(*) Upcoming: Arcadia by Tom Stoppard, Trinity University, San Antonio, February 15 - 23

Trinity University Dept of Human Communication and Theatre

 

 

Arcadia

by Tom Stoppard

In 1809, on an idyllic country estate in Derbyshire, England, a 13-year-old genius and her tutor are about to make history with a brilliant mathematical proof, now lost to history. In the same location, two hundred years later, rival authors-a popular historian and a self-promoting academic-are in a mad, lusty, and hilarious race to uncover that secret. The characters' quests become an obsessive intellectual scavenger hunt, leading to sexual intrigue, shocking discoveries, absurd conclusions, and mortifying misadventures that span and blend both eras. Such is the glorious, topsy-turvy world of Arcadia, described by critics as Tom Stoppard's masterwork.

Cast:

Directed by Stacey Connelly

Location: Trinity University Campus, One Trinity Place, San Antonio, Texas, 78212
Times: February 15-17 and 20-23, 2013 Friday & Saturday @ 8pm Sunday @ 2:30pm Wednesday & Thursday @ 7pm
Tickets: Adults: $10.00 Seniors: $ 8.00 Students & Satco $ 6.00

For More Information:

Reservations: 999-8589 Information: 999-8511

(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)

2012-2013 Theatre Season for Trinity University, San Antonio

For Tickets

Call

210-999-8515

or

Email tutheatre@trinity.edu

General Admission $10

Faculty/ Staff/ Alumni/ Seniors $8

Students $6

Season Passes Available

Trinity University

One Trinity Place,San Antonio, Texas 78212

Arcadia by Tom Stoppard, Austin Shakespeare at the Rollins Theatre, Long Center, February 2 - 19

Last Friday the first question to Director Ann Ciccolella during Austin Shakespeare's regular post-performance talk-back with the audience was "How do you choose the plays for the Austin Shakespeare season?"

"The language," Ciccolella replied without hesitation. 'I'm always looking for plays that are rich in language, like this one."

Tom Stoppard's Arcadia shines with wit and whimsicality. The dialogues between these characters are so quick and clever that sometimes you perch on the edge of your seat, breathlessly holding back your laughter so that you won't miss a single syllable. This is wit writ deep -- in the characters, their contrasting views of the world and their social positions; in dissembling, feuding and courtship; and in the juxtaposition and then the overlapping within the same genteel English estate of events that occurred in 1809 and modern- day investigations of those events by archeologists and academics. The message is that truth is unknowable and that life occurs only in the flicker and illumination of the present moment.

Unlike other arts, theatre performances occur in all four dimensions. The fourth, that of time, is the most challenging, for actions occurring before your eyes will never exactly replicate themselves.

For example, we attended this remarkable production on the second day of a three-weekend run. Perhaps you witnessed it the night before or at some succeeding performance. We can exchange views about it -- about the superb acting, the richness of language, the verisimilitude of those English accents, Jonathan Hiebert's costumes, Jason Amato's mastery of mood and lighting, the startling simplicity and sublime concept of Ia Ensterä's set. But we were not there at the event. Language fails to capture adequately even a shared reality; how much more tenuous it becomes when we describe different although related events.

In keeping with that theme, Arcadia is both an investigation and a detective story. It opens in 1809 as impecunious tutor Septimus Hodge is artfully avoiding difficult questions posed by his aristocratic pupil Thomasina Coverly. "Carnal embrace" becomes a theme of equivocation, not only in the classroom but also when outraged versifier Ezra Chater accuses Hodge and demands the satisfaction of a duel.

Click to read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Video for Arcadia by Tom Stoppard, Austin Shakespeare at the Rollins Theatre, Long Center, February 2 - 19

presents Tom Stoppard's

Arcadia

a brilliant comedy of wit and romance

February 2-19, Thursdays - Saturdays at 8 pm, Sundays at 3 pm. High Tea Saturday 2/11 at 5 pm followed by performance at 8 pm.

Discussion between audience and actors to follow every performance.
Rollins Studio Theater at the Long Center for the Performing Arts, 701 Riverside at South First (click for map)
Tickets: (512) 474-LONG or buy online. Special low-priced preview Feb. 1

Valentine Weekend Sat Feb. 11 “High Tea” $50 pp; $80 pp to include High Tea and Arcadia ticket (seating limited) by “Full English Cafe” (a bit of cool Britannia). For reservations, contact alex AT austinshakespeare.org.

