“Nothing to be done.”
“I'm beginning to come round to that opinion.”
So begins Samuel Beckett's
“Waiting for Godot,” a play in which the characters lose grasp of history,
struggle to prove their own existence, and spend their time waiting for something
or someone that never comes: Godot.
The production, directed by Prof.
William Finlay, opens Wednesday, Nov. 6, in Yulman Theater. (The play was to open Nov. 5, but was postponed due to illness.)
So, who is Godot or what does he
represent?
“That's part of the mystique,”
said Finlay, refusing to speculate. “It's such a universal piece. There are too
many possibilities and Becket died without saying. This play (and who or what
Godot represents) has been the topic of more Ph.D.'s than any other work in theater
literature.”
The production – with only five
actors — will be staged in the more intimate Actor's Studio (or Second Stage)
at the north end of the Yulman Theater. “The play seemed to dictate a more
intimate performance space,” Finlay explained, “and with the nature of the
production, we didn't think it would draw a larger crowd that you might see for
something like 'Romeo and Juliet.' This is a good
challenge for our actors and a chance for our students to see what is
considered a classic, an extremely important work in theater,” Finlay said.
Actors are Benjamin Infantino
(Estragon), Marty Albert (Vladimir), Aneesah Dambreville (Pozzo), Fred Countz
(Lucky) and Cooper Braun-Enos (boy).
Finlay has tinkered a bit with the
classic. Most noticeable perhaps, he turned the part of Pozzo into a female character.
“I saw Pozzo as a good possibility for a woman,” he said. “Beckett doesn't
write many roles for women, and I wanted to have a woman in the piece.” In
another change, Finlay added a prop – a whip – to the character of Pozzo, who
keeps a slave. To help Dambreville with the part, Finlay ordered a how-to video
from an outfit that trains actors for roles as cowboys.
Set
design is by Charles Steckler, lighting by John Miller, and costumes by Lloyd
Waiwaiole.
Performances are Nov. 6 through 9
at 8 p.m., and Nov. 10 at 2 p.m. All performances are in the Actors
Studio (Second Stage) at the north end of Yulman Theater. Tickets are $5 for
members of the Union community and seniors, $7 for the public. For information call the Yulman box office at 388-6545.