WTF and The Clark Present ART
Reza's Play Tweaks Williamstown Theatre Festival
By: Charles Giuliano - Feb 06, 2010
Last night Williamstown was more like Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. There was no sighting of a groundhog contemplating its shadow. But on stage at the Clark Art Institute there was a reading of Yazmina Reza's three man, one act play ART. As a sure sign of Spring, for the first time, the evening was a joint effort of the Clark Art Institute with its neighbor The Williamstown Theatre Festival.
During talk back following the play which drew a capacity audience the director, Justin Waldman, an Artistic Associate of WTF, stated that "It was a no brainer that when we decided to collaborate with the Clark we would present the Yasmina Reza play ART. It is a play about understanding modern art presented at an art museum."
Combining creative forces in the dead of winter proved to be an ice breaker on every level. The house bound theatre audience enjoyed a wonderful evening. It also served to put WTF back on the Berkshire radar screen. The renowned festival has its official opening on June 30. That initiates a hectic pace of eight shows, four on the Main Stage and Four in the Nikos. There are two week runs with alternating weekly openings. The Williams College campus welcomes the 200 or so actors, apprentices and interns on June 16.
This is not the first collaboration between WTF and the Clark. Three summers ago the former artistic director, Roger Rees, gave a reading of the letters of the French impressionist artist, Claude Monet. It was a highlight of the Clark's special exhibition The Unknown Monet. During that season Rees collaborated with the Williams College Museum of Art by staging a new play, rather poorly received by the way, Villa America. It was intended to create synergy with an exhibition of work by the expatriate American artist, Gerald Murphy.
There was better chemistry last night at the Clark. The reading with John Bedford Lloyd, Campbell Scott, and James Waterson couldn't have been more lively and hilarious.
It bodes well for another such collaboration this summer. The Clark is mounting a blockbuster exhibition Picasso Looks at Degas. One could not imagine a more scintillating pairing. It is sure to attract droves of visitors to the museum. For the occasion WTF is planning a reading of the witty, 1993 play by Steve Martin, Picasso at the Lapin Agile. It entails a meeting between Picasso and Einstein at the Left Bank artists' hangout. Picasso through Painting and Einstein through the Theory of Relativity were breaking the boundaries of the natural world and Newtonian physics. It's serious stuff and the grist for heavy duty art historical speculation but Martin takes it on with a provocative smirk. It should be great fun.
The museum and theatre will also team up with one of the hot ticket items of the season. For one price they will offer a twofer with admission to both the Picasso/ Degas show and a seat at WTF. That seems like a winning combo, not just for the partners, but for other local shops, motels and restaurants. It offers more traction to hunker down in the Northern Berkshires. Visitors are likely to add on a day at Mass MoCA and its Sol LeWitt building as well as other special exhibitions. The word is that Mass MoCA is planning to develop another building on its sprawling 17 acre campus with more gallery space. It is likely to entail the start of a permanent collection or more long term loans like the 25 years of the LeWitt installation.
Indeed Reza's ART was a perfect fit for the Clark. If you missed it be sure to catch the play when it is presented in Pittsfield by Barrington Stage Company from July 22 through August 7.
Actually, we saw the play in London at the end of the last century. But it wasn't such a great experience. That had more to do with us than the play itself. It was our first night in town and we should have just slept in. Instead we purchased tickets at the half price booth. That landed us in the last row of the balcony. Add to that ART is a very wordy play. It is all about a sharp, witty and relentless dialogue between three friends. We nodded off during most of it. Something about a white on white painting.
We were more attentive last night. It seems that Serge (Campbell Scott) has paid 200,000 Francs (about $40,000) for a white on white painting by Antrios. He explains to his philistine, vulgarian friend Marc (James Waterston) that it is an important work. To make a point he states that the Centre Pompidou owns three works by the artist and his is as good if not better.
Marc is just furious at the stupidity of his friend to buy a white painting in which you can't see anything. Serge insists it is not white. With increasing irritation, rather like a oenophile, he describes the nuances and accents of color. That hint of oak or dash of apricot. It just infuriates Marc who proclaims the work to be "Shit." It sounds better in Reza's original French "Merde." The first word of the raucous and scatological Pere Ubu by Alfred Jarry. When they are joined by the third friend, the self absorbed, muddled and low brown Yvan (John Bedford Lloyd) the language devolves further with strident expletives.
As the play progresses with all that sharp and witty dialogue we learn that the three friends have little or nothing in common. As most critics observe the play is more about relationships than a discourse on aesthetics. The art speak term "Deconstruction" does pop up but bursts like a soap bubble. The evening revealed little insight to the aspects of reductive modernist abstraction. So the premise of presenting a play about ART in a distinguished museum, well, didn't hold water. But, what the heck, it was a fun evening of live theatre; a cure for cabin fever and winter blues.
The talk back between the audience, director and three actors was intriguing. It seems that they all arrived at the Clark at noon; rehearsed for four hours, broke for dinner, and performed at 7 pm. Lloyd had seen the play in New York and Waterson in London. It was all new to Scott. None of them had ever been involved in a production of the play. They were given the script just two weeks ago. Another actor had been cast as Serge but dropped out with another commitment.
When asked about their roles Scott and Waterson brought the house down when they both proclaimed "We all wanted to play John's character." Indeed, Lloyd earned rounds of spontaneous applause for his over the top bathos. What they shared in common is performing over the years at WTF. Even deeper Lloyd is a Williams alumnus. They all referenced WTF as very special. Two summers ago, Waldman directed Scott in The Atheist which had a successful Off Broadway run.
With only four hours of rehearsal the audience asked how they managed to come up with such a cohesive and compelling performance. The actors strongly credited the directing of Waldman. Lloyd also added insights. He explained than when you are in rehearsal for several weeks you are often trying to get back to the freshness and raw instincts of that first live reading. What happens before you are off book. Allen Ginsberg often quoted the Zen mantra "First thought best thought." That was richly evident last night.
Also with no blocking the actors were able to concentrate on the text and language. With Lloyd there were comic escalations of voice, at times bellowing. Scott added the nuance of subtle gestures. The experience and dialogue after the performance provided a workshop and insights into the craft of acting. The audience probed deeper in asking questions about developing character and technique. How much of themselves do the actors bring to their roles? Isn't that the perennial question? They provided respectful but evasive answers.
Clearly, there is commitment for them to drive out to Williamstown for a harrowing and demanding one nighter in the dead of winter. I asked what WTF meant to them, their careers, and artistic development? Scott discussed the festival as the last of summer stock. He described a former era when actors earned a living bringing theatre to remote communities from Maine to Delaware.
The response of Lloyd was deeply poetic. He described times of feeling somewhat lost and wondering just why he is yet again in Williamstown during the summer. But then at midnight, after a show, he conveyed wandering into one of the theatres or rehearsal rooms where those 200 apprentices and assistants are pouring their hearts and souls into performances. What they lack in skill and craft is compensated by guts, risk taking and pure energy. Or those late night Cabaret evening entailing whoever is on campus at the time with incredibly spontaneous moments. He conveyed that the magic and charisma of a WTF season reaches way beyond just what is on stage. He urged the audience to look deeper into the festival and embrace its splendid chaos.
Like the groundhog we have seen our shadow. We will slumber through what's left of winter with dreams of smiles on summer nights. The magic is just a heartbeat away.