Video by Jonny Pascoe:

[Apple users: can't see the video? Click to go to YouTube]

http://youtu.be/szI-ieJivCs

Upcoming: Arcadia by Tom Stoppard, Austin Shakespeare at Rollins Theatre, Long Center, February 2 - 19

From the website:

presents Tom Stoppard's

Arcadia

- a brilliant comedy of wit and romance

February 2-19, Thursdays - Saturdays at 8 pm, Sundays at 3 pm. High Tea Saturday 2/11 at 5pm followed by performance at 8 pm.

Discussion between audience and actors to follow every performance.
Rollins Studio Theater at the Long Center for the Performing Arts, 701 Riverside at South First (click for map)
Tickets: (512) 474-LONG or buy online. Special low-priced preview Feb. 1

Valentine Weekend Sat Feb. 11 “High Tea” $50 pp; $80 pp to include High Tea and Arcadia ticket (seating limited) by “Full English Cafe” (a bit of cool Britannia). For reservations, contact alex AT austinshakespeare.org.

The New York Times praised Arcadia as a ‘perfect marriage of ideas and high comedy.’ Arcadia won the Tony Award for Best Play 2005 and again this year for Best Revival of a Play.

“We love bringing scripts to life that have sparkling wit and brilliant language side by side with sex, romance and complex ideas,” said Austin Shakespeare’s Artistic Director Ann Ciccolella.

Arcadia traverses the past and the present in alternating scenes at the same English country home from 1809 to 1993 when academics, mathematicians and literary types of the present seek to uncover a mystery in the home and garden two hundred years earlier. Audiences will be captivated by the whirlwind stirred up by Lord Byron, who is an unseen visitor to the 19th Century characters. The parallel lives climax in a masquerade garden party with 20th Century characters waltzing the same moment of transformation with the lovers of the early 19th Century.

Upcoming: Arcadia by Tom Stoppard, Austin Shakespeare at Rollins Theatre, Long Center, February 2 - 19

Found on-line:

oresents

Tom Stoppard's Arcadia

a brilliant comedy of wit and romance

February 2-19, 2012. Thursdays - Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 3 p.m. Special low-priced preview Feb. 1

High Tea Saturday 2/11 at 5p.m. followed by performance at 8 p.m. Discussion between audience and actors to follow every performance.
Rollins Studio Theater at the Long Center for the Performing Arts (click for map)
Tickets: (512) 474-LONG or buy online.

Valentine Weekend Sat Feb. 11 “High Tea” $50 pp; $80 pp to include High Tea and Arcadia ticket (seating limited) by “Full English Cafe” (a bit of cool Britannia). For reservations, contact alex AT austinshakespeare.org.

The New York Times praised Arcadia as a ‘perfect marriage of ideas and high comedy.’ Arcadia won the Tony Award for Best Play 2005 and again this year for Best Revival of a Play.

“We love bringing scripts to life that have sparkling wit and brilliant language side by side with sex, romance and complex ideas,” said Austin Shakespeare’s Artistic Director Ann Ciccolella.

Arcadia traverses the past and the present in alternating scenes at the same English country home from 1809 to 1993 when academics, mathematicians and literary types of the present seek to uncover a mystery in the home and garden two hundred years earlier. Audiences will be captivated by the whirlwind stirred up by Lord Byron, who is an unseen visitor to the 19th century characters. The parallel lives climax in a masquerade garden party with 20th Century characters waltzing the same moment of transformation with the lovers of the early 19th Century.

To enhance the romantic mood for Valentine’s Day weekend, Austin Shakespeare is hosting an unforgettable evening Saturday, February 11, 2012, including traditional English High Tea at 5 p.m. preceding the show at a lovely Austin private home, with an array of delicious teas, delectable tea sandwiches and authentic British sweets provided by Full English Café.

Additional Auditions for Austin Shakespeare' Arcadia and Twelfth Night, November 9

Received directly:

Another Opportunity to Audition:

Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia and Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night

Wednesday, November 9 from 7:30 p.m.
Austin Creative Alliance Studio, 701 Tillery St. (click for map)

Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia, Performances: Feb. 2-19, 2012:to be performed at the Long Center, Rollins’ Theatre

4 women/8 men, all with English dialect - Rehearsals begin Tues. Jan. 3
See below for plot and cast breakdown.

Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night
Performances: May 3 - 27 in Zilker Park Hillside Theater - Rehearsals begin April 3
See below for plot and cast breakdown.

