Theatre artist - educator
Direction and Costume Design
Masks by Jonathan Becker
NYU Gallatin - February 2015
J’adore Molière. Molière is one of the theatre’s greatest comic playwrights, and while one of his more obscure plays, AMPHITRYON is no exception to his genius. AMPHIRTYON is a brilliant satirical farce and my production aimed to stay true to the sweeping theatricality of Molière’s original. My production was a celebration of Moliere’s comic legacy, which borrowed liberally from the antecedents of Ancient Comedy and the Italian Commedia dell’Arte. Molière left an indelible mark on comedy. Modern comedy would not be as rich if not for its inheritance from Molière. I attempted to honor that heritage by uniting on stage a pastiche of modern and ancient comic components.
Mask was at the center of my process on AMPHITRYON. From the very origins of theatre, masks have been an integral component of performance. Molière often performed in the masked tradition, as he recognized what countless theatre artists before him had: theatrical masks transform the actor, and reveal rather than conceal.
Starting from our very first rehearsal, each actor was given their character’s mask, which was custom designed for our production. Our shared exploration of this play was deeply informed through learning to come into harmony with these unique masks. Primarily, we applied the physical acting techniques of French master-teacher Jacques Lecoq, which emphasizes the primacy of play (le jeu), openness (disponibilité) and togetherness (complicité).
The production opened on February 5th, 2015, and each performance was a unique synthesis of mask, actor and Molière’s poetry. It was an absolute pleasure watching the student actors grow into their roles, inhabiting these masks and this language in ways both delightful and unexpected.
We had the great privilege to work with a masterful translation by Richard Wilbur. Wilbur's version is very funny and tremendously well written. His translated verse brings to the fore the biting satire inherent in Molière’s original, which critiques the carelessness of the rich and powerful who operate with impunity; something which I think resonates today as much as it did in 1667. In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, and ‘recklessly risky behavior’ leading to foreclosure on the masses but big bail-outs for the banks, Molière's verse is all the more poignant,
“When one is blessed with high estate and standing,
All that one does is good as gold,
And things have different names, depending
On what position one may hold.”
--English translation by Richard Wilbur
Direction and Costume Design
Masks by Jonathan Becker
NYU Gallatin - February 2015
J’adore Molière. Molière is one of the theatre’s greatest comic playwrights, and while one of his more obscure plays, AMPHITRYON is no exception to his genius. AMPHIRTYON is a brilliant satirical farce and my production aimed to stay true to the sweeping theatricality of Molière’s original. My production was a celebration of Moliere’s comic legacy, which borrowed liberally from the antecedents of Ancient Comedy and the Italian Commedia dell’Arte. Molière left an indelible mark on comedy. Modern comedy would not be as rich if not for its inheritance from Molière. I attempted to honor that heritage by uniting on stage a pastiche of modern and ancient comic components.
Mask was at the center of my process on AMPHITRYON. From the very origins of theatre, masks have been an integral component of performance. Molière often performed in the masked tradition, as he recognized what countless theatre artists before him had: theatrical masks transform the actor, and reveal rather than conceal.
Starting from our very first rehearsal, each actor was given their character’s mask, which was custom designed for our production. Our shared exploration of this play was deeply informed through learning to come into harmony with these unique masks. Primarily, we applied the physical acting techniques of French master-teacher Jacques Lecoq, which emphasizes the primacy of play (le jeu), openness (disponibilité) and togetherness (complicité).
The production opened on February 5th, 2015, and each performance was a unique synthesis of mask, actor and Molière’s poetry. It was an absolute pleasure watching the student actors grow into their roles, inhabiting these masks and this language in ways both delightful and unexpected.
We had the great privilege to work with a masterful translation by Richard Wilbur. Wilbur's version is very funny and tremendously well written. His translated verse brings to the fore the biting satire inherent in Molière’s original, which critiques the carelessness of the rich and powerful who operate with impunity; something which I think resonates today as much as it did in 1667. In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, and ‘recklessly risky behavior’ leading to foreclosure on the masses but big bail-outs for the banks, Molière's verse is all the more poignant,
“When one is blessed with high estate and standing,
All that one does is good as gold,
And things have different names, depending
On what position one may hold.”
--English translation by Richard Wilbur