short report on Partch _Oedipus_

Well, I just got back from the production in Montclair New Jersey on
the chartered bus during a pretty much driving rain through most of
the evening.

The Drummond Partch Oedipus production was spectacular.

In fact, for *my* taste, perhaps it was a bit *too* spectacular.

I sat right up in front near the Partch instruments, so I could see
them quite well but, quite frankly, I don't like having them
relegated to "pit" instruments. They are too interesting visually.

Additionally, there was *everything* going on visually. There was a
scrim that was up for the *entire* production, and on it were
continuous movie martial images of Nazi Germany and who knows what
else... moving columns, and a *second* rear projection on the scrim
featuring Egyptian gods, and lots of other stuff.

Besides this, there were the actual actors behind the scrim, and they
were illuminated from time to time, depending on what was going on,
as they were speaking or singing.

So this was exciting, I guess, but a bit of a "sensory overload."

I'm not always great on plots, but I asked my wife to explain to me
the relationship of the Oedipus plot to Nazi Germany.... maybe we're
thinking "The Producers" here... dunno. All she could come up with
was that Oedipus was one of the "bad guys"... etc., hence the
parallel. And these images went on throughout most of the production!

It was fun to see all this mish-mash, but it really didn't feature
the beautiful Partch instruments the way I hoped. The brilliant
designer of the program notes didn't help either by designing a light
and small font that was virtually illegible in the low lights of the
theatre, as well as omitting the *plot* of the Oedipus tragedy. Ok,
ok, I read it in *high school* but, believe me, I've been out of high
school for some time now...

I would have liked to have seen the *reverse* of this presentation:
the Partch instruments ONSTAGE in good lighting, so we could see them
performed... and maybe just a STAGED READING with fairly minimal
activity by actors down below.

Let's make PARTCH and the INSTRUMENTS the focus of all this, not all
this extraneous (but, I guess fun) razamatazzzzz.

My take, anyway...

Joseph Pehrson

i don't know anything about the original staging of this play, but when i saw U.S. Highball, it was the instruments and the visual pattern made by the players playing that really made me realize that there was a whole direction that remained to be explored .
I am not sure we can say that Oedipus was a bad guy as much as he was a product of fate. a fate, like the rest of us, one from which we may not escape. or at least that is how the greeks saw things ( you get this same play on fate in War and Peace too) , especially in the essay sections of the book.
Gide wrote a very good version of such as he did with Persephone which stravinsky set music too. It appears igor completely missed the point of Gide version. His version of theseus and the monitor is also quite a brilliant revision.

Joseph Pehrson wrote:

>Well, I just got back from the production in Montclair New Jersey on >the chartered bus during a pretty much driving rain through most of >the evening.
>
>The Drummond Partch Oedipus production was spectacular.
>
>In fact, for *my* taste, perhaps it was a bit *too* spectacular.
>
>I sat right up in front near the Partch instruments, so I could see >them quite well but, quite frankly, I don't like having them >relegated to "pit" instruments. They are too interesting visually.
>
>Additionally, there was *everything* going on visually. There was a >scrim that was up for the *entire* production, and on it were >continuous movie martial images of Nazi Germany and who knows what >else... moving columns, and a *second* rear projection on the scrim >featuring Egyptian gods, and lots of other stuff.
>
>Besides this, there were the actual actors behind the scrim, and they >were illuminated from time to time, depending on what was going on, >as they were speaking or singing.
>
>So this was exciting, I guess, but a bit of a "sensory overload."
>
>I'm not always great on plots, but I asked my wife to explain to me >the relationship of the Oedipus plot to Nazi Germany.... maybe we're >thinking "The Producers" here... dunno. All she could come up with >was that Oedipus was one of the "bad guys"... etc., hence the >parallel. And these images went on throughout most of the production!
>
>It was fun to see all this mish-mash, but it really didn't feature >the beautiful Partch instruments the way I hoped. The brilliant >designer of the program notes didn't help either by designing a light >and small font that was virtually illegible in the low lights of the >theatre, as well as omitting the *plot* of the Oedipus tragedy. Ok, >ok, I read it in *high school* but, believe me, I've been out of high >school for some time now...
>
>I would have liked to have seen the *reverse* of this presentation:
>the Partch instruments ONSTAGE in good lighting, so we could see them >performed... and maybe just a STAGED READING with fairly minimal >activity by actors down below.
>
>Let's make PARTCH and the INSTRUMENTS the focus of all this, not all >this extraneous (but, I guess fun) razamatazzzzz.
>
>My take, anyway...
>
>Joseph Pehrson
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> >Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
> >
>
>
>
> >

--
Kraig Grady
North American Embassy of Anaphoria Island <http://anaphoria.com/>
The Wandering Medicine Show
KXLU <http://www.kxlu.com/main.html> 88.9 FM Wed 8-9 pm Los Angeles

I was thinking that if Dean Drummond wanted to get "fancy-pantsy,"
why didn't he use a whole army of real-time video and projections of
the *instruments* and the *performers* and have this s**t all over
the auditorium, rather than all these extraneous images?

