s scripts and translate them into vibrant performances? What do they need to know about the cultural contexts in which these works were first produced? What kind of attention should they give to the rhythmic patterns found in verse and prose?

These are some of the questions we invite you to explore with John Andrews, founder and president of the Shakespeare Guild and a scholar who has produced two editions of the playwright’s plays, and Jerry Ferraccio, a theater professional who has delighted audiences in such venues as Shakespeare & Company and the Alabama Shakespeare Festival.

This event is free and open to the public.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.