A Dream Play
A Dream Play
Caryl Churchill’s adaptation of a play by August Strindberg
Directed by Chris Holcom
June 12 – 29, 2008
Thu. – Sat. 8pm, Sun. 4pm
Tickets: $24.50
Shimberg Playhouse, Straz Center for the Performing Arts
Distinctions
Jobsite Jobby
- Best Actress – Kari Goetz
What It's About
The southeastern US premiere!
Jobsite Theater is pleased to announce the southeastern United States premiere of A Dream Play – a new version of August Strindberg’s surreal masterpiece, adapted by Caryl Churchill, one of contemporary theater’s most fascinating and respected dramatists. This spare and resonant adaptation premiered earlier last year at London’s National Theatre in a production for which “the audience was spellbound” (Daily Mail).
Following the logic of a dream – in which images and characters merge and separate, locations change in an instant, and a locked door recurs obsessively – A Dream Play is a potent mix of Freud plus Alice in Wonderland. The play itself is a dream about Agnes, a girl from another world. Quite possibly an angel or even a goddess, Agnes comes to Earth and becomes caught up in the sufferings and cruelties of mankind.
“Everything can happen, everything is possible and probable. Time and place do not exist.” August Strindberg said that in his preface to A Dream Play, written in 1901. After successfully tackling highly stylized works like Franz Wedekind’s Spring Awakening and Sophie Treadwell’s Machinal to both critical and box office success, Jobsite is eager to produce this groundbreaking experiment in surrealism. Jobsite’s production of Churchill’s Cloud Nine was named Best Play of 2003 by Creative Loafing and made Best of 2003 by the Tampa Tribune.
Age Recommendation
18+ Contains adult situations, language subject matter and brief nudity.
About the Writers
Caryl Churchill has written for the stage, television and radio. Her singular and striking stage plays, which have been widely produced in London, New York and throughout the world, include: Light Shining in Buckinghamshire, Vinegar Tom, Cloud Nine, Top Girls, Fen, Serious Money, Mad Forest, The Skriker, This Is a Chair, Blue Heart, Far Away and, most recently, A Number.
August Strindberg (1849–1912) wrote over 60 plays, including The Father, To Damascus, The Dance of Death and Miss Julie, which was closed down by the Danish censor when it premiered in Copenhagen in 1889. He is considered Sweden’s greatest literary figure.
Caryl Churchill's take on Strindberg gives us a gloriously witty vision of the unconscious. – London's Sunday Times
Disconcerting theatrical brilliance … a sharp, considerably abbreviated version of the play from Caryl Churchill … something fresh, new and magical. – Daily Telegraph
Critic Reviews
[A Dream Play] is like witnessing an exercise in free association ... once in a while, in the rambling chaos, you grasp a nugget that brings everything into focus ... Jobsite Theater's production does a fine job unearthing those rare treasures of wisdom. – Tampa Tribune
[Jobsite's production] shows that both Strindberg and Churchill succeeded. So has Jobsite, with its admirable take on a difficult work ... Chris Holcom and his cast handle the material with airiness and humor. But it's still substantial and thought-provoking, full of ideas and images that stick with you. – St. Petersburg Times
News
Cast & Crew
- Chris Holcom – Director
- Xylina Golding – Stage Manager
Cast
- Kari Goetz – Agnes
- Ami Sallee Corley – Ensemble
- Jason Evans – Ensemble
- Steven Sean Garland – Ensemble
- Amy E. Gray – Ensemble
- Christen Hailey – Ensemble
- Spencer Meyers – Ensemble
- Steve Mountan – Ensemble
- Soolaf Rasheid – Ensemble
Crew
- Jaime Giangrande-Holcom – Assistant Stage Manager
- David M. Jenkins – Sound Designer
- Brian M. Smallheer – Scenic and Light Designer
- Katrina Stevenson – Costume Designer
Patron Reviews
A strangely compelling show that defies any attempt to describe it. In it’s brevity the human condition is presented through a sorrowful lens. Cerebral and affecting, this show may not be to everyone’s taste, but should be seen by everyone just to experience the sheer artfulness of it.– David
Congratulations on another mesmerizing production. It reminded me of the 60’s and 70’s! – Deborah Kobritz
