Starring RIFC member, Mark Carter.
Cranston, RI – The Artists' Exchange is pleased to welcome audiences to The Black Box Theatre for a psychedelically satirical theatre experience. A modern adaptation of Aristophanes' "The Clouds," a classic Greek comedy, will take the stage on September 11 with a flower-powered storm of philosophical probing.
Rich Morra, Artistic Director of The Artists' Exchange's Black Box Theatre, elected this fall's production as an opportunity to introduce his students to the study of classical theatre, while offering a modernized version of an age-old story to the theatre-going public.
Aristophanes' "The Clouds" centers around an old farmer, Strepsiades, a man from humble beginnings who bemoans the very costly horse-racing hobby of his son Pheidippides, which has left him penniless. In an effort to overcome this financial burden, Strepsiades enrolls his son in the Pondertorium, a school where Socrates teaches, and where Strepsiades hopes his son will learn the art of verbal argument to talk his way out of the debt he has accrued. As the conflict rises, a chorus of women, referred to as "the clouds" serve as moral guides to Strepsiades, giving and withholding rain as a consequence of his choices. What ensues is a satire of academia, poking fun at intellectualism and the beginnings of modern thought.
Morra saw immediate parallels between this clash of old and new school ideas and the conflict brought about by the revolution of the 1960's. For this reason, he decided to claim the decade of free love and free thinking as the setting of the play. Hippie attire and the melodies of popular songs of the 60's add a colorful backdrop to a theme that pervades history: new thinking often frightens people.
"The Clouds" will run September 11-13 and 18-20. All performances are scheduled for 7pm. Tickets are $15. For additional information or to make a reservation, please contact Christina Mealey at 401.490.9475.
(This is not a RIFC Production)