John Farmanesh-Bocca swung by The Playwright's Spotlight to talk about his latest Shakespeare adaptation Lear Redux: A Quantum Fantasia. Throughout this conversation we discuss his journey into becoming an adaptive playwrights of the Classics, how he breaks them down, unpacks them, and the puts them back together to serve a modern audience without losing the original story and, sometimes, the original language. We discuss how much preparation he does before moving into collaboration and the use of conversation, his use of archetypes, writing whimsy, and how his acting and dance classes helped make him a better writer. We close on the current accessibility of theatre and the importance of advocacy for the arts. John's charm and passion shine through out this interview. I think you'll walk away with a lot. Enjoy.
For tickets to Lear Redux: A Quantum Fantasia at the Odyssey Theater in Los Angeles through July 13th, visit https://odysseytheatre.com/whats-on/lear-redux/
John Farmanesh-Bocca is a multi-award-winning Iranian-American theater director, choreographer and playwrite who is best known in the U.S. and abroad for his modern adaptations of ancient theatrical works. He is the founder of the award-winning Not Man Apart – Physical Theatre Ensemble, ranked by Backstage in 2014 as one of the “13 most innovative physical theater companies in the world,” for which he now serves as emeritus director. Some of his award-winning physical theater adaptations include - Pericles Redux, Wish I Had A Sylvia Plath, Titus Redux, As/Is, Hercules Furens, and Tempest Redux. To view the video format of this episode, visit the link below - https://youtu.be/OahUQhbBRVM
Links to sites and resources mentioned in this episode -
Not Man Apart - https://www.notmanapart.com
Ruskin Group Theatre - https://www.ruskingrouptheatre.com
The New American Theatre - https://www.newamericantheatre.com
WORD Theatre - https://wordtheatre.org
Socials for John Farmanesh-Bocca's companies -
IG - @notmanapart
IG - @newamericantheatre
IG - @ wordtheatre
IG - @odysseetheatre
Websites and socials for James Elden, Punk Monkey Productions and Playwright's Spotlight
Punk Monkey Productions -
www.punkmonkeyproductions.com
PLAY Noir -
www.playnoir.com
PLAY Noir Anthology –
www.punkmonkeyproductions.com/contact.html
James Elden -
Twitter - @jameseldensauer
IG - @alakardrake
FB - fb.com/jameseldensauer
Punk Monkey Productions and PLAY Noir -
Twitter - @punkmonkeyprods
- @playnoirla
IG - @punkmonkeyprods
- @playnoir_la
FB - fb.com/playnoir
- fb.com/punkmonkeyproductions
Playwright's Spotlight -
Twitter - @wrightlightpod
IG - @playwrights_spotlight
Playwriting services through Los Angeles Collegiate Playwrights Festival
www.losangelescollegiateplaywrightsfestival.com/services.html
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