Baton Rouge Community College Professor of Theatre Arts, Dr. Tony E. Medlin, along with the Baton Rouge Irish Club, will present a one-man performance of the one-act play, Krapp’s Last Tape, on Thursday, April 27 at 1 p.m. in the Magnolia Building’s Black Box Theatre, on the Mid City Campus, 201 Community College Dr.
BRCC Professor of Theatre Arts Dr. Tony Medlin and Play Director Brian Breen
The 1958 play, to be directed by composer and producer Brian Breen of the Baton Rouge Irish Club, was written by Irishman Samuel Beckett. Breen shares Medlin's admiration for Beckett and approached Medlin with a proposal to stage Beckett's highly auto-biographical play at BRCC.
Beckett’s play, Waiting for Godot, is thought to be arguably the most influential play of the 20th century. Precipitated by the impending obliteration of life on earth through an atomic misstep, almost every subsequent theatre piece that came after Godot was affected by his ground-breaking absurdism.
The great clown, Bill Irwin, describes Beckett's language as simultaneously repulsive and fascinating (after 50 years of silent performances, he spoke Beckett's words last year in his acclaimed work, On Beckett. Currently, he is appearing in the Irish Rep's extended run of Beckett's Endgame).
Medlin shares Irwin's obsession with Beckett. He directed a Commedia Dell'arte-inspired production of Waiting for Godot at the Hip Pocket Theatre and played Lucky in the play staged at BRCC. Medlin also previously directed Da, and Outside Mullingar, for the club and participated in numerous readings of James Joyce's works for Bloomsday celebrations (Joyce was Beckett's mentor).
Inspired by Beckett’s Tony award-winning performances that brought clown sensibilities to his roles in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Waiting for Godot, Medlin staged Woolf? at BRCC. Though Beckett has dark overtones, Medlin sees great comic and comedic potential for physical clowning in the portrayal of Beckett's characters. To prepare for the role, Medlin attended clowning workshops with Avner Eisenberg, an internationally acclaimed performer and Master teacher of the craft (Incidentally, Avner taught Medlin to juggle forty years ago. Avner began performing due to the influence of Medlin's mentor, Johnny Simons).
BRCC students and employees are encouraged to attend. Members of the Baton Rouge public are also invited and encouraged to bring non-perishable food items for admission, with all food items donated to the Baton Rouge Community College Food Pantry. Seating is limited.
The Baton Rouge Irish Club will also present four ticketed performances of a dinner theatre production of the play at Cafe Americain restaurant during the last weekend in July.
For additional information about the play, please contact Dr. Tony Medlin at medlint@mybrcc.edu or call 225-362-7640.