A New (Rep) Way to Look at “Art”
- Details
- Published on Wednesday, 04 January 2012 14:53
- Written by Matt Robinson
New Rep Theatre presents Tony Award-winning play January 15-February 5
In this provocative play, Reza asks questions about art and what our opinions of it say about our society and ourselves. “‘ART’ is a wonderfully engaging piece of theatre,” says New Rep’s Managing Director Harriet Sheets. “I am thrilled with the artistic team we have assembled for this piece.”
Director Antonio Ocampo- Guzman is particularly excited by the quality of work he has seen among all members of his talented tem (which includes such local stars as Actors Shakespeare Project stand-outs Doug Lockwood and Robert Walsh and New Rep regular Robert Pemberton. “ It is wonderful to make a play with some of the best actors, designers, and staff in Boston and to share it with one of the most demanding and discerning of audiences,” Ocampo-Guzman says.
When asked how he chose the play, Ocampo-Guzman replies, “I wanted to work on ‘ART’ because it is the sort of play I most enjoy: a tightly built story around a single matter… filled with complexity and wit and a chance to play with excellent actors.”
Though he has the reins of the show, so to speak, Ocampo- Guzman is looking forward to working with and learning from his colleagues.
“The thing I find most fascinating about theatre is how actors play the game of not knowing what is going to happen next,” says Ocampo-Guzman (who also directed Pemberton in the acclaimed production of “Frankie & Johnny in the Clair de Lune” at New Rep last season and who has appeared in the ASP company himself), “and playing with the two Bobs and Doug will indeed teach me a great deal.”
With his talented trio in tow, Ocampo-Guzman hopes to bring new life to this already complex and “compelling” play (which he calls “a very funny tragedy and very heartbreaking comedy”) and to give the audience a chance to consider the complexities not only of art, but also of friendship and human relationships.
“Although the catalyst of the story is the acquisition of a controversial piece of art,” Ocampo- Guzman suggests, “I don’t think the play says as much about ‘art’ as it does about ‘friendship’. I want to bring to it my own investigation into my complications with friends and my interest in status struggles in all human relationships.”
