The SITI Company will take to the road this fall and present bobrauschenbergamerica, director Anne Bogart and playwright Charles L. Mee Jr.'s exploration of the world of artist Rauschenberg, in Connecticut and Illinois this fall, the performance troupe announced.
The work premiered at the Actors Theatre of Louisville Humana Festival. "Cut, pasted and collaged specifically for the company as only Chuck Mee can do, bobrauschenbergamerica is an examination of our American culture through the eyes of artist Robert Rauschenberg," according to production notes. "SITI takes a wild ride through America with a trucker and his girlfriend, chicken jokes, love affairs, and of course a few surprises that you will have to see to believe."
Mee (Big Love, True Love) was the first playwright presented by the SITI company in September 1992. His Orestes was the project.
Performances of bobrauschenbergamerica play the Rich Forum at the Stamford Performing Arts Center in Stamford, CT, Sept. 20-29; Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana Oct. 5; and the Athenaeum Theatre in Chicago, Oct 17-20. The same company that played Louisville in 2001 will perform on the road.
The New York-based SITI company often draws on theatrical influences and styles from around the world, melding text, images and movement to a new theatrical language seldom explored in the United States. According to company notes, the ensemble-based troupe, founded in 1992, "began as an agreement between Tadashi Suzuki and Anne Bogart to establish a new venture in the United States that would emphasize international cultural exchange and collaboration. SITI believes in a commitment to the power of the theatre as a source of spiritual strength in the contemporary global environment. Originally envisioned as a summer institute in Saratoga Springs, NY, SITI grew quickly into a year-round theatre company based in New York City. Saratoga Springs is now SITI's summer home."
Designers for bobrauschenbergamerica are James Schuette (set and costume), Brian H. Scott (light) and Darron L. West (sound). It's directed by Bogart, written by Mee and created and performed by The SITI Company. The 2001 Louisville company included Kelly Maurer as Bob's Mom, Ellen Lauren as Susan, Akiko Aizawa as Phil's Girl, Leon as Phi the Trucker, J. Ed Araiza as Becker, Will Bond as Allen, Bamey O'Hanlon as Carl and Danyon Davis as Wilson.
For more information, visit www.siti.org.
— By Kenneth Jones
