The Collective Face has taken on some literary classics in its first couple of years, but more demanding — of the actors and of the staging — than Peter Shaffer’s Equus.

In the review, which I’m not going to recap here, I mention the horses and other stage elements. Here are a couple of embeds from The Collective Face’s Facebook page:

Click here for the Facebook invitation.

Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine will be screened at Spotlight Theaters on Eisenhower this Friday, August 23rd, at 7:15.

Since that screening was booked, Wynnsong Carmike on the Southside has booked the new Woody Allen film to open this weekend. But Warchol passes along a few reasons to watch the CinemaSavannah screening:

you will pay less — tickets will be $7 if you mention CinemaSavannah and $5 if you use their Groupon deal
you will support my program
you will be in the company of discriminating film viewers like you

Then on Friday, August 30th, CinemaSavannah will screen Neil Jordan’s Byzantium twice at Muse Arts Warehouse. On Saturday, Sept.7, CinemaSavannah will screen “The Hunt”, Thomas Vinterberg’s Golden Palm (Grand Prix) winner at last year’s Cannes Film Festival. That’s also at Muse Arts Warehouse.

Check out the links and mark your calendars.

I’m certainly looking forward to this one.

I emailed some questions about the production to director Kevin Gavin. His responses here are well worth a read.

Enjoy:

Bill Dawers: Years ago, you directed a production of Peter Weiss†Marat/Sade, which was one of the most memorable Savannah theater experiences I’ve ever had. I’m sure I’m not the only one who would say that. What made that production so successful?

Kevin Gavin: Wow, you’re very kind! It’s been almost twenty years, and people still do mention this play to me. It was memorable for me, too. We were fortunate in so many ways. Of course, the level of talent involved is the most important factor in any production. I always strive to combine youthful energy with experience and theatrical presence, and when it works I think you get the kind of creative synergy that only theater can provide. Secondly, you need a great play, and Marat/Sade gave us ample opportunity to spread our creative wings. Thirdly, you need some luck. For example, at that time Rody’s was opening a theatrical division of their company, and they gave us an amazing light and sound package at an affordable cost. Lastly (and this is the one thing that I can’t even try to duplicate in our current show), there was the space. The blacksmith shop at the Roundhouse was (and is) hauntingly beautiful, and it lent a looming, mysterious aura to the dramatic action.

BD: So what drew you to Medea?

KG: First and foremost, the talents of Anna Burrell. I think people are going to be just blown away by her performance. The figure of Medea is without a doubt the most challenging and powerful female role in the entire repertoire. Anna has an amazing range, and I knew she could pull it off brilliantly. Secondly, as someone who has spent a long time studying and teaching the classics, I have always wanted to confront the difficulties of staging a Greek tragedy. There’s a certain austere beauty that can be challenging for audience and actor alike. To make the play more accessible, yet without (hopefully!) losing this essential quality, I decided to do a conventional staging, but interspersed with experimental choral interludes: dance, original music (people will love Electric Grandma!), and video installations (by the gifted young director Lubomir Kocka, who already has an Academy Award–student entry–under his belt).

BD: There are many myths about Medea and the brutal vengeance (is that the right word?) she inflicts upon her husband Jason. How is Euripides’ characterization of Medea different from other classic stories about her?

KG: As far as the evidence goes, Euripides was the first person to charge her directly with the crime of killing her children. The original suspects were the citizens of Corinth, where the children are buried. An interesting side note to this is the (most likely apocryphal) legend that Euripides took a bribe from the Corinthians to transfer the blood-guilt for this crime to the Athenians, who offer Medea asylum. There is, in fact, something of a cryptic political subtext to this play, which was performed on the eve of the Peloponnesian War. One gets the sense, in other works as well, that Euripides lays the bulk of the blame for this conflict at the feet of the Athenians.

In other ways, Euripides follows the broad outlines of the received myth tradition.

BD: You’ve got a great cast that includes some established Savannah theater names, but most haven’t been particularly active on stage in recent years. Could you say something about the cast and how they were chosen?

KG: Anna, of course, was immediately open to the idea. As was Jim Morekis, as soon as I mentioned it. He has been terrific. What an intelligent actor! Both of them, of course, were in Marat/Sade, so they were familiar with my process, and were ideal for the roles. JR Roberts, Anna’s partner, is an extremely dedicated and talented theater professional, and brings the right gravitas to the role of Creon. We are fortunate to have him, and his advice on various aspects of the production has been invaluable. Adam Bailey is a film student, at SCAD, and is blessed with a suave, fluent manner on the stage. All three of these male actors have had to find a way to deal with the powerful presence of Medea, which is no easy feat! I think they succeed wonderfully.

Our chorus is made up of Lucia Garcia, the lead singer of Electric Grandma, and Alice Clifton. Lucia is a natural! She has a way of tapping into the emotional depth of her lines with remarkable precision, and her stage presence is exceptionally strong. And Alice has been amazing! Her recitations have an oracular, dreamlike quality, which is quite compelling.

