aPOEtheosis
aPOEtheosis
A Fantasy Based on the Life and Work of Edgar Allan Poe
Co-Conceived by Petr Matásek and Joseph Brandesky
Directed by Joseph Brandesky
Roy Bowen Theatre
April 4 at 7:30PM
April 5 at 7:30PM
April 6 at 3:00PM and 7:30PM
April 7 at 3:00 PM
April 10 at 7:30PM
April 11 at 7:30PM
April 12 at 7:30PM
April 13 at 7:30PM
April 14 at 3:00PM
Run time: one hour and twenty minutes with no intermission.
The Ohio State University Department of Theatre presents aPOEtheosis: A Fantasy Based on the Life and Work of Edgar Allan Poe, Thursday, April 4-Sunday, April 14 in Roy Bowen Theatre, Drake Performance and Event Center in Columbus. The play is co-conceived by Czech scenographer Petr Matásek and Joe Brandesky, theatre professor at Ohio State’s Lima campus. Brandesky also directs the play. (He is pictured below, with a puppet from the production.)
Objects, music, movement, and puppets are used in the show to illuminate the fine lines between creative genius and madness, fatal love and obsession. Among the works explored are Poe’s Annabel Lee, The Bells, The Tell-Tale Heart, and The Masque of the Red Death. Tickets are available from the Ohio State Ticket Office, (614) 292-2295, in Drake Performance and Event Center or through Ticketmaster.
Petr Matásek, Czech artist, set designer, director, and associate professor at the Department of Alternative and Puppet Theatre at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, has previously worked with the Ohio State Department of Theatre on a research project.
Concurrently with the production of aPOEtheosis, the Columbus Museum of Art presents Strings Attached: The Living Tradition of Czech Puppets, on view from March 8-August 4, exploring the rich history of puppetry in the Czech Republic. That exhibition is organized by the CMA, the College of Arts and Sciences at Ohio State, and the Arts and Theatre Institute, Prague. Nina Malíková, from the Arts and Theatre Institute, Prague, is the curator with guest curator Joe Brandesky and the CMA’s Carole Genshaft. Several special events are detailed below. For more on the exhibition, go to http://www.columbusmuseum.org
“The timing of Strings Attached and aPOEtheosis provides a unique opportunity for audiences to see the work of these Czech artists first-hand in the exhibit and then experience the artistry of Czech artist and set designer Petr Matásek as his work comes to life on stage in the play,” said Brandesky.
Special events:
• Puppets of Avenue Q, Thursday, March 28, 7 pm, Columbus Museum of Art. Beth Kattelman, associate professor and associate curator of the Lawrence and Lee Theatre Research Institute at Ohio State, will present a program about creating puppets for CATCO’s recent production of Avenue Q. Free with admission.
• Artist Talk: Petr Matásek and Joseph Brandesky, Sunday April 7, 1 pm, Columbus Museum of Art. The two will present Marion Lee, a puppet designed for the production aPOEtheosis. Free with admission. CMA admission is free on April 6 and 7 for Ohio State students, faculty and staff with ID.
• Guest curator gallery tour, April 27, 2 pm, Columbus Museum of Art, Brandesky will provide a behind-the-scenes gallery tour of the Czech puppets exhibition. Free with admission.