In the silences and sounds of Samuel Beckett, worlds are revealed.
An evening of short plays by Samuel Beckett, director Marcus Stern (Endgame, Donnie Darko, The Onion Cellar) dives into the labyrinth of human psychology. The actors of the ART Institute Class of 2012 find moments of hope amidst wreckage in the humorous Come and Go, the neurotic Play, and the iconic Not I. Footfalls and the dystopian Rough for Radio II bring us an uncomfortable glimpse of the struggle for power. And in pieces such as Quad and Act Without Words II Beckett’s characters soothe themselves with form and repetition. Through bouts of stillness and bouts of speed, BECKETT SHORTS explores the nature of power, trauma, and the human ability to connect.
Tickets for this production are complimentary; however, an advanced ticketed reservation is required.
NOTE: Unclaimed tickets may become available for sold-out performance on the day of the show. A standby line will be arranged at the venue prior to curtain, starting at 7:00PM the day of the show.
Notable dates
Credits
Creative team
Written by
Samuel Beckett
Directed by
Marcus Stern
Directed by
Marcus Stern
Associate Director of the American Repertory Theater and the A.R.T./ MXAT Institute for Advanced Theater Training, and Head Of Directing for Theater, Dance and Media at Harvard University. His directorial work with the A.R.T. has included The Onion Cellar with The Dresden Dolls, Donnie Darko (adaptor/director/sound designer), Beckett’s Endgame, Adam Rapp's Nocturne, Suzan Lori Parks' The America Play, Adrienne Kennedy's The Ohio State Murders, Büchner's Woyzeck, Sam Shepard's Buried Child, and Christopher Durang’s Marriage of Bette and Boo (also at NYU and Harvard University). A.R.T. Institute: A Bright New Boise, The Flu Season, The 4th Graders Present An Unnamed Love-Suicide, Beckett Shorts: (Not I, Footfalls, Play, Rough For Radio II, Breath, Come and Go), Donnie Darko. Other: Hang Ong's The Chang Fragments and Martin Crimp's The Treatment at The Joseph Papp Public Theater; Fellini's Juliet of the Spirits at Theater Neumarkt in Zurich; Jose Rivera's Marisol at the Actors Theatre of Louisville, Humana Festival; Mac Wellman's Hyacinth Macaw at Primary Stages in New York; Instant Girl's On the Run at Dance Theater Workshop; Mac Wellman's The Land of Fog and Whistles at the Whitney Museum Biennial; Neena Beber's The Living Goddess at The Magic Theater; Erin Cressida Wilson's Cross Dressing in the Depression at Soho Rep; and Quincy Long's Whole Hearted at the Mark Taper Forum's Taper Too in Los Angeles. His adaptations include Fellini's Juliet of the Spirits (Zurich), Phoebe's Got Three Sisters (Cucaracha Theater in New York) and O'Neill's The Great God Brown at NYU and Harvard University. He's currently working with ArtsEmerson on his adaptation of Don Delillo's short story, "Hammer & Sickle" for the stage. Mr. Stern has taught at the Yale School of Drama, New York University, and Columbia University. He currently teaches at Harvard University, Harvard's Extension School, and A.R.T./MXAT Institute for Advanced Theater Training.