An Evening of The Absurd at The Carl Cherry
Samuel Beckett, playwright known for “Theatre of the Absurd” will come to life in this one weekend-only performance by Dennis Leroy Kangalee of the Kangalee Arts Ensemble in NYC & Justine Stock of New Canon Theatre Co, Monterey. A double bill of Samuel Beckett’s plays, Krapp’s Last Tape, an early masterpiece from 1957, and Rockaby, one of his rarer, later gems written in 1983. Directed and Performed by Dennis Leroy Kangalee and Justine Stock, both plays deal with the angst of memory within the mystery of aging; they ask us to consider what the culmination of a life experience is, or can be. Four performances only:
Thursday, January, 23rd @ 7:00 pm (Preview Night)
Friday, January, 24th @ 7:00 pm (Opening Night Post-Show Reception)
Saturday, January 25th @ 7:00 pm
Sunday, January 26th @ 2:00 pm
This is a 1 hour performance, each show will have a Q&A post show.
Tickets are $35.00, available on Eventbrite.com. Recommended for ages 14 and up.
A special evening of two Samuel Beckett plays presented in an exclusive double-bill of his most accessible and challenging pieces for solo actors determined to make a connection with a live human audience. Titled “Technology & The Human Cry,” J. Stock Productions and Kangalee Arts Ensemble bring both Krapp’s Last Tape and Rockaby to the stage in one unforgettable hour-long program.
Founder & Artistic Director of Kangalee Arts Ensemble shares, “Because while the world is suffering with many things, one thing we as artists can combat is the information overload; the bombardment of spectacle in our arts and entertainment. In an attempt to kickstart the new year with pared down, simple “chamber plays” that are exquisitely rendered by the Master of the Absurd and the great comic folly of human behavior, Samuel Beckett, Technology & The Human Cry aims to redirect the focus of acting and drama from the grand sweep of spectacle to the epic of human thoughts and emotions. In a time where nothing seems to make sense and the only thing guaranteed is aging or death, our bliss fleeting but attainable, Stock and Kangalee return to the theater with intimate works that illustrate the real wars are internal.
Aesthetically, both plays wrestle with the idea of the human voice dueting with a recorded voice. Beckett was curious, if not obsessed with technology itself — especially how recording mediums can refract our own lives back to us.
In each mono-drama the solo performer must listen to his or herself – on a recorded tape – and not only react, but allow it to influence how they view their life. Krapp’s tapes and nameless woman W’s voice (“V”) in Rockaby – emanate as “recorded ghosts” in a way… enabling enormous joy, but also overwhelming pain.
Written by: Samuel Beckett
Directed by: Dennis Leroy Kangalee, Kangalee Arts Ensemble
Produced by: J. Stock Productions & Kangalee Arts Ensemble
Production Designer: Edith Raw
Sound Designer: Carlton King
Stage Manager & Design Coordinator: Sean Aten
Cast: Dennis Leroy Kangalee (Krapp’s Last Tape) Justine Stock (Rockaby)