Adapting the Classics – Peter Brook’s thoughts

Red Tape Theatre’s adaptation of Dog in a Manger takes the plot and central characters from Lope de Vega’s play and weaves them into a script with several new surprises. On Saturday, October 11 at 4:30 p.m., I’ll be hosting a special panel of Chicago artists who’ve put their own spin on classical works. The panelists for Adapting the Classics include:

• Libby Ford, Associate Artistic Director of Greasy Joan Theatre Company
• Tony Lewis, Artistic Director of Midtangent Productions
• Katie McLean, Artistic Ensemble Member at Lifeline Theatre Company
• Blake Montgomery, Artistic Director of The Building Stage

I’ll be posting a series of blogs about their recent productions this month, but first I thought I’d share a quote from a recent article about director Peter Brook.

“He [Brook] thinks that the writer’s words are always sancrosanct, but that the stage directions can legitimately be modified. ‘The two things come from different sources,’ he argues controversially." *

Some of our panelists created their own texts while others found ways to update the plays without changing a word. We look forward to hearing our panelists thoughts on this process!

Paul G. Miller
Season Dramaturge


* The full Peter Brooke article was published in The Independent, September 5, 2008 and can be read here: http://tinyurl.com/65doyd

Dog in a Manger runs October 6-26.
Visit http://www.redtapetheatre.com/ for details and to purchase tickets online!