Animal Readings
What do a fat pig and a goat named Sylvia have in common?
They are both being featured as part of the Inprint Reading Series at this year's Theatre on the Edge Festival. TotE and Inprint Bookstore are pleased to be presenting two dramatic play readings. The first is Edward Albee's modern classic "The Goat: or Who is Sylvia," and the second is "Fat Pig" by Neil LeBute. Both are incredible scripts about love and life, and will have been rehearsed and discussed by their casts to provide the best readings possible.
Starting the series, "The Goat: or Who is Sylvia" is called Edward Albee's most provocative, daring, and controversial play since "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" In the play, Martin, a successful architect who has just turned fifty, leads an ostensibly ideal life with his loving wife and gay teenage son. But when he confides to his best friend that he is also in love with a goat (named Sylvia), he sets in motion events that will destroy his family and leave his life in tatters.
"This play is so extraordinary in the way the characters deal with one another," says facilitator Lisa Flower. "The situation is completely out of one's frame of reference, so they are forced to deal with it the only way they know how."
"It is an incredibly emotional ride, both for the audience and the actors," adds Flower, who will also be reading the role of Martin's wife Stevie. "Everyone is very hurt and angry, but at the same time, they still love each other a great deal, they are still a family."
Flower, who says that Stevie is her dream role, is proud to share the script with Saint John audiences. Why was Flower so keen to have this script read?
"You'll understand once you hear it, but I think that Albee says it best," she replies.
The playwright himself has said "Every civilization sets quite arbitrary limits to its tolerances. The play is about a family that is deeply rocked by an unimaginable event and how they solve that problem. It is my hope that people will think afresh about whether or not all the values they hold are valid."
"The Goat: or Who is Sylvia" is being read Wednesday, August 6th at 6:30 pm at the Saint John Theatre Company loft, 4th Floor, 93 Prince William Street.
This brings us to “Fat Pig."
Cow. Slob. Pig.
How many insults can you hear before you have to stand up and defend the woman you love? Tom faces just that question when he falls for Helen, a bright, funny, sexy young woman who happens to be plus-sized - and then some. Forced to explain his new relationship to his shallow (although shockingly funny) friends, he finally comes to terms with his own preconceptions of the importance of conventional good looks.
"A lot of theatre is built around physical ideals – "Fat Pig" really shakes those notions up," says facilitator Kizzy Kaye. "The skinny, perfectly proportioned women with beautiful hair, glowing skin, fabulous makeup, and the best clothes that money can buy may be an ideal that some of us strive to achieve; but it sets a standard that leaves most of us feeling inadequate and unsatisfied with the bodies that we have. Whatever our beliefs about the exploitation of women, we must all be aware that society - and especially the media - portray an image of women that is both unrealistic and potentially unhealthy for the vast majority of women."
"This play will make the audience squirm a bit," Kaye continues. "Whether its from wondering how a guy like Tom can be interested in a girl like Helen, or maybe they are thinking “I have been overweight – I know what Helen’s going through”, or the horror that they are finding themselves laughing at the biting, cold, crass, and brutally honest comments of Carter."
"The “squirming” is what makes this play a good fit," she adds. Kaye, a well known face on the theatre scene, is also hoping to one day direct the script, one that she loves.
"I am personally grateful to be able to hear a play that I love read by four talented people," says Kaye.
"Fat Pig" is being read Thursday, August 7th at 6:30 pm at the Saint John Theatre Company loft.
Admission is suggested donation, and is also included on the $30 Festival Pass.
They are both being featured as part of the Inprint Reading Series at this year's Theatre on the Edge Festival. TotE and Inprint Bookstore are pleased to be presenting two dramatic play readings. The first is Edward Albee's modern classic "The Goat: or Who is Sylvia," and the second is "Fat Pig" by Neil LeBute. Both are incredible scripts about love and life, and will have been rehearsed and discussed by their casts to provide the best readings possible.
Starting the series, "The Goat: or Who is Sylvia" is called Edward Albee's most provocative, daring, and controversial play since "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" In the play, Martin, a successful architect who has just turned fifty, leads an ostensibly ideal life with his loving wife and gay teenage son. But when he confides to his best friend that he is also in love with a goat (named Sylvia), he sets in motion events that will destroy his family and leave his life in tatters.
"This play is so extraordinary in the way the characters deal with one another," says facilitator Lisa Flower. "The situation is completely out of one's frame of reference, so they are forced to deal with it the only way they know how."
"It is an incredibly emotional ride, both for the audience and the actors," adds Flower, who will also be reading the role of Martin's wife Stevie. "Everyone is very hurt and angry, but at the same time, they still love each other a great deal, they are still a family."
Flower, who says that Stevie is her dream role, is proud to share the script with Saint John audiences. Why was Flower so keen to have this script read?
"You'll understand once you hear it, but I think that Albee says it best," she replies.
The playwright himself has said "Every civilization sets quite arbitrary limits to its tolerances. The play is about a family that is deeply rocked by an unimaginable event and how they solve that problem. It is my hope that people will think afresh about whether or not all the values they hold are valid."
"The Goat: or Who is Sylvia" is being read Wednesday, August 6th at 6:30 pm at the Saint John Theatre Company loft, 4th Floor, 93 Prince William Street.
This brings us to “Fat Pig."
Cow. Slob. Pig.
How many insults can you hear before you have to stand up and defend the woman you love? Tom faces just that question when he falls for Helen, a bright, funny, sexy young woman who happens to be plus-sized - and then some. Forced to explain his new relationship to his shallow (although shockingly funny) friends, he finally comes to terms with his own preconceptions of the importance of conventional good looks.
"A lot of theatre is built around physical ideals – "Fat Pig" really shakes those notions up," says facilitator Kizzy Kaye. "The skinny, perfectly proportioned women with beautiful hair, glowing skin, fabulous makeup, and the best clothes that money can buy may be an ideal that some of us strive to achieve; but it sets a standard that leaves most of us feeling inadequate and unsatisfied with the bodies that we have. Whatever our beliefs about the exploitation of women, we must all be aware that society - and especially the media - portray an image of women that is both unrealistic and potentially unhealthy for the vast majority of women."
"This play will make the audience squirm a bit," Kaye continues. "Whether its from wondering how a guy like Tom can be interested in a girl like Helen, or maybe they are thinking “I have been overweight – I know what Helen’s going through”, or the horror that they are finding themselves laughing at the biting, cold, crass, and brutally honest comments of Carter."
"The “squirming” is what makes this play a good fit," she adds. Kaye, a well known face on the theatre scene, is also hoping to one day direct the script, one that she loves.
"I am personally grateful to be able to hear a play that I love read by four talented people," says Kaye.
"Fat Pig" is being read Thursday, August 7th at 6:30 pm at the Saint John Theatre Company loft.
Admission is suggested donation, and is also included on the $30 Festival Pass.
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