Whimsy while diving deep into the human condition in a B次元官网网址渒ooky and surrealB次元官网网址� way B次元官网网址� thatB次元官网网址檚 the writing that draws Patrick Du Wors to the work of award-winning playwright Sarah Ruhl.
Ruhl explores the complicated human relationship with cell phones in her loopy comedy Dead ManB次元官网网址檚 Cell Phone, opening Nov. 11 at the University of VictoriaB次元官网网址檚 Phoenix Theatre.
Directed by Fran Gebhard, the play also offers Du Wors, a theatre design professor, an opportunity to revisit a previous scenographic concept. The first was nearly a decade ago on stage in his hometown Saskatoon. It was the second Ruhl play heB次元官网网址檇 worked on B次元官网网址� the first was Melancholy Play at a Toronto Summerworks Festival.
B次元官网网址淪he was on my radar and I was starting to realize this is a really important American playwright that I wasnB次元官网网址檛 that familiar with,B次元官网网址� Du Wors said. B次元官网网址淲hat I love about her work is she doesnB次元官网网址檛 take herself so seriously and I think a lot of 20th-century theatre takes itself so seriously, to the point of alienating itself from the audience.B次元官网网址�
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Dead ManB次元官网网址檚 Cell Phone premiered just days before the release of the first iPhone in 2007, but is set just prior, when flip phones reigned. As a dead manB次元官网网址檚 cell phone rings incessantly in a cafe, the woman at a nearby table canB次元官网网址檛 help but answer it. ItB次元官网网址檚 the catalyst that launches her into the lives of his family members.
B次元官网网址淯ltimately itB次元官网网址檚 a play about human connection, even though the cell phone is the intermediary and the catalyst that drives the characters to connect for real in the end,B次元官网网址� Du Wors said. B次元官网网址淚 think we could all use that right now.B次元官网网址�
References to the paintings of American realist artist Edward Hopper led to his framing the characters in a sequence of layers to create a foreground, mid ground and background. The re-imagining at UVic provided a larger stage that allowed improved lighting.
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Costume designer and fourth-year student Parker Feenstra also takes her inspiration from HopperB次元官网网址檚 paintings, with costumes that evoke the subdued colour schemes for which his art is famous. Sound designer and fourth-year student Miriam Dumitra blends film noir-era music with electronic jazz soundscapes to create a backdrop for scenes and transitions, and for RuhlB次元官网网址檚 peculiar and spellbinding cell phone B次元官网网址渂allet.B次元官网网址�
Directing the camera angles and livestream footage is fourth-year student Sloane Vasko. Making calls behind the scenes is stage manager and fourth-year student Olivia Reid-Friesen.
Dead ManB次元官网网址檚 Cell Phone runs Nov. 11 to 27, with evening, matinee and weekend shows scheduled. Livestream performances are Nov 19, 20, 26 and 27. Find tickets, showtimes and health protocols in place online at .
