Who committed the first infidelity – a man or a woman?
The University Theatre will explore this age-old question in its latest production, “La Dispute.”
Penned by French playwright Pierre de Marviaux, “La Dispute” is under the direction of graduate student James Engberg.
The play serves as an 18th century scientific experiment or reality show, Engberg said.
The story involves a conflict between a prince and the woman whom he loves. The two cannot agree on which sex was responsible for original sin. In order to settle this dispute, the pair conducts an experiment involving two men and two women that have been raised in total isolation.
“They are released into this confined area to see what happens,” Engberg said.
“(We) see how they fall in love, how they fall out of love, how they get along, and ultimately, figure out who was the first to be unfaithful.”
He said through rehearsal, he found the concepts in “La Dispute” to be applicable to contemporary society.
“The actors keep doing things and going ‘Oh wait a minute, this is my life; this is exactly how it goes in my relationships,’” he said.
“How does this thing from the 18th century still apply today? It applies beautifully, actually.”
“La Dispute” lends itself a great deal to clown work, Engberg said.
“Not circus clown,” he said with a chuckle. “This is very much European clown, where you take away all of the barriers we put up in our lives and show what’s at the core.”
This sense of vulnerability produces a very innocent comedy, he added.
La DisputeWhat: “La Dispute,” a farcical comedy based in the 18th century about a dispute over whether a man or a woman was responsible for original sin. When: Running Oct. 24, 25, 26, 27 and Nov. 1, 2, 3 at 8 p.m. Where: Arena Theatre, 104 Villard Hall (11th Avenue and Kincaid Street) For more information visit uoregon.edu/~theatre |
“It’s comedy that comes from a place where we’re not thinking about our emotions, we’re just having them – that’s very much like the clown,” he said. “The clown doesn’t think, the clown is not socialized like these four people.”
The all-volunteer cast and crew are finally ready to present the play after five weeks of rehearsals.
Engberg said they have rehearsed for more than four hours each day, focusing two hours in the morning on workshops and afternoons on the actual show.
“They have all put so much heart into this show,” he said.
Engberg had more fun directing this show than he has ever had before, noting how he wants people to watch the play and laugh.
“Oftentimes in the theater, we get very serious about what we do and this is an opportunity to be a little less serious, perhaps,” he said.
“With the way the themes relate to today, that people will come and see themselves in these characters and recognize their own relationships.”
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