The Cavalier daily :: Friday, April 27, 1973 :: University of Virginia Library

"This represents, of its
kind, the best kind of work
that is being done in the
country," said Mr. George
Black, director of the Virginia
Player's production of Ben
Jonson's "Volpone." The
Player's production was
selected as one of the ten best
plays in the nation at the
Southeastern Regional
Festival in Greensboro this
past January.

Over 300 play productions
were entered nationally, and
the ten plays selected will
be presented at the Kennedy
Center this weekend, April
28-29. Following the
productions, ceremonies will
be held awarding medals to
individual actors and plaques
to the colleges and
universities.

This sounds rather like the
culmination of fierce
competition, yet as Mr. Black
observes, "They try to play
down the competitive angle,
mainly because it is difficult
to compare oranges and
apples, and find out which is
better." "Oranges and
apples" testify to the amazing
variety of plays offered at the
festivals: musicals, comedies,
tragedies, old plays, new
plays, and etc.

Concerning the choice of
"Volpone," Mr. Black said
only that, "We determined to
enter the first show of our
season." If "Volpone" can be
categorized, Mr. Black
contended, "It is a satire.

"It [the play] is very close
in feeling to what we think of
as being black comedy in a
modern sense, or a grotesque
comedy." The play is
Elizabethan, but intended for
"a little more selective,
erudite audience."

Criteria for evaluating the
plays, as Mr. Black notes, is
that "Judges are simply
looking for overall excellence.
The entries are so broad and
diverse that there is no other
way they could possibly
judge."

Allen Schneider, one of
the world's foremost
directors who has directed all
of Edward albee's original
productions, including
"Who's Afraid Of Virginia
Woolf," was one of the judges
at the regional at Greensboro.
Mr. Black proudly remarked
"He was immensely taken
with the production.

"As a matter of fact, he
said a lot of extravagant
things about it, including the
fact that it rekindled his faith
in the American theater."

The ten plays that will be
performed at the Kennedy
Center are the best that college
theatrics has to offer.

"We have already won an
award by virtue of playing
there," claimed Mr. Black.
"The rest is just frosting on
the cake."

There are always problems
in production, and according
to Mr. Black, "What might be
the greatest asset to the show
is also potentially its greatest
liability. In this case it was
the fact that we chose a very
unorthodox and innovative
approach to an old chestnut."

The Players' version of
"Volpone" was done from a
"perspective of our own
time." Mr. Black said, "We
are doing it as if it were a
modern show."

Third-year Player Mark
Hatton sees the focus of the
production as "that of a new,
fresh play. We've used the
whole realm of theatrical
invention."

"We Chose A Very Unorthodox And Innovative Approach To An Old Chestnut."

The play has not really
been modernized, but rather
it is a "mixed bag of things,"
as Mark puts it. The
production draws on the
clever device and richness of
at least three centuries of
theatric experience history.

Mark was chosen the best
actor out of 100 of his peers
at the regional festival.
Having received a scholarship
for this achievement, Hatton
will compete with the "best
actors" of the other regions
for further awards at the
Kennedy Center this
weekend.

One wonders if
competition affects acting.
"The competition angle was
de-emphasized at
Greensboro," Mark observed.
"It was more exposition. I
hadn't really thought that
much about it as far as
competition goes."

Playing the Kennedy
Center this weekend
represents a tremendous
achievement for the Players,
and Mark assured, "We're all
very happy. This is a great
honor for the department,
especially since this is the first
time they have entered."

The quality of the
production of "Volpone" is
not to be taken lightly. As
Mr. Black so aptly puts it,
"We have gotten to the top
and that's it."

(A preview of "Volpone"
will be presented tonight at 8
in Minor Hall. Tickets are
$2.50, and $1.50 for
students; reservations can be
made through the box
office.–Ed.)