The Real Christmas Story

So guess what? There won't be an A.R.T. Plays Around this Friday. Gasp! Oh no! But trust me, there's a good reason... A.R.T. Presents: "The Real Christmas Story" starring Y.A.D.F (Your Average Dysfunctional Family). You don't want to miss this production of three hilarious plays written by A.R.T.'s very own: Rowan Shamroy, Kayden Oconnell and Sodovan Torok!

First, get drawn back into the 50's and meet your average family. Pete and Ian get to wait up for Santa for the very first time! But when something goes terribly wrong, will the children get presents or will Santa pass them by? Next, join Older the Elder as he tells you about his time spent with Santa, before Santa was cool. And then finally, sit down for a nice Christmas meal with one of the craziest families you'll ever meet!

You'll find A.R.T. at Rockliffe University's Dove Theater (http://slurl.com/secondlife/Rockcliffe%20I/232/88/30) on Dec 11th at 5pm SLT, Dec 12th at 3pm SLT and Dec 13th at 2pm SLT. Join us in our holiday celebration!

ART Plays Around

Christmas ghosts, Thanksgiving pies, cursing mommies, and Australian culture! Join the Avatar Repertory Theater as they explore all of these, perform some fun improv, and force their janitor to do more than sweep the floors. It's all today, Friday the 20th at 5pm SLT.

Be there... or miss out on pie.

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Cookie/45/32/26

This is Your Final Reminder!

Coventry University presents Avatar Repertory Theater's staging of 13 Objects: Studies in Servitude by Howard Barker as part of an international festival celebrating the work of this prestigious playwright. Performances will be on Oct 20, 4pm SLT and October 21, 2pm SLT. Admission is free!

http://www.slurl.com/secondlife/Coventry+University/32/182/751

Or watch us live online thanks to CodeWarrior Carling!

http://www.livestream.com/avatarrepertorytheater

13 Objects by Howard Barker

If you still haven't heard about the Avatar Repertory Theater's production of "13 Object's: Studies in Servitude," then I'm glad to have your attention now. If you have heard of the production, then this is your reminder. With the support of Coventry University, A.R.T. will be performing this exciting work on Oct 20th at 4pm SLT and on Oct 21st at 2pm SLT, and trust me, this is a performance you will not want to miss.

Barker suggests that his plays are more than theater, but rather fall into the category of the art of theater. He explains, "I do not know the theatre, and the theatre does not know me. There is the theatre and there is the art of theatre... some have had to do with the art of theatre, but finding it too arduous, chose to join the theatre. These are legion. A few remained faithful. Very few, because it is a painful path. The theatre purpots to give pleasure to the many. The art of theatre lends anxiety to the few. Which is the greater gift?"

Sitting down with the production manager, Ada Radius, and director, Joff Fassnacht, we talked about Barker's work. Joff reiterated the artistic quality of Barker's work saying it's "incredibly rich with a lot for audiences to discover." Ada added that Barker's play had "tons of layers and subtext with huge amount of space to come up with interpretations." For an audience member the experience can be quite profound filled with many ideas to digest.

So, why go to a play that could affront your senses? Joff says, "A lot of his stuff is dark, but done with a sense of catharsis; you get some sense of a release doing this. His theme's could affect anybody and everybody. They're universal themes. It's quite raw and refreshing, bold and in your face. In a world where we think we have to be natural... Barker isn't."

So what exactly is this play "13 Objects" that you've been hearing about? As A.R.T. actor Kayden Oconnell put it, "13 Objects shows the secret lives of everyday objects, such as a cup and saucer, or a camera, to make intimate connections and inspire powerful feelings, with poetic language, provocative ideas and dark humor." More than that, "13 Objects" challenges you to look at life from a different perspective. Truly this is one of those works where you learn much about yourself through its carefully constructed words.

But there is always the question of whether the theater will work within the virtual reality world of Second Life. Ada did point out one disadvantage as she speaks of her own acting experience with this play, "In South of that Place Near there are times that in a real life performance I could have gotten away with facial expressions and body expressions making up for the lack in voice. Here we have to work on the voice more in order to have a deeper understanding of the words. We can't take any short cuts in Second Life." However, she also pointed out that "we can explore the surrealism in SL more. For example we can turn an officer into a loudspeaker." That is truly the case in Second Life. Sets can be larger and more fantastic than a regular production would be able to pull off.

For this production of "13 Objects," Ada chose to put together the works of Arcadia Asylum for the set. Ada explained, "She always insisted that everything she made should be free; full perm. Everyone has some of her things in our inventory. Almost every single thing we needed for the play happened to be in Arcadia's builds. We have a cafe, a cemetery, a park, even a dirty subway. It's as though Arcadia had been reading Barker two years ago."

But not only are Arcadia's builds appearing in the actual performances of "13 Objects", ART has also set up an installation of Arcadia's works to be explored. In this installation you will find all 13 objects scattered throughout. From there you will be able to click on the objects and hear recordings of "13 Objects." Joff explained, "I think if people get a chance to walk around to get a feel for the environment, it will lend to the real feel. There's something slightly different or wrong about it. I would see it as a really good way of adding an extra layer of understanding."

At the end of the interview Ada wanted to add, "We're an extremely diverse group of actors. We come from a diversity of acting backgrounds from amateurs to 4 professors. We have great teamwork and work well with each other." It's this teamwork that makes it possible for A.R.T. to put together a show of such high caliber. These performances will not only be an experience of a lifetime, but will also be a huge stepping stone for acting within Second Life.

To attend a performance, come to Coventry University sim on Oct 20th at 4pm SLT or Oct 21st at 3pm SLT, take a seat on a bench and be ready to not only watch, but experience.

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Coventry+University/30/182/751/

If you find the sim is full or have any technical difficulties then don't fret. Simply visit the link below.

http://www.avreptheater.com/site/index.php?title=Live_Performance_Broadcast

ART Plays Around

A.R.T. Plays Around Tonight, 5 pm! --- Please join the actors of the Avatar Repertory Theater as they rehearse for their upcoming presentation of Howard Barker's "13 Objects: Studies in Servitude". The A.R.T. will be participating in a world-wide celebration of Barker's work on October 20 and 21 called "21For21", to honor the 21st anniversary of the founding of The Wrestling Company, a theater company that "wrestles" with this astounding and disturbing work. http://slurl.com/secondlife/Cookie/45/32/26

Art Plays Around Oct. 2, 5 pm California time

A.R.T. Plays Around Tonight, 5 pm! - -- Join the actors of the Avatar Repertory Theater as they rehearse, read and enjoy the best of comedy and drama. Tonight we continue to prepare for our participation in the Howard Barker 21FOR21 world wide celebration, to be held on October 21.

Art plays around, 5 pm slt. 9/25/09

A.R.T. Plays Around Tonight, 5 pm! - -- Join the actors of the Avatar Repertory Theater as they rehearse, read and enjoy the best of comedy and drama. Tonight we prepare for our participation in the Howard Barker 21FOR21 world wide celebration, to be held on October 21. We're also looking at Albee, some Monty Python and some other surprises. See you there! It all starts at 5 pm