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Event
King Lear with The Independent Eye
Open Space proudly presents THE INDEPENDENT EYE with King Lear
Utterly convincing, often heartbreakingly so . . . Dazzlingly inventive . . . A startlingly effective and haunting Lear more so than most that have a full cast of living actors. Sam Hurwitt, KQED Arts
Open Space proudly presents The Independent Eye theatre ensembles inspired two-person vision of William Shakespeares King Lear. Played out within the confines of an aluminum cage, King Lear and The Fool are accompanied by an astonishing array of nearly 30 life-sized, hand, and finger puppets operated by actors and master puppeteers Conrad Bishop and Elizabeth Fuller. King Lear plays Saturday, November 19 at 7pm, in Open Spaces intimate Community Hall (our future Black Box Theatre). Tickets available at brownpapertickets.com and Vashon Bookshop. This production is not geared for younger audiences; it is suitable for ages 13 and up.
King Lear is the puppeteer of his own puppet show, obsessively playing out his loss of family, power, friendship, shelter, sanity, and hope. In his mind, he is the only real human in his motherless kingdom of power and commodity, where love is merchandise for barter. The Fool, an acid clown who goads Lear in his desperation, stage-manages his story until they both succumb to Lears madness. This stunning two-person take on King Lear puts an ingenious spin on The Bards tragic tale of power and distorted love.
We have approached Shakespeare only when we felt that we could bring a unique vision to the work, said director and actor Conrad Bishop. For us, Shakespeare is uniquely suited to puppetry because the stories are deeply metaphorical, and the medium allows shifts from realistic behavior to metaphor in startling ways. And puppets allow a broad gestural life thats true to the Elizabethan style of acting and totally absent on the live-actor stage today.
Continued Bishop, Theres a special force in a story told in a very concentrated voice with the channeled intensity of a nightmare, or a tiny window with great dimension. For us, King Lear is about what absolute power brings about in a man, a king, or a nation: blindness and madness passing the point of no return whats rampant in our halls of power today. Audiences are drawn in by King Lears resonance; Shakespeares words put a finger directly into the heart of the wound, or the wound of the heart.
The Independent Eyes Lear premiered in San Francisco last April, was featured at the San Diego Puppetry Festival and on an eleven-city national tour in October 2015. Bay Area critics commented:
A work of passion and artistry ... nothing short of genius.
David Templeton, North Bay Bohemian
Two masters who have perfected their craft.
Benjamin Wachs, SF Weekly
Quite frankly, I have never seen anything like it. Within the confines of a puppet stage, too cramped even to stand up, these two create a sweeping, theatrically satisfying version of King Lear that can hold its own with the work of any Shakespeare Festival in the United States.
Charles Kruger, TheatreStorm
King Lear plays at Open Space for Arts & Community, on Saturday, November 19th at 7pm. Doors will open at 6:30pm. Open Space is located at 18870 103rd Ave SW, Vashon Island. Tickets are $14, and $10 for students. Tickets are available at brownpapertickets.com and Vashon Bookshop. Seating will be limited. The production runs without an intermission.
More about The Independent Eye -
Conrad Bishop (Director, Puppet Designer, King Lear) has a Ph.D. from Stanford and has directed over 100 shows for The Independent Eye and stagings for Actors Theatre of Louisville, Theater of the First Amendment, Jean Cocteau Repertory, and Pittsburghs City Theatre, among many others. He has also done extensive mask and puppet creation.
Elizabeth Fuller (Composer, The Fool) has created more than 50 theater scores. She was twice a recipient of Philadelphias Barrymore Award for theater music, and was composer and audio engineer for 94 episodes of The Independent Eyes radio series Hitchhiking Off the Map. In addition to her work with The Independent Eye, she has performed roles with Shotgun Players, Jean Cocteau Repertory, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble and many others.
Bishop and Fuller were co-founders of Milwaukees Theatre X in 1969 and The Independent Eye in 1974. Together they have written more than 60 produced plays. They were twice recipients of NEA playwriting fellowships and six-time fellowship grantees of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. Additionally, they have played countless on stage roles with Theatre X and The Independent Eye, and have created 14 duo shows.
Now based in Sebastopol, CA, The Independent Eye is a 501(c)(3) theater dedicated to new works and new visions of classics, focusing on puppetry and cross-genre stagings. Founded by Bishop and Fuller in 1974, shows have been hosted by New Yorks CSC Rep, Jean Cocteau Repertory, Theater for the New City, Chicagos Body Politic, Seattles New City Theatre, Baltimore Theatre Project, and DellArte Players, among others. More information is at www.independenteye.org.
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LocationOpen Space for Arts & Community (View)
18870 - 103rd Ave SW
Vashon, WA 98070
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: No |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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