Stray Productions Presents Yasmina Reza's Art

originally published March 26, 2008

The Athens theatre scene has expanded over recent years, with many thought-provoking and creative productions. Local theatre group Stray Productions is also committed to bringing modern and contemporary plays with political and social themes to the fore. Their latest effort, Art, was written by Yasmina Reza, a French playwright and novelist, and has been performed in more than 30 languages. An international comedic success, Art wrestles with the subjective nature of all artistic expression and appreciation, and the ways in which rational thought falls short in any effort to explain the abstract. At its core, Art attempts to engage and deconstruct the age-old question, What is art?

The following is a panel discussion among the troupe members themselves, including director Catherine Clayton, and actors Rex Totty, Tom Tanner and Steve Elliot-Gower.

Stray Productions

For background, what have you done recently in theatre around town?

Catherine (Cat) Clayton

Last spring, I directed Stray Productions’ inaugural play, Arrogant Coyotes. Following that, we went into rehearsal for Art, which I directed and toured at The Instant Theatre in Highlands, NC. While in Highlands, I also directed the musical review, My Way: A Tribute to Frank Sinatra, and then took advantage of an acting opportunity in Talley’s Folly at the Highlands Playhouse.

Steve Elliott-Gower

I played a bisexual, psychotic drug kingpin in Arrogant Coyotes. Opportunities to play a bisexual, psychotic drug kingpin don’t come around too often. I also had a cameo role in the film Somebodies which screened at the Cannes and Sundance Film Festivals.

Tom Tanner

Recent projects include roles in Trip to Bountiful, Play It Again Sam and Academia Nuts. I finally got a chance to play a bad guy in Glen Garry Glen Ross. All have been at the community theatre here in Athens. I’ve also designed the sets for Arrogant Coyotes, The Tempest, Suburbia, Play It Again Sam and Three Sisters.

Rex Totty

I wrote Arrogant Coyotes. With the start of rehearsals, I was cajoled by my Stray partners into performing one of the roles. Before that, an opportunity came along to work with Allen Rowell and Bryn Adamson in How I Learned to Drive.

Stray Productions

What motivated the four of you to present this play?

Catherine (Cat) Clayton

In Reza’s earlier play, Conversations After a Burial, and her novel, Desolation, her characters are wrought with angst and pain, and yet the darkness is offset with poignant moments of humor and love. I think Art is as much about the nature of friendship as it is about art, and that resonates with me.

Steve Elliott-Gower

Art has often been described as an actor’s play. That doesn’t mean it’s self-indulgent or that the audience is somehow excluded. What it means, I think, is that it gives actors a wonderful opportunity to explore a range of emotions, to explore from start to finish the dynamics of their character’s relationships. It’s enormous fun for both the actors and the audience.

Tom Tanner

The initial motivation was due to the people involved. I was extremely booked with other projects and was not at all interested in adding something else to my plate, but I felt I had to jump at the opportunity while it was there. Once I read the play I loved the central themes and was amazed how well the script survived translation.

Rex Totty

I wasn’t sure I was a good fit for this play. I was even less sure of how the characters are supposed to work. I suppose that figuring it out is what motivated me. It wasn’t easy. I was originally cast as Serge, while Steve was playing Marc. I became frustrated with the role, and I think maybe Steve was somewhat frustrated with his. So, Cat switched us around and the play immediately began to work better.

Stray Productions

All right, then, how does the play work?

Rex Totty

Well, it’s a play that asks the famous question, “What is art?” I think when people try to talk rationally about art, it’s rather like discussing politics or religion, because if you happen to disagree it might be impossible to know who’s right. And, of course, there’s all the emotional blowback that sometimes comes of it. The difficulty in the play is that three friends are disturbed to find they disagree about a subject - art - upon which much of their friendship depends. The play tells us that rational argument is helpless to make a difference.

Steve Elliott-Gower

I’ve come to love Serge’s defense of modern art even though my own tastes are more traditional. I love the passion with which he defends the painting he has bought even though he is plagued with self-doubt and he longs for his friend’s seal of approval. It’s done with abundant pathos and yet it’s also very funny. Farce is fun, but it’s little in the way of intellectual stimulation. Stray Productions' play selections tend to give that kind of stimulation.

Tom Tanner

I play the part of Ivan, whose occupation is essentially uncreative, and who has been in therapy for six years. His attachment with the other two men, both of them with far greater artistic sensibilities, is his creative outlet. I’m a person with a day job that is highly analytical and straight-laced, so this is a chance to let my creative side out some, and it’s cheaper than therapy.

Catherine (Cat) Clayton

The title tells us the play is about art, and of course that’s the main thing. It deals with three people whose friendship is tested when one of them pays a huge sum of money for a painting of questionable merit. It leads to contrasting themes about intolerance and acceptance; loyalty and betrayal; duplicity and forgiveness.

Stray Productions

What was your first experience with Art and what was your reaction to the play?

Catherine (Cat) Clayton

In 2005, I was the assistant director of a production of Art that played at the University of Georgia’s Museum of Art. I signed on to the project without even having read the play based on raves from friends who had seen productions in New York and London.

Steve Elliott-Gower

I had seen two productions of Art, one of which was in London with Patrick Duffy as Serge, the part I play. I leapt at the opportunity to be in Art because it’s a wonderfully constructed little play, that is both enormously funny and emotionally charged at the same time.

Tom Tanner

My first experience with Art was at our read through. Once again, I accepted Cat’s offer to be in Art sight unseen and based entirely on the fact that it would give me a chance to work with Rex, Steve and Cat. I accepted the part absolutely blindly because I was confident these folks would make something of very high quality.

Rex Totty

I saw a production of Art in Germany and it wasn’t much fun, so I ended up walking out. It’s amazing how a bad performance of a play can shape your opinion about it when you have nothing else to go by. So, I approached the thing with trepidation when Cat and Steve wanted to produce it. Also, I wasn’t sure if a comedy would fit neatly into Stray’s mission. We want to present plays that are intellectually and emotionally powerful, with opportunities to challenge actors for their best work. Turns out, Art is all these things. The themes and the elevated language are sophisticated, but the characters, despite their pretensions, are hilariously down to earth.

Stray Productions

Do you have a goal for the Athens run?

Rex Totty

I very much hope we meet the standard of performance we achieved with Arrogant Coyotes. Many times people told me the acting in Arrogant Coyotes was as fine as they had ever seen in Athens. I hope there will be people who say the same about Art. Excellence in acting is what Stray is all about.

Steve Elliott-Gower

There was an almost spontaneous intensity about the Highlands run that we’ll want to recapture here and take to the next level of excellence.

Tom Tanner

I don’t intend to do anything differently, but I have no doubt that things will be different, that we’ll each bring something slightly different to the table. Every performance is different. That’s what makes theatre a very special and unique experience.

Stray Productions

Having had a successful run in Highlands, why revive the play in Athens?

Steve Elliott-Gower

In a sense, Highlands gave us a chance to workshop the play. We have the opportunity to pull off a very, very good production if we can build upon the Highlands experience.

Catherine (Cat) Clayton

Our run here will show why Stray went away for the summer.

Tom Tanner

I just watched a recording of another Athens production of Art and was surprised at just how different our take on the show was from that one. For those who have seen Art before, this is an ideal opportunity to experience that unique aspect of live theatre in which every show is different. Not necessarily better or worse, just different.

Rex Totty

As a producer for Stray, I had booked the performance space and needed to come up with a show. We considered several others but everyone involved wanted to revive Art. This production is good enough to do again and again, and I suppose we will so long as people come to see it.

Stray Productions

One last question: Why work for Stray? What’s the appeal?

Steve Elliott-Gower

Stray is committed to doing modern and contemporary plays. Some are modern classics, some have contemporary political and social themes, and some are original productions of new works. But all of them have some intellectual heft to them. The Athens theatre scene is expanding and it’s showing us that theatre is a pretty big tent that can accommodate traditional community theatrical fare, musical theatre, crazy participatory theatre, improvisation, and socially-conscious theatre. What’s been missing is a company committed to producing thought-provoking theatre.

Tom Tanner

Stray’s concentration on producing high-quality, intellectually stimulating works fills a niche that is not currently being served by any others in the Athens area, and I think that is a critically important niche to fill.

WHAT: Art (Stray Productions)
WHERE: Quinn Hall at Memorial Park
WHEN: March 28, 29 and April 4, 5 at 8 p.m. (Sunday matinees March 30 and April 6 at 2:30 p.m.)
HOW MUCH: $15