November 17, 2008

Middle States Accreditation

BC Theater Dept., PIMA and the U.N. Play

Complimentary Tickets

Saatchi Online Gallery

Basketball Opener

A play about two inmates in a 23-hour-a-day lockdown on Rikers Island will take center stage at the Gershwin Theater this Thursday and will raise questions about whether the characters can find peace within themselves, forgiveness from God and redemption from society. Thus describes Assistant Professor Mary Beth Easley Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train, a play by Stephen Adly Guirgis that she chose to direct this semester.
    Formerly an adjunct instructor at Brooklyn College’s Theater Department, Easley holds an MFA from the University of Georgia and earned a prestigious Revson Grant that allowed her to observe and work with theater directing giants such as Brian Murray and Harold Prince. 
     “I chose a little edgier and more contemporary author like Guirgis because it speaks to the realities of our times and in the vernacular that is accessible to the youth,” Easley explains, adding that she’s a big fan of Guirgis.
     The behind-bars action showcases Angel (played by José Aranda), a troubled Latino bike messenger who, driven by vengeance, has fatally shot the leader of a cult who attacked one of Angel’s friends.  Angel engages in a deep dialogue about the consequences of his actions with Lucius (Mack Exious), an African American serial killer who has found God in prison.
     “There is no one scene that is easy to perform,” admits Aranda, an MFA candidate for whom this is his thesis production. Born in East Los Angeles, Aranda originally graduated from the North Carolina School of the Arts in 1999 and scored a significant success in the commercial circuit. For this production the Gershwin stage has been modified to bring the public closer to the action.
     “While exploring my character, Angel made me think under what circumstances I could find myself in the same situation, shooting somebody, pleading for forgiveness and listening to a serial killer,” he notes, pointing out that despite his success as an actor in the commercial circuit, he found himself boxed by the industry and limited to a few roles. 
     “I now feel I’ve expanded my range and I’m a Latino actor who can play in a Shakespeare piece,” says a satisfied Aranda, who played a role in Shakespeare’s Two Gentlemen of Verona, staged and directed last semester by Valerie Pye.
     “You can never be too satisfied with yourself,” notes Exious, a BFA actor who will graduate this June. Admitting that he identified with Angel when he first read the play, he found his character tough to perform. “I have to believe in the character and his lack of options.”
     “Although I’m personally interested in picking theater of the underrepresented population – those without a voice – I know we have to make our choices thinking about what will give our actors the experience to get work as soon as they leave school,” Easley says. 

For next week's schedule and other Theater Department productions, please visit:
http://depthome.brooklyn.cuny.edu/theater/