|
By Beth E. Concepción Media and performing arts professor Karla Knudsen wants to get one thing straight: “Waiting for Godot” is pronounced with the emphasis on the first syllable of “Godot” (as in GOD-oh) as opposed to the typical emphasis on the second syllable (as in go-DOH). Knudsen, who is directing the Savannah College of Art and Design’s upcoming production, said this is correct according to various sources, including playwright Samuel Beckett himself. She pointed to interviews with Beckett, who died in 1989, where he accused Americans of pronouncing it wrong. “Somebody in America pronounced it wrong and it just took off,” she said. The correct pronunciation was confirmed when the SCAD cast met Walter Asmus, Beckett’s right-hand man, at 7 Stages in Atlanta when that theater company performed the play March 4 - April 4. Asmus first met Beckett in 1974 when he assisted the playwright on his directorial debut of the play at the Schiller Theatre in Berlin. “Plus, it just limps with the other pronunciation and cadence is very important,” she said. “We’re trying to reproduce the play with as much integrity as what Beckett himself might have done.” In addition to pronunciation controversy, “Waiting for Godot” is a notoriously difficult production as nothing really happens. Two tramps — Estragon and Vladimir — wait by a sad little tree for the arrival of Mr. Godot. They pass the time in various ways, including fighting, making up, considering suicide, attempting to sleep, eating carrots and chewing on chicken bones. There are two other main characters in the play — Pozzo and Lucky — who are master and slave and act out a rather disturbing scene. Later, a boy arrives to say that Mr. Godot “won’t come this evening but surely tomorrow.” Considered an existential masterpiece, numerous theories abound concerning the interpretations of the characters, including that Estragon and Vladimir are Everyman and his conscience (www.theatrehistory.com) and that Godot is God (hence the more appropriate pronunciation). “Waiting for Godot” was the Irish writer’s first play, and was written in French in 1949 and translated into English in 1954. It was first performed in Paris Jan. 5, 1953. “I have a great respect for Beckett’s genius,” Knudsen said. “He can finesse that line between comedy and tragedy so beautifully and so simply. He strips the situation down to its very motor.” Knudsen said that she hopes audience members will be touched by the production. “Your life can be changed by very little going on,” she said. “You can find yourself in this play very easily if it is done right, and I hope we’ve done this right.” Media and performing arts senior Jonathan Case plays Vladimir and said that he and the rest of the small cast have met outside rehearsal to work on their characters to make them accessible to the audience. “You always have to consider the audience,” he said. “The struggle is to maintain the sense of desolation and isolation while keeping the audience involved through the characters’ interactions with each other, which is the most important aspect of the play.” Whatever they have been doing, Knudsen said it is working. “I cannot gush enough,” she said. “This cast has probably been the most professional student cast I’ve worked with in terms of respect for their craft. They never stop working and never stop loving the work.” The cast also consists of Ross Travis as Estragon, Jamald Gardner as Pozzo, Ryan McCurdy as Lucky and Nathaniel Washington from DeRenne Middle School as the boy. Stephen White is the understudy. “It [the process] has confirmed my respect for finding rhythms between characters and the importance of maintaining technical precision while at the same time keeping yourself open to play. That’s the main challenge,” Case said. Case stresses that where the play may seem bleak, audience members should look for more. “I hope that they will take away a sense of hope that even in the most desolate periods of our lives, those people who are close to us can pull us through under any circumstances,” he said. “I know full well that some people are going to hate it and some people are going to love it,” Knudsen said. “That’s the challenge and that’s what I love about it.” “Waiting for Godot” is onstage through May 9 at the Afifi Amphitheater, 324 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. All shows are at 8 p.m. General admission tickets are $10 for the general public, $5 for seniors and students, and free with a valid SCAD ID. Charge by phone at 525-5050 or purchase tickets at the SCAD box office, 216 E. Broughton St., Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tickets may also be purchased at the door. The box office opens one hour prior to the performance. |
 |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