Auditioners are asked to prepare a 1- 2 min speech from any classic or Shakespeare play, including Twelfth Night, Arcadia or any Stoppard play. The piece may be memorized or read, but actors should be thoroughly familiar with the text. All roles are open. Including Actors Equity contracts under SPT 1.

To schedule an appointment time, contact auditions@austinshakespeare.org.

NOTE: Austin Shakespeare warmly encourages actors of all ethnic/racial backgrounds to audition. Twelfth Night will be done in a "Bollywood" style meaning the songs already in the play will be danced and sung reminiscent of contemporary Indian movies. Trained actors with an Indian background, who also have ability as dancers and singers are encouraged to audition. Casting will be open and "color-blind."

Actors are encouraged to read scripts before auditioning. Arcadia is available for check out at the Austin Creative Alliance, 701 Tillery St. Suite A-8, 78702. To check out a script please bring a $10 deposit (exact change or a check only). You may check out Arcadia for 24 hours. Twelfth Night is available at http://shakespeare.mit.edu.

Click to go to AustinLiveTheatre.com for descriptions of the works and cast breakdowns

Auditions for Austin Shakespeare: Tom Stoppard's Arcadia and a Bollywood Twelfth Night, October 29

Found posted at

Auditions: Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia and Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night

Sat. Oct. 29, 2010 1 pm- 4 pm
Austin Creative Alliance Studio, 701 Tillery St. (click for map)

THE SHOWS:

Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia
Performances: Feb. 2-19, 2012:
4 women/8 men, all with English dialect
To be performed at the Long Center, Rollins’ Theatre
Rehearsals begin Tues. Jan. 3
See below for plot and cast breakdown.

Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night
Performances: May 3 - 27
To be performed in Zilker Park Hillside Theater
Rehearsals begin April 3
See below for plot and cast breakdown.

Auditioners are asked to prepare a 1- 2 min speech from any classic or Shakespeare play, including Twelfth Night, Arcadia or any Stoppard play. The piece may be memorized or read, but actors should be thoroughly familiar with the text. All roles are open. Including Actors Equity contracts under SPT 1.

To schedule an appointment time, contact auditions@austinshakespeare.org.

NOTE: Austin Shakespeare warmly encourages actors of all ethnic/racial backgrounds to audition. Twelfth Night will be done in a "Bollywood" style meaning the songs already in the play will be danced and sung reminiscent of contemporary Indian movies. Trained actors with an Indian background, who also have ability as dancers and singers are encouraged to audition. Casting will be open and "color-blind."

Actors are encouraged to read scripts before auditioning. Arcadia is available for check out at the Austin Creative Alliance, 701 Tillery St. Suite A-8, 78702. To check out a script please bring a $10 deposit (exact change or a check only). You may check out Arcadia for 24 hours. Twelfth Night is available at http://shakespeare.mit.edu.

Click 'Read more' for descriptions of the works and cast breakdown at AustinLiveTheatre.com

---

Upcoming: Arcadia by Tom Stoppard, Texas State University, February 16 - 21

Found on-line:



presents as part of its
"Whole Mind" Common Experience

Arcadia

by Tom Stoppard
directed by Richard Sodders
February 16-20 at 7:30 p.m., February 21 at 2 p.m.
$10 general admission, $7 for students

Considered by many to be Tom Stoppard’s finest play, Arcadia is a mix of comedy, drama, and literary detective story as it bounces between two different time periods. The alternating scenes allow the audience to see what actually happened in the early 1800s versus the modern-day scholars' attempts to interpret the events.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Heroes, Austin Playhouse Larry L. King Theatre, February 13 - March 15

A quiet word in your ear: do not expect too much of this gentle little three-character play. Don't over analyze it, and don't expect to the whip-smart verbal play typical of Tom Stoppard's own work. Author Gérard SIbleyras isn't loading symbolism onto his 2005 creation.

Three ageing French military officers in an old soldiers' home, in 1959. They meet daily, for hours, on a secluded terrace with a view of fields and, in the distance, a hill. The poplar trees move gently in a wind that never reaches them in their shared abode. They complain to one another, recount their very small adventures of the day, gossip about other ancient lodgers and grouse about high-handed treatment from Sister Madeleine, from Arles, who runs the establishment.

Gustave (Don Toner, left) prefers the closed circuit from his room to the terrace and back. Henri (Michael Stuart, right) with the gimpy leg has lived in this setting for 25 years but he is the most adventurous of the lot, taking constitutionals through the village that offer him the pleasure of watching promenading schoolgirls and the young woman who teaches them.