BD: How would you describe your directing style? Will the production be a close approximation of your original vision? Or something quite different?

KG: I would be reluctant to credit myself with a “directing style”! At the end of the day, I’m a Latin teacher, and a student of the classics, who likes to dabble in theater. I harbor no illusions with regard to my theatrical expertise! I did, though, go back and re-read the play, in Greek, which gave me some foundations to build on. More generally, I like to provide talented individuals with a place to express themselves. I like to think I’m open to revision and collaboration, and I like to promote that kind of atmosphere. The play has developed in an organic fashion, collaboratively, as it should be, it seems to me. The one detail I did come in with in something like a fixed form is the deus ex machina, the divine plot resolution. In Euripides, Medea makes her escape, at the end of the play, in a dragon-drawn chariot. I had another idea, which I don’t want to give away!

BD: Medea is frequently viewed through a feminist lens, right? What are your thoughts on that?

KG: She is a proto-feminist heroine, no doubt about it, but Euripides forces us to view her heroic acts through a series of ironic screens. Suffice to say that he was accused both of being pro-female, and (more often) mysogynistic. We have not tried to make the figure of Medea any easier for our audience than Euripides did for his own contemporaries.

BD: Let’s say someone doesn’t know Euripides’ play at all and knows nothing of the various myths and stories about Medea, Jason, Creon and the rest. What might that audience member take away from this production?

KG: This is an easy one! Euripides’ Medea is a timeless tale of passion, betrayal, jealousy and revenge. Unless someone checks their humanity at the door, they are going to come out transformed!

Equus seems an appropriately ambitious season opener for The Collective Face Theatre Ensemble. It runs from Sept. 20-Oct. 6.

Other plays in the upcoming season include Bell, Book and Candle by John van Druten (Dec. 6-22), Fool For Love by Sam Shepard (March 7-22), and The Memory of Water by Shelagh Stephenson (May 9-25).

All performances will be at Muse Arts Warehouse.

From today’s press release:

Following an inaugural season of unparalleled quality and unprecedented success, The Collective Face Theatre Ensemble is thrilled to announce the four shows that will comprise the 2013-2014 season.

“I looked at what we had done this past year, what was very successful, and took that into account,” says Artistic Director David I.L. Poole. “I take suggestions from the audience and I take suggestions from the company members. Some of the more challenging plays for this season were chosen because audience members wanted us to do them.”

Renowned for dazzling dramatic interpretations of such classics as Angels in America, Suddenly Last Summer and Shadowlands, Savannahâ€s only repertory company also brought uproarious comedy (What the Butler Saw), a literary classic (Pride and Prejudice) and Biblical drama (Oscar Wildeâ€s Salome) to theater-goers during the 2012-2013 season.

According to Poole, the goal is to keep the bar as high as possible, to produce work that “challenges the audience. Then you take into account the people that you have in your company, and what roles would be very good for them. Weâ€re also into actor development, so I always look for roles that will stretch company members. Weâ€re growing as a company … and as a community as well.”

I don’t know anything about Bell, Book and Candle, a romantic comedy that was turned into a film with Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak back in the 1950s, but it sounds fun. Fool For Love is an American classic, and The Memory of Water, which tells the story of three sisters at their mother’s funeral, seems a great vehicle for the excellent actors in the ensemble.

Here are the ensemble’s current members:

The “Show Me the Love” fundraiser for Muse Arts Warehouse brought out a good crowd of generous Savannahians eager to support Muse Arts Warehouse, which in three years has become an indispensable venue for theatre, film, and a wide variety of other events and gatherings.

I couldn’t stay for the entire event, but I did make it to Bryson Hall for cocktails and some great food from Gerald’s Pig & Shrimp, and then for a while to The Historic Savannah Theatre, which had been donated for the occasion.

The musical revue was hilariously hosted by Grace Diaz and featured some stalwarts of the Savannah theatre scene.

Before I had to leave I got a few shots of the action. I also bid on a number of silent auction items, but apparently I was outbid — good for Muse, but too bad for me.

I’ll post these photos to the Savannah Unplugged Facebook page too, and I’m sure many of them will be tagged there. JinHi Soucy Rand and Mark Rand — the couple of the night — can be seen in the first photo.

The Collective Face has been producing plays there. The Odd Lot Comedy Troupe does improv there most Mondays. The Psychotronic Film Society and CinemaSavannah hold film screenings there. Vinyl Appreciation will have its 3rd anniversary at Muse during the 2013 Savannah Urban Arts Festival.

When JinHi founded it in 2010, she recognized that the local arts community simply didn’t have enough spaces to utilize. Three yeas later, Muse has hosted pretty much every kind of possible event.

So it will be both exciting and gratifying to support Muse at the big musical revue and fundraiser “Show Me the Love” on Monday April 8th, from 7 to 9:30 p.m. at Savannah Theatre and at Bryson Hall nearby.