I only get to see the Partch instruments played every few years, and
I would *love* to see them the center of attention...

I was thinking about this later, and it occurred to me that maybe
Drummond is *used* to having the instruments around and playing them,
seeing them, so putting them in the pit is no big deal to him.

But for the rest of us who don't live and work near Montclair State,
the instruments are in Partch's book, and that's about it.

They are the visual extravaganza in themselves.

I agree with Kraig that the parallel between Oedipus and Germany
doesn't seem to make sense. Oedipus was doomed, but not by his own
doing. I'm not an authority on myths and such like as Kraig is, but
that seems to make sense to me...

J. Pehrson

--- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, Kraig Grady <kraiggrady@a...>
wrote:
> i don't know anything about the original staging of this play, but
when
> i saw U.S. Highball, it was the instruments and the visual pattern
made
> by the players playing that really made me realize that there was a
> whole direction that remained to be explored .
>
> I am not sure we can say that Oedipus was a bad guy as much as he
was a
> product of fate. a fate, like the rest of us, one from which we may
not
> escape. or at least that is how the greeks saw things ( you get
this
> same play on fate in War and Peace too) , especially in the essay
> sections of the book.
> Gide wrote a very good version of such as he did with Persephone
which
> stravinsky set music too. It appears igor completely missed the
point of
> Gide version. His version of theseus and the monitor is also quite
a
> brilliant revision.
>
> Joseph Pehrson wrote:
>
> >Well, I just got back from the production in Montclair New Jersey
on
> >the chartered bus during a pretty much driving rain through most
of
> >the evening.
> >
> >The Drummond Partch Oedipus production was spectacular.
> >
> >In fact, for *my* taste, perhaps it was a bit *too* spectacular.
> >
> >I sat right up in front near the Partch instruments, so I could
see
> >them quite well but, quite frankly, I don't like having them
> >relegated to "pit" instruments. They are too interesting visually.
> >
> >Additionally, there was *everything* going on visually. There was
a
> >scrim that was up for the *entire* production, and on it were
> >continuous movie martial images of Nazi Germany and who knows what
> >else... moving columns, and a *second* rear projection on the
scrim
> >featuring Egyptian gods, and lots of other stuff.
> >
> >Besides this, there were the actual actors behind the scrim, and
they
> >were illuminated from time to time, depending on what was going
on,
> >as they were speaking or singing.
> >
> >So this was exciting, I guess, but a bit of a "sensory overload."
> >
> >I'm not always great on plots, but I asked my wife to explain to
me
> >the relationship of the Oedipus plot to Nazi Germany.... maybe
we're
> >thinking "The Producers" here... dunno. All she could come up
with
> >was that Oedipus was one of the "bad guys"... etc., hence the
> >parallel. And these images went on throughout most of the
production!
> >
> >It was fun to see all this mish-mash, but it really didn't feature
> >the beautiful Partch instruments the way I hoped. The brilliant
> >designer of the program notes didn't help either by designing a
light
> >and small font that was virtually illegible in the low lights of
the
> >theatre, as well as omitting the *plot* of the Oedipus tragedy.
Ok,
> >ok, I read it in *high school* but, believe me, I've been out of
high
> >school for some time now...
> >
> >I would have liked to have seen the *reverse* of this presentation:
> >the Partch instruments ONSTAGE in good lighting, so we could see
them
> >performed... and maybe just a STAGED READING with fairly minimal
> >activity by actors down below.
> >
> >Let's make PARTCH and the INSTRUMENTS the focus of all this, not
all
> >this extraneous (but, I guess fun) razamatazzzzz.
> >
> >My take, anyway...
> >
> >Joseph Pehrson
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >Yahoo! Groups Links
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
> --
> Kraig Grady
> North American Embassy of Anaphoria Island <http://anaphoria.com/>
> The Wandering Medicine Show
> KXLU <http://www.kxlu.com/main.html> 88.9 FM Wed 8-9 pm Los Angeles