What we’re about
This is an online movie and play discussion group. While participants usually watch the film before attending the discussion, you are welcome to come if you haven't yet.
READING THE PLAY IS OPTIONAL, although doing so will increase your appreciation for the film and knowledge of theater history.
From its inception, cinema has relied on theater as a primary source of material. So why is the relationship between live theater and film so vexed? Calling a film “stagy” is always a criticism. But what are the various techniques of adaptation? Which films radically rework a play to make it more “cinematic”? Which films commit to theater’s spatial boundaries and emphasis on the spoken word? These are some of the questions we ask.
We look at every style of theater and film, from the most accessible to the most challenging, as well as musicals and opera. We sometimes watch recordings of live performances too.
Fans of theater, film, literature, history—as well as actors, directors, playwrights, screenwriters and filmmakers—will find there’s a lot to learn by looking at the theater to film transformation.
Upcoming events
2
•OnlineSamuel Beckett’s dystopian shocker WHAT WHERE (1983 play/2000 film, 12 mins.)
OnlineJust in time for a happy new year!
"In Beckett’s final--and very brief--play, the 'last five' haunt a shadowy and constrained world. A voice emanating from a loudspeaker controls and directs the cycles of interrogation and torture between the characters. He demands the extraction of information, the 'what' and 'where' of some unknown thing or event. The methods keep shifting, however, making a confession increasingly difficult to elicit. Or are we only hearing the voices inside one man’s head?”
Because the play is so short and cryptic, this meeting will be more interactive, as we will try to unlock the story of this challenging text together.
The Film:
WHAT WHERE (2000)
Directed by Damien O’Donnell
Based on the 1983 play by Samuel Beckett
With Sean McGinley and Gary Lewis
12 mins.
Available to stream at youtu.be/3Ibv2o2iQXU?si=d37IAuqKO3vwGGIa or youtu.be/urD_vuA6syE?si=AFcW3aYNZS0Ca-4j
The Play:
WHAT WHERE
By Samuel Beckett
First performed in 1983
archive.org/details/collectedshorter0000beck/page/306/mode/2up (Pages 309 to 316 only)4 attendees
Past events
115