From the Facebook event invitation:

Monday night, April 8th, at the Historic Savannah Theatre, a cavalcade of talented local singers, dancers and actors are asking you to “Show Me the Love” and support the continued existence of one of Savannah’s most unique and needed performing arts spaces. […]

This one-time-only evening of food, drink, music and song (food and drink starts at 5:30pm across the street from the theatre at Bryson Hall, with the main show starting at 7:00pm) benefits Muse Arts Warehouse, an Award-Winning Downtown arts venue committed to providing affordable and accessible performance space to the area’s diverse arts community.

Despite winning accolades from performers and audience members alike for the amazingly eclectic nature of the plays, concerts, film screenings, dance recitals, spoken word events and community gatherings which take place regularly at Muse, increased operating expenses threaten the viability of this beloved theater space.

So… Friends of Muse Arts Warehouse and the Historic Savannah Theatreâ€s cast and crew have teamed up to offer a fabulous evening of live entertainment featuring performances by some of Savannahâ€s most talented singers!

The fun begins LONG BEFORE the curtain opens – with a “Show Me The Love” COCKTAIL SOCIAL & CONCERT at the lovely BRYSON HALL (5 East Perry Street, just steps from the Historic Savannah Theatre), starting at 5:30pm and running till 8:30pm.

** There will be a CASH BAR, plus delicious BBQ for sale from GERALD’S PIG & SHRIMP on Tybee and the world-famous LEOPOLD’S ICE CREAM. Live Music by the PAUL KLECKER TRIO.

** Proceeds from food and drink sales benefit the Muse Arts Warehouse.

** At 7:00pm, the Musical Revue begins at the Historic Savannah Theatre (222 Bull Street).

** General Admission tickets are just $20.00 at the door.

No reservations required, and we’ll be giving away Door Prizes!

Featured artists in this Revue include such notable local performers as Kim Polote, Trae Gurley, Huxsie Scott, Jeff Hall, Nicole Koplik, Grace Diaz, Miriam Center, Jimmy Coleman, Robert Bush, Laura Keena, Dandy Barett, Bob Fennell, Chris Chandler and Sandra Nix – PLUS the incredibly talented cast of the Historic Savannah Theatre.

There will also be an extensive silent auction.

You can read more about the event at the Muse Arts Warehouse website.

Click here to donate to Muse online.

It should be a great night for a great cause — and it’s sure to draw huge support from Savannah’s theatre and arts communities.

The Venus Flytrap is center stage.

The outer world is just a reflection of the dark passions of the characters’ psyches — and of the playwright’s.

Those unfamiliar with Suddenly Last Summer will find plenty of the usual Tennessee Williams themes: repressed — or at least hidden — homosexuality; naked greed; the fading of some illusion of Southern charm into sordid desires and declining fortunes; a looming threat of incest; both praise and mockery of the poetic impulse.

The true main character in this play never makes it onstage: the wealthy, aging, pretentious, tortured, and promiscuous Sebastian Venable died last summer, and now his mother Violet has set out to have his cousin Catherine lobotomized to stop her from telling the mad but true story of his death. Dandy Barrett and Maggie Lee Hart are excellent as mother and cousin, respectively, both of whom have an emptiness at their cores that they tried to fill up with Sebastian.

Under David Poole’s direction, the rest of the cast is excellent too — David Bonham as Catherine’s brother George, Mickey Dodge as Catherine’s mother, Julie Kessler as the severe nun who has accompanied Catherine from a private mental hospital, and Lynita Spivey as Violet’s cowed assistant.

But the play depends on the tensions between the four main characters — Catherine, Violet, Dr. Cukrowicz, and the missing Sebastien. In just over 80 minutes (no intermission), the production gathers force before the cathartic — if perhaps overly quick — climax.

Please note that there are just two more productions next weekend — October 19th and 20th (plus an 8 p.m. show on Sunday the 14th).

And here for the heck of it is the amazing trailer from the film version, starring Elizabeth Taylor, Katharine Hepburn, and Montgomery Clift:

And a photo of the set embedded from Facebook. I sat in the front row just in front of that small metal table — a spot I’d highly recommend.

The movie has gotten stellar reviews, and it is also one of those movies that Savannah missed.

Which makes it a fitting choice for the Psychotoric Film Society‘s Movies Savannah Missed Film Series.

First Position, by Bess Kargman, will be screened on Sunday, August 12 at Muse Arts Warehouse at 2, 5, and 8.

Tickets are $8 at the door, or charge them in advance online at this link for $12, with the extra few bucks going straight to the Savannah Dance Festival.

The inaugural Savannah Dance Festival has scheduled a series of events in October. The next fundraising event is With a Twist, a concert fundraiser at Savannah Arts Academy directed by Karen Burns. More details here.

Here’s the First Position trailer: