Thursday, March 6, 1997
Neil Peter Jampolis talks about directing and modernizing UCLA’s
production
of the classic opera ‘The Rake’s Progress’By Vanessa
VanderZanden
Daily Bruin Contributor
ften times, art mirrors reality in ways that other mediums can
only endeavor to replicate. Through the use of humor and wit, music
and visuals, the UCLA production of Stravinsky’s opera "The Rake’s
Progress," which opens this Friday, provides insight into the
destructive world of super-stardom’s hype and fashion.
"We’re in a theater in a gallery, watching an artist play
himself," director Neil Peter Jampolis says. "All of the props and
set pieces which get moved on and off are meant to be designed by
the artist, who is playing the central role."
However, the UCLA graduate student production is a joint effort
between the school of theater, film and television and the music
department. The only contributors not working on degrees are the
crew’s director and conductor. The stagehand and chorus consist
mostly of undergrads who provide the comic relief of the modernized
work. Known as "Gallery Attendants," the eight comedic roles bring
the work to a more contemporary audience.
"I’ve since started calling them ‘PIBS’ in line with the current
slang, People In Black," Jampolis explains. They’re the people in
black who show up at gallery openings and usually have something
pierced. They kind of move things around and watch scenes and
interact with the performers. They do a cross between stagehand,
manager, and performer."
Completely a construction of Jampolis’ own making, the opera
utilizes many techniques not in the original 1951 script. For
instance, the curtain never closes to indicate a scene change,
while performers carry on the necessary props themselves. Though
Jampolis is used to personalizing opera performances, this will be
his first UCLA production.
"I create another world for the opera to take place in,"
Jampolis describes. "The limiting of the world to one space unlocks
something for me as a director and it becomes about making theater
instead of producing a series of tableau. So the art gallery itself
is like constructing a theater in the theater, and once the theater
is constructed, then we do the play in it." Part of this
contemporary view of the classical script requires revamped
costumes. Powdered whigs hearken to the days of the 18th century
which the opera recalls, while Levis and high tops play to the
work’s more contemporary themes. These alterations merely
accentuate the larger meanings at the core of Jampolis’
interpretation.
"In the real script, Tom Rakewell is a ne’er-do-well," Jampolis
explains. "When you see the paintings he’s done in the gallery,
you’ll think that anyway, which is my point. It’s about the
elevation of someone to fame and fortune who is not deserving or
ready to meet those demands. It’s a cautionary tale, what the
result of that might be, which is madness. (It is about) people
being sucked in and believing the hype that grows around them and
forgetting the modest gifts that brought them to that point."
Performed in the opera’s original English, the work’s underlying
messages are fairly easy to grasp. Even the characters’ motivations
and actions make sense, except perhaps of that of the mysterious
bearded lady. Her crucial yet cryptic role baffles audience
members, as her significance is briefly explained in only one
scene. However, her inclusion in the script brings a depth to the
production which other characters lack.
Jampolis clarifies: "The devil arrives and says to Tom, ‘Why are
men not happy?’ ‘Because they’re not free.’ ‘Why are they not
free?’ ‘Because they are everywhere enslaved between the twin
fetters of conscience and duty. Consider this,’ and the devil shows
Tom a picture of this hideous bearded lady. ‘Do you want to be
free? Then you must free yourself of convention. Marry her. Then
you can say to the world, ‘I am not bound by your conventions.
Therefore, I am free. Therefore, I am happy."
Considered by many to be a social commentary on the role of
homosexuals in society, the bearded lady’s part conveys more
compassion than any other character in the work. Two separate
performers enact the character, as is the case with each part,
since each of the opera’s two weekend runs involve separate casts.
Though difficult for Jampolis to direct, his demanding work style
manages to extract all of the talent from each of the show’s 40
performers.
"Many opera directors have it all mapped out so the singer’s
just like a robot, only memorizing point A to point B along with
the music," Jampolis says. "Then you get the semblance of a
performance. But I tell them, ‘Think of what you’re thinking abut
when you’re singing this. Could you possibly sing this passage
while sitting down without betraying the emotion of the
music?’"
Such a straightforward approach to directing stems from
Jampolis’ long-time career as a lighting designer. Even today, he
designs varied combinations of lighting, costumes, and sets along
with his cast direction in his productions in America and abroad.
Through his unique display of classical opera, he sparks a love for
the art even in younger audiences.
"You know, I don’t think any of the actors in the show had ever
been to an opera before, nor did they ever listen to it," Jampolis
reflects. "Through a lot of the first rehearsals, they would be
sitting in the corner with their homework. After a while, I would
start watching them watch the performance, seeing them realize what
a tremendous feat of athleticism singing in an opera is."
THEATER: "The Rake’s Progress" begins Friday at 8:00 p.m. at the
Freud Playhouse, Macgowan Hall and runs until March 15. Tickets are
$6-$12. For more info call (310) 825-2101.
BAHMAN FARADEL
"The Rake’s Progress," a contemporary, modernized production of
the classic opera, opens Friday at the Freud Theatre on
campus.BAHMAN FARAHDEL
Marisa Solomon (l.) and John Klacka in Igor Stravinsky’s opera
"The Rake’s Progress."BAHMAN FARAHDEL
Hae Kyung Hwang plays Anne Truelove in "The Rake’s
Progress."
"I don’t think any of the actors in the show had ever been to an
opera."
Neil P. Jampolis
director