What of the Night? by Maria Irene Fornes
Halcyon Theatre
"I fear for our future. I feel that we are becoming greedy and heartless. . . . When I first came to live in this country [in 1945] I was deeply moved by the spirit of compassion and concern for the underprivileged that I found here. Now I ask myself what has happened to this spirit. In these plays I ask that we give thought to what would happen to our civilization if we don't reverse the course we have taken." ~ María Irene Fornés
Fornes's epic cycle of one-acts spans 70 years of the experience of one American family chasing the promise of prosperity and happiness..Presented as part of Halcyon Theatre's Alcyone Festival, an annual undertaking aimed at combating the under-representation of female playwrights on American stages.
Inspired by the surreal images and strange juxtapositions in Fornes' text, I created striking stage pictures and visual metaphors that addressed the social injustices the play addresses. I coordinated four intertwined stories into an integrated whole to highlight resonances in each of the component plays.
Director: Margo Gray
Lighting Design: Tony Adams
Choreographer: Terri Lopez
Fight Choreographer: Greg Poljacik
Featuring: Mollie Asrat, Jes Bedwinek, Elizabeth Byland, David Fehr, Arch Harmon, Erica Cruz Hernandez, Arvin Jalandoon, Christine Lin, Terri Lopez, Rebecca Mauldin, Julie Mitre, Jon Pernisek, Ruth Schilling, Nick Wagner
Photos by Steve York
Press
"The festival's highlight is What of the Night? (1989), a collection of four masterful one-acts that chart the coarsening effect of greed and dog-eat-dogism on an American family over several decades... Margo Gray's grimy, savagely acted production is pitch-perfect and harrowing." -- Chicago Reader