The traditional expectation of a staged reading is that it won't be fully realized. Actors will read their lines from scripts, usually open on music stands. They will not be costumed or lighted beyond adequately. There won't be music or sound effects.
ArkansasStaged is continuing to change that expectation, this time with "Venus in Fur," a 2011-12 Broadway hit that's been popular on regional theater stages since then. Although they will work with open scripts, the actors -- Jason Shipman and Maggie Ferran -- will be in motion. And they'll be costumed -- sometimes in lingerie.
FAQ
‘Venus in Fur’
WHEN — 7 p.m. Sunday
WHERE — 21c Museum Hotel in Bentonville
COST — $3 donation
INFO — Email [email protected]
Written by David Ives -- best known for his comic one-act plays -- "Venus in Fur" is the story of Thomas, described as a beleaguered playwright/director who is desperate to find an actress to play Vanda, the female lead in his adaptation of the classic sadomasochistic tale "Venus in Fur." He's just had an awful round of auditions, populated by airhead actresses, when Vanda walks in. Weirdly, she has the same name as the leading character and seems oddly familiar with the work -- although the script has not been published. And as they work together, fantasy becomes a real game of domination, submission, sexual power and sexual politics, says ArkansasStaged artistic director Laura Shatkus.
"We want to offer those plays that don't get produced very often or new plays sort of on the cutting edge; that's what I'm interested in showcasing to people," says Shatkus, who came to Northwest Arkansas from Chicago to appear in the TheatreSquared production of "The Fall of the House" and never left. "Right now, we're kind of finding our niche."
This play, she says, is undeniably "racy." But that's not what has worried director Cole Wimpee, who recently helmed the University of Arkansas production of "Hedda Gabler" in nontraditional space at Vol Walker Hall. He's juggling whether he's pushing the boundaries of a staged reading too far.
"If you go too far with a certain choice it starts to betray a little bit of what the expectation in the room is," he muses. "My tendency is to try to go as far as possible, but if we go all the way into it, there's this question among the audience as to why didn't the actress just memorize her lines? It's an elusive boundary, a middle ground of trying to surprise and give the audience a unique and advanced experience but not steer too far into full production choices."
As far as the play's deeper meaning -- beyond what The New York Times called "good, kinky fun" -- Wimpee offers more questions than answers. "I believe the purpose of the play is to make the audience ask questions," he says.
Shatkus has her own opinion.
"It turns out -- I think -- it's Venus come down to earth," she says. But either way, she agrees that "it's a play that is so layered, you should be left with a lot of questions to discuss."
NAN What's Up on 05/13/2016