PASSIONATE PURGATORIO to Play at Arts Locker

Local theatre artist Mark Kennedy, hot on the heels of world premiere solo piece Checkers produced in the 2011 Philadelphia Fringe Festival, directs the Philadelphia premiere of Ariel Dorfman's unrelentingly poetic drama Purgatorio under the brand new wings of theatre anti-company [ad hoc theatre project]. Purgatorio runs November 16th through 19th at the Arts Locker on the 3rd floor of the Wolf Building, 1200 Callowhill Street. 80 mins. Tickets are $10. See theadhoc.tumblr.com for more information.

In Purgatorio, hell isn't other people, it's her. It's him. But so is salvation. A man (Eric Wunsch) and a woman (Meredith Sonnen) with the pasts of myth's most dysfunctional couple, Jason and Medea, are locked in a room together in an unnamed institution, fighting each other for their soul's forgiveness and ultimate reincarnation. Each must act in disguise as therapist to the other, and must bring the other to heal themselves so they can heal the other. A time twisting, relentlessly passionate and poetic prying into the heart of the most tragic of relationships, Purgatorio is an attempt to discover what happens when you have to forgive the unforgivable, and then have to forgive yourself.

Ariel Dorfman, best known for his play Death and the Maiden and its film version directed by Roman Polanski, is an Argentine-Chilean writer, whose Purgatorio was first premiered at Seattle Repertory Theatre in 2005. Dorfman, in thebaxterblog.com, describes Purgatorio as "a pivotal work for me. Although it takes up many of the themes that have been central to my previous work (the dilemmas of forgiveness and retribution, the uncertainty of memory, the search for some ray of hope in times of terror and betrayal, the problem of identity in a world of false fundamentalisms), those themes were explored primarily in a historical moment and brought into focus by some primeval form of violence ... it is in Purgatorio that I plunge for the first time into the naked (and masked, of course) human relations without an immediate political context."

Purgatorio represents an multiple inaugural event: for the performance of the play in Philadelphia, for the opening of the space it occupies, for the company that is producing it, and for the artists involved in its production. The newly renovated Arts Locker, a rehearsal and performance space in the Wolf Building, hosts newly invented [ad hoc theatre project] for the launching of the space. The Arts Locker's mission is to provide artists and visionaries alike collaborative rehearsal, production, and office space at an affordable cost. The Arts Locker is a facility of continuous programming and research dedicated to artists who need an environment in which to self sustain and create work. Email Bob Wuss at Robertwuss@gmail.com for inquires.

Purgatorio represents the first production of newly and briefly materialized [ad hoc theatre project], an independent theatre anti-company decidedly against its own sustainability. Founded mostly because Samuel French does not lease rights for its plays to individuals, [ad hoc] exists simply as a momentary group of artists devoted to one specific goal: to produce Purgatorio. Modeled on organizations with built-in expiration dates such as the playwright-driven 13P, [ad hoc] is unconcerned with the survival of itself as an institution, instead giving singular focus to the play at hand. As young professionals forging new paths in their careers, [ad hoc] behaves as a tool to drive artistic initiatives and an umbrella under which to grow experience without the responsibilities and realities of sustaining a company that may not be ready to be sustainable.

Mark Kennedy, director of Purgatorio, heads up [ad hoc] and provides the funding for actor stipends, space rental, rights fees, and so on. This is Kennedy's directing debut in Philadelphia, after debuting as a writer/performer in the Philadelphia Fringe with Checkers. As a young theatre maker, Kennedy has apprenticed, assists, and works part time for a variety of theatre companies in Philadelphia, including the Arden, New Paradise Laboratories, Pig Iron Theatre Company, 1812 Productions, Azuka Theatre Company, Theatre Horizon, Shakespeare in Clark Park, and Play Penn. Anyone who has visited any of these organizations may have seen Kennedy at the box office, in the lobby house managing, or felt the effects of his behind-the-scenes work, running sound, assisting the director, etc.

Kennedy's part time employment supporting these theatre companies funds [ad hoc]'s project directly and fuels its organizational approach. "My goal is to directly transform my work supporting others into my own work, so I can grow both simultaneously. Meredith, Eric, all of us learn by witnessing and assisting others' processes as well as putting into practice the beginnings of our own. It makes sense for the Arden or 1812 to sustain itself, so it can sustain its artists and its art. I know I am way too young and small to do either of those things, but that doesn't mean I can't pursue my goals as an artist. I just have to work on a different scale," Kennedy said. "I'm really just giving a name to something most young theatre professionals do for most of their early careers. And I'm only giving it a name because Samuel French needs me to."

Meredith Boring (Costume Designer) holds a BFA from Arcadia University. She has worked at many theaters in Philadelphia and New Jersey. Favorite jobs include working for PTC, 1812 Productions, Little Bunny Voo-Doo, GDP Productions, Act II, The Lantern Theater, and Society Hill Playhouse.

Mark Kennedy (Director) is an omnivorous Philadelphia theatre artist with a passion for directing, writing, and performing. Recent experiences include assistant directing for the Arden Theatre Company, Shakespeare in Clark Park, Theatre Horizon, and Azuka Theatre Company; performing/curating Frame (www.newparadiselaboratories.org) with New Paradise Laboratories and assistant stage managing the NYC tour of their Riot Group co-production Freedom Club; sound operating for Pig Iron's Chekhov Lizardbrain on tour in Poland, San Francisco, and Miami, and their 2010 Live Arts offering Cankerblossom; and working front of house for 1812 Productions and the Arden. Mark is a graduate of Arden Professional Apprentice Class 17. Mark holds a BA in Theatre from Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA, and directed a main stage production of Judith Thompson's Perfect Pie for his senior project.

Meredith Sonnen (Woman) is a local theatre artist who does everything from carpentry and stage management to set design. Recent specific projects include The Amish Project, Extremely Public Displays of Privacy, and Overseers. She works everywhere, from the Walnut Street Theatre to Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre to the Philadelphia Fringe. She also works for local contractors.

Eric Wunsch (Man) is a Philadelphia actor and director recently graduated from University of the Arts. Past projects include acting in 3 shows with Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre, directing for New Hope Players and the Philadelphia Fringe, and assistant directing with the Arden Theatre Company and 1812 Productions. He will be working on projects with Applied Mechanics and Simpatico Theatre Project this spring.

Bob Wuss (Projection & Video Designer) is a freelance projection and video designer in Philadelphia. He is the artistic director of The Shakedown Project and manager of The Arts Locker at The Wolf Building. Bob is also The Warehouse Manager at Synergetic Sounds in Bensalem, PA and aspires to continue to make art while connecting people together.

The Arts Locker
at the Wolf Building
3rd Floor
1200 Callowhill St
Philadelphia, PA 19103

Run Time:
80 mins

Tickets:
$10

Dates:
November 16th, 9:00PM
November 17th, 9:00PM
November 18th, 9:00PM
November 19th, 7:00PM & 10:00PM

 

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