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Among those providing guidance
as SUNY Oswego students write the original production
“Lost in a Viral Paradise” are, (from left), Joe
Rial of SUNY Oswego’s theatre department, Steve
O’Hearn of Squonk Opera, Jonel Langenfeld-Rial
of Oswego's theatre department and Jackie Dempsey
of Squonk Opera. Mark Lavonier of public radio
station WRVO has interviewed O’Hearn, Langenfeld-Rial,
Dempsey and several students for a series of reports
broadcast on WRVO and on the Web at www.wrvo.fm/squonk. |
An ongoing behind-the-scenes series on public radio
station WRVO tunes into SUNY Oswego’s development
of an original multimedia production, “Lost in
a Viral Paradise.”
A collaboration between students and faculty from Oswego’s
art, music and theatre departments with Squonk Opera,
the project will culminate with performances in Tyler
Hall’s Waterman Theatre starting March 2.
Producer Mark Lavonier of the WRVO stations, a National
Public Radio affiliate based at SUNY Oswego, has been
creating and hosting a series of radio shows that highlight
the creative work that goes into this interdisciplinary
mainstage production.
The broadcast project, with funding from the New York
State Council on the Arts decentralization program administered
locally by the Cultural Resources Council, has included
interviews with project advisers Steve O'Hearn and Jackie
Dempsey of Squonk Opera, student assistant director
Nicole Arbes ’07,
student composer Max McKee ’07
and project director Jonel Langenfeld-Rial, among others.
Lavonier has crafted a series of radio broadcasts that
explore the complex character of what is sometimes dubbed
“performance art.” In one interview, O’Hearn
talks about the “hugely ambitious” nature
of this project, bringing together faculty and students
from diverse fields to work on the subjective character
of an art form where “the audience is invited
to fill in the blanks and become the storytellers.”
Arbes told Lavonier about the “outside of the
box” exploration of ideas that she has found challenging
and exciting. In another interview, McKee talks about
“musically capturing the idea of viral”
and working collaboratively with performers to support
and inform the creative work at hand.
The complex production, written over the course of several
months by SUNY Oswego students, is not easily categorized
or explained, which makes Lavonier’s work all
the more remarkable, said Mary Avrakotos, coordinator
of the Artswego Performing Arts Series.
“The production is a satirical comedy that takes
an imaginative, multimedia look at the zany, and sometimes
nightmarish, aspects of people's viral lives,”
Avrakotos said. Featuring everything from a shopping-cart
ballet to stilt-walking showgirls, the production “is
a funky fantasy that takes a fun and weird look at contagion,”
she added.
To access audio links of already-produced stories, visit
www.wrvo.fm/squonk.
Additional planned pieces to be broadcast on the WRVO
Stations include the sneak-peak performance that took
place during the Warm Up Oswego festival in Oswego’s
Armory in early February.
The production will include 8 p.m. performances March
2, 3, 9 and 10, with a 2 p.m. matinee Sunday, March
11. Tickets for the regular run cost $12 ($10 for senior
citizens and students, $7 for SUNY Oswego students).
Tickets are available through Tyler box office by calling
(315) 312-2141 or e-mailing tickets@oswego.edu
or contact Mary Avrakotos, (315) 312-4581 or artswego@oswego.edu. |
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To March 2007 E-Newsletter |
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