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Kelly Kaspar, Houston theatre major, applies heat and pressure to fashion a mask for the SFA theatre department's production of Euripides' "Bacchae." |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 2/19/2003- Ginny Butler
Bacchae To Be Performed at SFA
The Stephen F. Austin State University College of Fine Arts and the Department of Theatre will present Euripides' "Bacchae" at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 25, through Saturday, March 1, in Turner Auditorium. "The department strives to vary the types of productions we offer, both for our audiences and our students," said Allen Oster, professor of theatre at SFA and director of the play. "Greek tragedy offers unique educational opportunities for the cast and crew." The play's setting of ancient Greece calls for free-flowing costumes, but the costumes also need to reflect the conflict between the Theban society's two religious movements, explained Bacarisse. "This show gives my costuming students the opportunity to learn fabric dying and mask making," said Angela Bacarisse, assistant professor of theatre at SFA and costume designer. "So we have dyed the silk for the followers of Dionysus, the god of wine and ecstasy, in graduated warm burgandies to reflect their passion and closeness to nature. The followers of Pentheus, representing the constrained and rational Olympian religion, are dressed in shades of cool blue." In keeping with Greek tradition, each actor wears a mask. Kelly Kaspar, Houston theatre major, and David Hammons, art major and theatre minor, have created the masks using a substance that conforms to plaster head form when heat and pressure are applied. The masks provide important training for the actors, according to Bacarisse. "Actors often rely heavily on facial expressions to relay their characters' emotions. When the face is covered, they must learn to show their emotions in other ways," said the costume designer. The 16 women in the chorus have spent weeks working on expression, according to Juanita Finkenberg, SFA theatre lecturer and the show's choreographer. Since Greek dramatists provided no music, stage directions, nor choreography, much of what the women do is improvisation. "The students have had to move out of their comfort zones to find movements to reflect the chorus' progression from humility for their god to uneasiness and concern to anger and revenge," said Finkenberg. Another Greek dramatic convention is that all violence takes place off stage. "The actors must paint a picture with only the dramatist's words and their own delivery of the lines. It's a different challenge than just acting out the scene," Oster said. The challenge for scenic designer Tomy Matthys, associate professor of theatre at SFA, and his students has been to fashion the set and props "from scratch." The "stones" of the playing area and surrounding columns were made from styrofoam insulation and cardboard tubes; the staffs carried by chorus members began as wire, electrical conduit, and muslin; and the incense pots were made from cat food cans and modeling material. "One of the students aptly named the backstage area a ‘craft fair,’" Matthys said. Technical skills were applied also as the carpenters and welders made collapsible columns for the earthquake and a means by which Dionysus can appear above the playing area. "We’ve come a long way since we began working on "Bacchae" in late January," said Oster. "The cast, designers, production staff and crew have all risen to the challenges the play presents." The Friends of the Theatre will host an opening night reception at 6:45 p.m. in the Griffith Art Gallery on Tuesday, Feb. 25. They will serve Greek foods, and Oster will give a short talk. Tickets for the play are $10 for adults and $5 for seniors and students. For more information, call (936) 468-6407 or 1-888-240-ARTS. -30-
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