Interrogating the Nude
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The Play"Two 20th Cent geniuses, Marcel Duchamp the artist and Man Ray the photographer, show up in a police station and the ensuing fun begins. This topsy-turvy play has some of the funniest moments in it that I've ever directed." --Jim Tompkins |
U of L’s Theatre Arts Program opens the 2007-2008 Season with Doug Wright’s “Interrogating the Nude” on Sept. 26.
The play will run through Sept. 30 at the Playhouse with performances at 8 p.m. each evening with an additional 3 p.m. matinee Sunday, Sept. 30.
Director James R. Tompkins says “This topsy-turvy play has some of the funniest moments in it that I've ever directed. Two 20th Century geniuses, Marcel Duchamp the artist and Man Ray the photographer, show up in a police station and the ensuing fun begins.”
The play is a tongue-in-cheek reimagining of the uproar surrounding the debut of Marcel Duchamp's work in America. Tompkins says “The New York Armory show scandalized the American public and the art world. Wright’s unusual, witty and elegant play re(de)constructs Duchamp’s Cubist masterpiece, “Nude Descending a Staircase.”
Wright, an award-winning playwright, referred to his work as ''off-the-wall comedies'' when ''Interrogating the Nude,'' was produced in an experimental series of short plays by the Yale Repertory Theater in New Haven in 1989 and 1990.
UofL’s Playhouse, built in 1874 as a chapel, is located between Second and Third streets at Cardinal Avenue on the west edge of Belknap Campus.
Ticket prices are $12 for the general public, $8 for UofL employees, senior citizens and students. Call the box office at (502) 852-6814 for reservations or group ticket prices. Season ticket packages are also available at a savings for the season’s six productions.
(Advisory – the play contains strong language and brief male nudity)
The Players
Will Gantt (Marcel Duchamp), Mobile, AL, is a sophomore Theatre Arts major. This is his debut mainstage performance at UofL. Past credits in Studio Theatre include Robert in Dentity Crisis, Roy in Lonestar, and Jimmy in Bringing It All Back Home.
James Isaac (Man Ray), Louisville, KY, is a junior Theatre Arts major. Past credits include various characters in Refractions, Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet, Florizel in The Winter’s Tale, and the Studio Theatre productions of Scoop Dreams and Party Play Cycle. He is a member of the improvisation troupe, The Indicators, and has been active in Studio Theatre productions. Outside of UofL he has performed in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Robert and Elizabeth, The Impossible Years, Carousel, and Tartuffe, among others.
Doug James (The Inspector), LaFollette, TN, is a third-year MFA student in Performance. He earned his BA in Theatre at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. Past credits at UofL include Officer Barrel in Urinetown, Friar Lawrence in Romeo and Juliet, Autolycus in The Winter’s Tale, Roy Bryant in The Face of Emmett Till, Stage Manager for A Doll House, and fight choreographer for As Bees in Honey Drown. Past credits elsewhere include the Principal in Footloose at Riverstage, Andrew Carnes in Oklahoma!, Jack in Sing Down the Moon, Pozzo in Waiting for Godot, and “C” in Cut. Directing credits include The Most Massive Woman Wins, Time Flies, How I Learned to Drive, For Whom the Southern Bell Tolls, The Stonewater Rapture, and Phillip Glass Buys a Loaf of Bread. This is his thesis performance.
Neil Mulac (Rose) Louisville, KY, is a first-year graduate student in English. Past credit at UofL include Ramon in All in the Timing, Whitney in The Stonewater Rapture, Cletis in Lonestar, and Oracle in Rich Orloff’s Oedipus Rex. Directing credits for Studio Theatre include The Lesson, Playwriting 101, and Arabian Nights. He has also acted in the independent films Love Sick, American Hate, and Scoop Dreams and is a member of The Indicators improv troupe.
Justin Rich (Distinguished Gentleman, Constable Publick), Sellersburg, IN, is a freshman. This is his debut performance at UofL. Past credits elsewhere include Romeo in Romeo and Rosalyn, Jesus in Godspell, Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Charlie Brown in You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown at Silver Creek High School. He was recently named the winner of the 2007 Indiana State Monologue competition.
Erik Anthony DeCicco (Assistant Director), Jacksonville, FL, is a third-year MFA student in Performance and a member of the Repertory Company. He earned his BA in English and a BFA in Performance at Jacksonville University. Past credits at UofL include Bobby Strong in Urinetown, Dr. Bradman in Blithe Spirit, Daniel in Night Sky, and Kaden in As Bees in Honey Drown. He most recently performed as Skip Snip in Little Shop of Horrors at Riverstage in Jeffersonville, IN and he directed the Studio Theatre production of Lonestar.
