by Vaclav Havel
directed by Reid Edelman
choreography by Sandy Metzler
FALL THEATRE PRODUCTION:
Temptation
by Vaclav Havel
directed by Reid Edelman
choreography by Sandy Metzler
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September
28, 2007
Contact: Reid Edelman
Phone: (707) 468-3172
WHAT: TEMPTATION opens at Mendocino College!
Based on the legend of Faust
Written by Vaclav Havel; translated from the Czech
by Marie Winn
Directed by Reid Edelman
Choreography by Sandy Metzler
WHO: MENDOCINO COLLEGE
THEATRE ARTS DEPARTMENT
WHEN: October 26-November 4,
2007. Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM;
Thursday November 1 at 7:30 PM; Sunday November 4 at 2 PM
WHERE: MENDOCINO
COLLEGE, CENTER THEATRE
Center for the Visual &
Performing Arts,
TICKETS: $15,
$12 students and seniors. Advance tickets are available at the Mendocino
College Bookstore and the Mendocino Book Company in Ukiah. For additional
information, call (707) 468-3172
______________________________________________________________________________________
MENDOCINO COLLEGE OPENS THEATRE SEASON WITH
VACLAV HAVEL’S TEMPTATION
The Mendocino College Theatre Arts
Department will present Temptation,
Vaclav Havel’s modern version of the classic legend of Faust, for two weeks only October 26 through November 4 in the
college’s Center Theatre. This darkly
funny play is set in a scientific institute in an unspecified totalitarian
country. The mission of the institute is
to repress all mystical, irrational and unscientific thinking. However, one of the institute’s favored
researchers, Dr. Foustka (played by David Strock in the Mendocino College
production), has been secretly dabbling in black magic. When Fistula (played by Keith Aisner)
appears, claiming to be a sorcerer and demonic emissary, Foustka finds himself
torn between two opposing worlds. The play examines the absurdity and
corruption which results from the censorship and regulation of ideas, thought and human creativity. While the play is clearly rooted in Communist
Czechoslovakia of the 1980’s, the issues are disturbingly resonant today.
Havel, an
acclaimed Czech statesman and playwright, wrote Temptation in 1986 while imprisoned for protesting human
rights abuses in Czechoslovakia under the Communist regime. Strangely, while in prison, Havel was given
various versions of Faust to
read. Temptation is Havel’s modern retelling of the classic Faust legend in which a doctor yearns to
master all knowledge but finds that, in order to do so, he must promise his
immortal soul to Mephistopheles, the spirit of hell. Havel’s plays, outlawed in his own country
until 1989, have been celebrated internationally. In 1989, he led the “Velvet Revolution” which
peacefully ousted the Communist Regime from power. He was elected president of Czechoslovakia in
1990 and of the Czech Republic in 1993.
The Mendocino College production is being directed by
theatre professor Reid Edelman with choreography by dance instructor Sandy
Metzler. Edelman describes the world of
the play as a “haunting landscape in which opposition to state-sponsored
versions of reality is forbidden and human relationships are defined by mutual
mistrust.” The show will feature scenery and lighting by
professional guest artist Dan Stockwell and Steve Wilson respectively, and
costumes by the college’s resident designer Kathy Dingman-Katz. David Wolf is the sound designer and
technical director.
The 15 performers in this
production include a talented ensemble of dancers and actors. In addition to those listed above, the show features
veteran college performers Caleb Meek-Bradley, Emily Bouwer, Jason Briseno,
Geoff Graham, Brittani Ray, Jake Stoepler, Lori Stubben, and Sarah Timm. The production will also introduce several
talented newcomers to main-stage college theatre productions, including Marji
Artlip, Keith Canova, Margie Loesch, Ryan Johnson, and Amanda Norton. The production stage manager is Melissa Wood.
Temptation opens on October 26, 2007. Performances will run
for two weekends only, through November 4.
Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM, Thursday November 1 at 7:30 PM,
and Sunday November 4 at 2 PM. Tickets
($15 general; $12 students and seniors) are available at the Mendocino Book
Company and at the Mendocino College Bookstore.
This production contains mature subject matter; parental discretion is
advised. For more detailed information
about the production, including age appropriateness, please visit the college’s
Theatre Department web site at www.mendocino.edu/theater/deptindex.html. For additional information, call (707) 468-3172.