Philippe, the wound-up old geezer with a steel plate and a shrapnel wound to the head played by David Stahl (center), is at times explosive in temperament. But more and more often he is taken by brief, abrupt fainting fits, from which he always awakens crying, "Take them from behind!" Philippe is mildly delusional -- he insists the terrace's stone statue of a dog will move from time to time, and he is convinced that l'Arlesienne manipulates the medicines at will, euthanizing selected old soldiers so that she will never have to celebrate more than one birthday on any given day.

There they sit, in the dimming winter of their lives, dependent on one another, cut off from their glories and their youth, gradually hatching out a scheme to escape. To Indo-China, suggests Philippe, but eventually in murmurs and quibbles they reduce their military objective to that of scaling the impossible height before them in order to picnic beneath those poplar trees. (The French title of the piece is "Le Vent des peupliers" -- "The Wind in the Poplars.")

And that is pretty much it. They do not escape. They do not find their territory invaded by other denizens of the home, even though announced repairs may send those others looking for new spots in the sunlight. They do not confront Sister Madeleine. Their conversation is the somnolent, nearly toothless indignation of old soldiers long forgotten, in a place and time with no anchor in the present.

These characters, living in that time in France, would carry enormous meaning for a French public today. Sibleyras, initially a radio scriptwriter and now a busy author for the theatre, was born in 1961, two years later than the setting for this play, but like the rest of the French public he will have absorbed these stereotypes. Old soldiers, valiant and yet useless, both during the wars and afterwards; a France that was twice defeated despite their heroism and yet survived. In 1959 France was seeing everything slip away again -- the war in Algeria was a disaster, beset by terrorism and soon to end with De Gaulle's summary decision to grant independence to that huge area, administered as a part of metropolitan France. The Indo-China escape existed only in Philippe's dreams, for the French military had suffered catastrophe at Dien Bien Phu in 1954. The French remain a passionately defensive-aggressive people -- a great culture that was humiliated in colonial and international politics.

When I first visited France in the 1970s, the seats nearest the doors in the underground Metro in Paris were still "réservée aux mutilés de guerre" -- "reserved for those mutilated in war."

The fact that Sibleyras can now mock those valiant geezers and the first half of France's twentieth century is a sign that, at last, his countrymen are beginning once again to feel at ease in their skins.

That distinctive background may explain in part the puzzlement of reviewers in Britain and in the United States. Even though Heroes was awarded the Olivier Award as best new comedy of 2006, rarely did it get much affection in the press. The Guardian called it "little more than a delicately acted piece of sentimental Gallic whimsy." The U.S. version with Len Cariou, Richard Benjamin and George Segal did worse. Variety's Bob Verini called it "glib and superficial without ever expanding; once we see where the characters are going (i.e.: nowhere), we're stuck there with them. " The L.A. Times published Charles McNulty's review of the same production under the snide title "No Medals for this Troupe of Heroes," including his dismissive comment, "It's tres, tres French in its mix of the philosophical and sentimental and in the way abstraction inevitably crowds out action."

To strike a similar chord of shared memory in the United States,a piece might well have to be written about a trio of ancient Hollywood stars in a retirement home -- say, Tom Mix, Gene Autry and Randolph Scott, just to pull names out of the air.

So wave aside all that and concentrate on the characters as portrayed under the direction of Lara Toner. For example, Gustave, played by Don Toner, is the upright military hero who cannot face the public but has developed an affection for the stone dog on the terrace. I would have preferred a bit more military bearing in Gustave; what I was seeing much of the time was the familiar, affable master of ceremonies Don Toner putting on something of a scowl. Michael Stuart as the dreamy wanderer Henri has a simple schoolboy mischief to him. The most impressive transformation of the lot is David Stahl. We just saw him in Sylvia as a cheery 40ish urbanite. Here, with thick glasses, a cap pulled low to suggest a bald head, a convincing hunch to his shoulders and shamble to his gait, and a verbal transformation, he easily passes as an irascible 80-year-old.

Once you accept that this trio is not going anywhere, because there is no longer anywhere to go, you can follow them with sympathy and good humor. Their quirks are understandable. As dogged survivors these soldiers show quite a different heroism by facing the tyranny of the everlasting succession of routine. Sibleyras gives them a gorgeous final metaphor as they stand side by side. They evoke the flocks of migrating geese far overhead, where periodically each member, in turn, moves to the front of the formation to lead and shield the others.

Review by Joey Seiler on the Statesman's Arts Blog "Seeing Things," February 24

Review by Elizabeth Cobbe in the Austin Chronicle, March 12