Michael F. Hottois (Scenic & Lighting Design) has recently designed scenery for My Secret Language of Wishes, Refractions, Blithe Spirit, The Winter’s Tale, In the Blood, A Doll House, The Face of Emmett Till, Night Sky, Home, School Play, & The Threepenny Opera. Last summer he designed The King & I and The Music Man and this summer he did Ain’t
Misbehavin’ and Always, Patsy Cline for the Merry-Go-Round Playhouse in New York. His credits as a scenic artist include the films Boris and Natasha and Closetland, as well as Soul of the Game for HBO. Michael is also a member of United Scenic Artists Union, Local 829.
Megan Myers McKinney (costume design) is a third-year MFA student in Design. She earned her BA in Theatre at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She also received training as a scenic artist at Cobalt Studios in White Lake, N.Y. Past scenic design credits include As Bees in Honey Drown and Romeo and Juliet. This production is Megan's first costume design at U of L.
Jaycee Padilla (Stage Manager), Radcliff, KY, is a senior English and Theatre Arts major. She most recently performed as Little Becky Two-Shoes and Mrs. Millenium in Urinetown. Past stage managing credits include Blithe Spirit, My Secret Language of Wishes, and Laundry and Bourbon. Past stage managing credits at Hardin County Playhouse include Harvey, Cemetery Club, Crimes of the Heart, and Unexpected Guest. She also performed in several productions at the Hardin County Playhouse and Elizabethtown Community College.
Jessi Eichberger (Assistant Stage Manager), Louisville, KY, is a sophomore Fine Arts and Theatre Arts major. Last season she worked as a member of the costume crew for Urinetown and set crew for Blithe Spirit. She has also worked various crew positions at Walden School. As an artist, she has painted murals for Walden High School and the Louisville Nature Center and is currently painting a mural at the Temple Shalom.
The Director
James Tompkins is associate professor of Theatre Arts at the University of Louisville. He received his BA from Lake Forest College and his MA from the University of Washington. He received a two year French Government Grant which earned him the coveted "Diplome" from the Ecole Jacques LeCoq. His first teaching assignment was at the Academy of Dramatic Art, started by John Fernald, while he acted professionally at MeadowBrook Theatre. At the invitation of The British Government he taught in London, England at the leading theatre schools: The Webber Douglas Academy; The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art; The Central School of Speech and Drama; Arts Educational; The City Literary Institute and; The Drama Studio of London. Returning to the U.S. he taught at The Ohio State University.
Professional acting credits include: Stage One: the Louisville Children's' Theatre; The Oregon Shakespeare Festival; A Contemporary Theatre in Seattle and; Provincetown Playhouse on the Wharf. He has choreographed for the Louisville Ballet Apprentices, The Kentucky Opera and other companies in the area. For The Kentucky Shakespeare Festival he has directed and written his own Commedia plays. For the Louisville Repertory Company he has directed, choreographed fights and coached movement. Most recently he performed the role of the "Beggar" in The Beggar's Opera for the UofL Opera Program.
He has served extensively on the Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs, the third largest state arts funding council in the U.S. In the summer of '05 he served as the Arts Representative on a U.S. State Department peace mission to India Pakistan and Bangladesh. Other international teaching credentials include The National School of Drama in India and most recently The National Academy of Performing Arts and the National College of Arts in Pakistan. The national winner of the English Speaking Union Kentucky State Shakespeare Competition Senior Division was chosen while he served as a judge this last spring.
The Stage
The UofL Playhouse
1911 S. 3rd Street
Louisville , KY 40208
Built in 1874, the current Playhouse originally served as a small, interdenominational chapel for a local orphanage. In 1923, the University of Louisville acquired the land on which the chapel stood, converted the structure into a theatre, and designated it a "temporary building" for use until a permanent theatre could be erected.
In 1977, the Playhouse was dismantled to make room for the construction of the William F. Ekstrom Library and Learning Resources Center. The building was systematically taken apart and safely put into storage.
Rebuilt in 1980 on the traffic island between 2nd and 3rd streets at Cardinal Ave., the Playhouse was expanded to include a basement and full-working scene shop. It is also the location of the offices of the Technical Director and Scene Shop Foreman.
The Playhouse is located on the corner of Cardinal Blvd. & 3rd Street. Metered street parking is available along 3rd Street and Cardinal Blvd. Free parking in the university parking lots located on 3rd St. is free after 7:30 p.m. weekdays and all day on weekends.
Click here for Map
The Ticket
Box Office
HPES / Studio Arts Building
Corner of Floyd and Warnock Streets
Office Hours
Monday - Friday
10am - 3pm
(502) 852-6814
Ticket Price
General Public - $12
Students - $8
Senior Citizens - $8
U of L Faculty/Staff - $8
Season Tickets - $35.00-$50.00 (Order Form) [DOC]
Additional Information
To make ticket reservations, please contact the Box Office Manager, Debbie Hudson, at 852-6814. Accepted methods of payment include Visa & Mastercard.