Forum Theatre (DC)

Forum Theatre (DC)

Forum Theatre is a non-profit theatre company based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 2003, Forum produces three shows per season and is in residence at the H Street Playhouse. The company focuses on plays that feature innovative storytelling and theatricality. Forum productions also tend to deal with topics that lend themselves to discussions that the theatre hosts in the lobby, post-show. "The Washington Post" has hailed the company as "gutsy", "daring" and a company who produces in a "nonlinear theatrical style that is underrepresented on local stages" [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/20/AR2006012001926.html]

History

Forum was founded in 2003 by Kelly Bartnik, Michael Dove, Paul Frydrychowski, and Mark Wright who thought that theatre could be more affecting, provocative, and relevant with a multimedia approach. Instead of using a single performance method, Forum would explore diverse storytelling styles and artistic media to create unique performances. The roots of the company came from the founders’ combined backgrounds in film, dance/movement, music, visual art, and theatre. In that year, Forum Theatre (then known as Forum Theatre & Dance) began in Washington, D.C., a city chosen for its emergence as a major theatre community.

From day one, Forum sought not only to create distinctive work, but also to bring new or seldom-performed plays to Washington, using the shows as a springboard for artistic expression and discussion. The company’s first productions were a collection of Samuel Beckett short plays and a movement and video piece called "All Things Seen", based on Jean-Paul Sartre's "No Exit". Audiences and critics took immediate notice: the “extreme theatricality” of the pieces caused one critic to remark that Forum was a “refreshing addition” to the DC theatre scene. [ [http://www.potomacstages.com/TheaterArchives/ForumArchive.htm Forum ] ]

In the past three years, the acclaim increased as audiences followed the company from venue to venue. Forum performed at the Arena Stage at 14th & T Streets, Warehouse Theater, Church Street Theater, The University of Maryland, The Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, and Round House Silver Spring before taking up residence at the H Street Playhouse in historic northeast DC in June 2007. Forum's varied production history includes the world premieres of Israeli playwright Ami Dayan’s "UpShot" and a new translation of "The Gas Heart" commissioned by the company, along with the DC premieres of "Hamletmachine", Václav Havel's "The Memorandum", "", Caryl Churchill’s "The Skriker", and Don DeLillo's "Valparaiso".

In October 2006, Forum founded and produced (with [http://www.solasnua.org/ Solas Nua] ) the [http://www.beckettcentenaryfestival.com/ DC Samuel Beckett Centenary Festival] to celebrate the writer’s work and impact on contemporary art. The festival, which took place in several DC venues, included two weeks of theatre productions, film screenings, expert panel discussions, academic symposia, book clubs, downloadable radio play podcasts, and the international touring production of "Waiting for Godot" by Ireland’s Gate Theatre. The festival was sponsored by the Embassy of Ireland, The University of Maryland, and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Today, Forum is a dedicated group of 16 performers, technicians, and theater administrators, supported by a 13-member board. For its 2007–08 season, the company will produce Jean Anouilh's "Antigone", "The Last Days of Judas Iscariot" by Stephen Adly Guirgis, and Marat/Sade by Peter Weiss. In addition, the launch of [http://forumtheatredc.org/downloads.aspx OpenForum] this fall will further expand Forum's mission to create distinctive, inclusive theatrical experiences for its audiences.

Production history

2004-2005
*Beckett: The Shorter Plays ("Not I", "Footfalls", "Breath", "Come and Go", "Krapp's Last Tape", "Rockaby", and "Catastrophe")
*"All Things Seen" (based on Jean-Paul Sartre’s "No Exit")
*"Everyman"

2005-2006
*"UpShot" by Ami Dayan
*"The Gas Heart" by Tristan Tzara (translated by Steven Perry) and "Hamletmachine" by Heiner Müller
*"The Memorandum" by Václav Havel

2006-2007
* [http://www.beckettcentenaryfestival.com/ DC Beckett Centenary Festival]
*"The Skriker" by Caryl Churchill
*"" by Jordan Harrison
*"Valparaiso" by Don DeLillo

2007-2008
*"Antigone" by Jean Anouilh
*"The Last Days of Judas Iscariot" by Stephen Adly Guirgis
*"Marat/Sade" by Peter Weiss

2008-2009
*"Drunk Enough to Say I Love You?" by Caryl Churchill
*"The Last Days of Judas Iscariot" by Stephen Adly Guirgis
*"Marisol" by Jose Rivera
*"dark play or stories for boys" by Carlos Murillo

Company members

*Kelly Bartnik
*Fiona Blackshaw
*Austin Bragg
*Patrick Bussink
*Jenn Carlson
*Michael Dove
*Paul Frydrychowski
*Maggie Glauber
*Hannah Hessel
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1899409/ Brent Lowder]
*Rose McConnell
*Laura Miller
*Alexander Strain
*Mark Jude Sullivan
*Jesse Terrill
*Mark Wright

References

ee also

*Theater in Washington D.C.
*H Street Playhouse


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Forum Theatre — Infobox Theatre name = Forum Theatre caption = Flinders Street facade address = 154 Flinders Street city = Melbourne country = Australia designation = Victorian Heritage Register, Historic Buildings Register latitude = longitude = architect =… …   Wikipedia

  • Forum Theatre (Augusto Boal) — Forum Theatre was created by the innovative and influential theatrical director and writer Augusto Boal. While practicing in China earlier in his career, Boal would apply simultaneous dramaturgy . In this process the actors or audience members… …   Wikipedia

  • Theatre forum — Théâtre forum Théâtre Par catégories Personnalité …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Théâtre de l'opprimé — Théâtre forum Théâtre Par catégories Personnalité …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Theatre of Burkina Faso — (formerly the Republic of Upper Volta) combines traditional Burkinabè performance with the colonial influences and post colonial efforts to educate rural people to produce a distinctive national theatre. Traditional ritual ceremonies of the many… …   Wikipedia

  • Theatre of the Oppressed — The Theatre of the Oppressed is a method elaborated by the Brazilian director Augusto Boal, who was influenced by the work of Paulo Freire, starting from the 60s, first in Brazil and then in Europe. This method uses theatre as means of knowledge… …   Wikipedia

  • Théâtre d'État de Melbourne — Le Théâtre d État de Melbourne (en anglais State Theatre) est l opéra de Melbourne, situé 100 St Kilda Road, ouvert en octobre 1984. Le premier théâtre appelé State Theatre est construit en 1929 pour 3 371 places, Flinders Street. Il a été conçu… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Théâtre de Plovdiv — Théâtre romain de Plovdiv 42° 08′ 49″ N 24° 45′ 00″ E / 42.146848, 24.750028 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Forum romain de Caesaraugusta — Caesaraugusta sur le plan de la ville actuelle de Saragosse. Les numéros 1 et 2 délimitent le cardo et le decumanus …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Theatre — Théâtre Pour les articles homonymes, voir Théâtre (homonymie). Théâtre Par catégories …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”