Podcast #177
SEX, MONEY, AND ACTION: PANGS THEATER PROMISES THERE PRODUCTION OF THE LORCA SUMMER FEST WILL GIVE YOU ALL THREE VICES MAKING THIS PRODUCTION WELL WORTH YOUR TIME AND ENTRANCE FEE.”
Yes, thats right. S.M.Ac: Sex, Money and ACtion
Pangs theatres’ artistic director has taken on an “impossible challenge”. He is producing 3 of Frederico Garcia Lorca’s plays: Blood Wedding, Yerma, and House of Bernarda Alba. And in this summer trilogy happening at San Francisco’s Intersection for the Arts, Pangs theatre Artistic Director, Wolfgang Thompson promises you will get a heavy dose of sex, money, action, jealousy, maternal repression and the like.
Sound heavy?
Well according to Wolfgang Thompson, it is! Themes in the plays of Lorca are deep, but the courageous, and sometimes seemingly bordering on egotistical (although Wolfgang would rather call it “extreme confidence. I say there is a fine line.) artistic director claims that he is not only up to the task, but thriving on the marathon type of endurance necessary to produce and direct 3 plays by a playwright that are rarely gets produced.
But Mr. Thompson says he has his hands full delving into topics like birth rights, poverty, wealth, land ownership, freedom of choice, sexual jealousy, maternal control, death in the family, etc, etc.
WHAT SETS WOLFGANG APART FROM THE THOUSANDS OF OTHER DIRECTORS WHO WOULD NEVER TRY AND TACKLE SUCH A MONUMENTAL TASK?
You probably wouldn’t believe even though I am going to tell it to you like it is
Number 1: Wolfgang is a little bit crazy. And by that I mean that he has an extremely healthy sense of his capabilities. We had a frank discussion of what I perceived to be rampant ego, and what he claimed to be self realized confidence in podcast #137. There, he and I went toe to toe about what good theatre is, backing up his seemingly outrageous claims, so on and so forth. Here, in the summer Lorca Festival at Intersection for the Arts, we see his confidence bubbling by directing 3 shows by a terrifically difficult playwright to produce.
Number 2: Wolfgang is a little bit crazy. In podcast #137 he talks about part of his directing style is based in architecture. I don’t know that I have fully realized what he meant by that but that did not matter to him. He was adamant in his knowing that he had a firm foundation in his style and that no matter what, it would not fail him. I am sure that in his current production, he utilizes his foundations in architectural directing to help bring his pieces alive, but one cannot help but think what type of foundation does one need in order to not only sustain themselves in such an endeavor, but also what is the mentality of a man that thinks he can pull off such a stunt and make the pieces worth the audiences while.
Number 3: Wolfgang is extremely sensitive and a little bit crazy. You can sense it in this podcast because I had to get on him about giving me an answer TOTALLY unrelated to my question. I call him on it. His answer smacked of insincerity and a genuine lack of attentive listening.When i call him on this no longer is he the smiling cat, ready to do an interview. Instead he becomes the wounded soul who begrudgingly continues on with the conversation while visibly ruminating on the “wound” I just inflicted. But it gets better. Through out the entire interview the air is filled with animosity and bewilderment. I could see Wolfgang struggling with formulating his comeback, while simultaneously holding back his true desire to lambaste me for being “blatantly rude’. And why do I hold this to be true? This whole misunderstanding between me and Wolfgang happens at the beginning of the interview. And at the very end, Wolfgang makes sure he gets a dig in before I stop recording. I found it to be a fascinating study in human psychology.
Now you may be asking yourself, what is the point of Number 3? Wolfgang is obviously a sensitive person. He obviously does not like to be challenged, but when challenged he channels his energy inward. It will come out later, but when is the question. This is the mark of a creative person. Not necessarily a healthy creative person, but non-the-less I believe Wolfgang to be a creative (and really can’t judge the “healthiness of his creativity).
Therefore, there is no doubt in my mind that there will be some interesting components to the productions that he is producing and directing. There is no doubt in my mind that Wolfgang will find the quirky elements of the 3 plays and bring them to light in ways no one else has. I have no doubt about that. The real question is, will it be your cup of tea?
ANOTHER REASON TO GO CHECK OUT THE LORCA SUMMER FESTIVAL… WOLFGANG FIRMLY BELIEVES THAT LORCA WROTE IN A STYLE PERFECT FOR THIS GENERATION
Yes I mean the age of MTV, mass marketing, information overload, and the science of compliance.
To have Wolfgang tell it, he believes that the style of Lorca is perfect for the generations raised on the quick snippet, sound bite, quick flashes of sight, overwhelming auditory stimulation, information age, person.
Lorca is down and dirty, although in a poetical style. Lorca likes to drop you right in the middle of a scene, situation, crisis, and let you work yourself out with the characters. In other words, forget the exposition and rising action. You get to jump right into conflict. You get to jump right into confusion. You get to jump right into the Maylay, bathe in the tension of the conflict, and slowly work your way out to understanding.
What more could you ask for?
WHEN AND WHERE CAN I SEE THE LORCA SUMMER FESTIVAL, PRODUCED BY PANGS THEATRE AND RUNNING AT INTERSECTION FOR THE ARTS?
Three Weekends Only!
July 18 and 19, 2008 at 8pm
July 25 and 26, 2008 at 8pm
Aug 1 and 2, 2008 at 8pm
At Intersection for the Arts
446 Valencia Street, San Francisco
SHOW NOTES
American Conservatory Theatre: The Website
Playing July 18–August 2, 2008
Lorca Summer Festival: Buy Tickets
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