Final preparations are underway for an innovative performance of The Tempest
Over 50 students are adding their creativity, joy and talent to the production.
Posted on October 23, 2023 by Sandra Huffman
A cast of 19 students is busy rehearsing for the Sweet Briar Theatre production of William Shakespeare’s play The Tempest that will run October 26-29, 2023. Directed by Robert Quillen Camp, Assistant Professor of Theatre, the show is an innovative production that incorporates live video and manipulated visuals, inspired by the large canvases of Pop Art, to consider the spells cast by the manipulation of images and the possibilities and dangers of everyday magic.
Camp said, “The idea for this production is to use lots of live video—we have three live video feeds—to create an illusory world that combines the magical island of Shakespeare’s Tempest with the imagery of Andy Warhol’s Silver Factory, where he pioneered a kind of image-for-image’s-sake filmmaking.”
William Shakespeare’s final solo-authored work, The Tempest, is a tale of revenge, ridiculous comedy, and a burgeoning romance. In the story, Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan, conjures a storm to bring his enemies onto the remote island where he lives with his daughter Miranda, the airy spirit Ariel, and Caliban, the “monster” whom he keeps in servitude. In the ensuing chaos, he attempts to restore his family to Milan by fostering a romance between his daughter and Ferdinand, the Prince of Naples, while using his magic to seek vengeance against those who betrayed and exiled him.
According to Camp, The Tempest is both a celebration of theatrical illusion and a cautionary tale about its power. The story takes as its subject human creative force—its magic and its art—and explores the limits of the writer’s own capacities.
“We’re stretching ourselves with this show and trying to do something that’s technically and artistically innovative,” said Camp. “That has meant a lot of hard work from students on and offstage, and it’s been a real pleasure to see all the creativity, joy, and talent that they have put into the play. Come see it!”
Tickets are available at https://sweetbriar.ticketleap.com/tempest/.
