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Department of

Theatre Arts and Performance Studies

The Saint Plays

by Erik Ehn
April 22-25, 2010
Studio Theatre, Sacred Heart Hall


A collection of short plays, contemporary fairy tales for the stage, loosely based on the lives of saints and biblical characters. Including one especially written by Ehn in honor of USD’s esteemed Sister Sally Furay R.S.C.J., Vice President and Provost of the University of San Diego (1972-1996). An avid theatre goer, Sister Sally was the force behind the Alcala Park Players, the club that initiated a theatre presence at USD.

The Saint Plays graphic

April 22, 23, 24 at 7:30 p.m.

April 25 at 2:00 p.m.

Tickets on sale two weeks prior to opening at the Hahn University Center Box Office (619) 260-2727.
Tickets also available one hour before curtain at the Studio Theatre box office.

$11, general admission; $8, students and seniors.

 

Directions to the Studio Theatre in Sacred Heart Hall.

Graphic by Llance Bower

 

MEET ERIK EHN...

Thursday, April 22, 2010
12:30-2:00 pm
Lunch Box Presentation with Erik Ehn
USD Black Box (Camino Hall 131)
No charge.

"Thinking Big:  Generating Socially Conscious Work"

Come prepared for a little bit of participation - perhaps a writing exercise or a bit of improv, moving into an interactive discussion about Erik's program that visits Rwanda, Arts in the One World, his plays (on themes ranging from religion to genocide) and your interests in creating work.  I have included a short bio on Erik below.

"I have worked with Erik for a number of years now, and his workshops always inspire me to pursue my dreams, and help to ignite fires that are sometimes difficult to keep stoked.  I encourage you to take a few moments out of your busy day to get re-charged," says Carrie Klewin.

Thursday, April 22, 2010
5:30 pm
Plenary with Playwright Erik Ehn
“The Saints: Iconic Figures and Why We Need Them”
Location: French Parlor, Founders Hall
Reception follows in the Founders Atrium (THE SAINT PLAYS opens in the Studio Theatre at 7:30pm)
No charge. Co-sponsored with the Center for Catholic Thought and Culture.

Friday, April 23, 2010
Post-show discussion
“Icons: Sacred and Secular”
Location: Studio Theatre immediately following the production
Featured respondent: Susie Babka, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Theology and Religious Studies

Moderator: Monica Stufft, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Theatre Arts and Performance Studies

Our discussion will explore the presence of both sacred and secular icons in The Saint Plays. Ehn has explained that each piece contains “a pattern, a saint and a prayer” where saints are “fountainheads of imagery and of that difficulty that concentrates the imagination” where “characters reach to each other across eras.” We will consider, for example, how John the Baptist exists in the same landscape as Buddy Holly and Elvis on The Saint Plays stage.

ERIK EHN BIO

Erik Ehn is an American playwright <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playwright> and director <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatre_director> known for proposing the Regional Alternative Theatre movement. He is the dean <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_%28education%29> of theater at CalArts <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CalArts> , the California Institute of Arts. His published works include The Saint Plays, Beginner, and 13 Christs. As of fall 2009, he is visiting professor and head of playwriting at Brown University <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_University> .

Ehn is a playwright, educator and theorist of contemporary theater. He recently collaborated with Janie Geiser on Invisible Glass inspired by Edgar Allan Poe <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Allan_Poe> 's short story, "William Wilson <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Wilson_%28short_story%29> ." It premiered at the Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater (REDCAT <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/REDCAT> ) in April 2005.

His play Maria Kizito is based on the 1994 genocide <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genocide> in Rwanda <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rwanda> and is the result of his research in that Central African <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa> country. Its premiere launched Atlanta <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanta> 's 7 Stages 2004-05 season. Ehn's work includes The Saint Plays, an ongoing cycle of plays loosely based on the lives of the saints <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint> and biblical characters. Other plays include Book of Tink <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Tink> , Heavenly Shades of Night are Falling, No Time Like the Present, Wolf at the Door, Tailings, Beginner, Ideas of Good and Evil, 13 Christs and an adaptation <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literary_adaptation> of William Faulkner <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Faulkner> 's The Sound and the Fury <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sound_and_the_Fury> . Additionally, he co-wrote the musical Shiner with Octavio Solis. His dramas have been produced in San Francisco <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco> , Seattle <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle> , Austin <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin,_Texas> , Dallas <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas,_Texas> , New York City <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City> , San Diego <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Diego> , Baltimore <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltimore> , and Chicago <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago> . In 2004, he served as dramaturge <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dramaturge> on Peach Blossom Fan - the inaugural production by CalArts Center for New Theater at REDCAT.

Ehn is co-founder and co-artistic director, alongside Lisa Bielawa, of the Tenderloin Opera Company in San Francisco and also an artistic associate of San Francisco's Theatre of Yugen. He is a co-founder of the RAT movement, an international network of alternative theaters. He was a recipient of the Alpert Award in the Arts in 2002 and the Whiting Writers Award <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whiting_Writers_Award> in 1997.

He is also the founder of an annual conference called "Arts in the One World," which brings together performing artists, scholars, and human rights activists to investigate theater on the subject of genocide <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genocide> and reconciliation <http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/reconciliation> .