Sacramento, CA (1888PressRelease)
July 13, 2007 - Getting a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts is no mean feat. Last year only 15 grants were approved for California arts organizations, including the only Sacramento Valley recipient, Short Center Repertory Theatre, a Sacramento-based theatre company of developmentally-challenged actors.
It is that NEA grant which is funding the world premiere of Gilgamesh, written by Rick Foster and directed by James C. Anderson. The Short Center actors will also be joined by Crom Saunders, a deaf actor from ICEWORM-ASL Theatre and members of STE – Sacramento Theatre Experiment. This modern adaptation plays Fridays, Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm beginning August 3rd and continuing to August 19th at California Stage, 1725 25th St. (25th and R Streets) in midtown Sacramento. Space is limited. For reservations call 916 451 5822. Tickets are $15 for adults; $10 for persons with disabilities, seniors & SARTA members and $5 for children under 12. Performances Saturday, Aug 11th and Sunday, Aug 19th will be ASL interpreted.
This world premiere by Foster is a poetic adaptation of the Babylonian epic poem which is one of the world’s earliest literary works. The mythological King-God, Gilgamesh, is believed to be an historic figure who ruled in what is today Iraq. In Foster’s play, Gilgamesh is an egomaniacal tyrant who goes unchallenged until the gods send the half-wild man, Enkidu, whose animal wisdom and sacrifice guide Gilgamesh towards compassion and acceptance of his mortality.
Foster is not only a playwright and translator of many plays, but also co-founder and artistic director of Duende, a Sonora-based theatre company. Foster is a native Californian who is the author of a cycle of 13 plays based on California history. His plays have garnered many awards including the Bay Area Theater Critics Award for Outstanding New Play (The Heroes of Xochiquipa-1984), three Dean Goodman Choice Award (Vivien – 2001) and a nomination for the 2005/2006 Drama Desk Award in New York for Janis Stevens in Vivien when it played Off-Broadway last year. Foster is the recipient of a 2001 Director's Award from the California Arts Council for his "Immeasurable Contribution to the Field of Playwriting in California."
Anderson is an award-winning actor and director, most recently appearing at California Stage in the bilingual production of Moliere’s Le Medecin Malgre Lui/The Doctor in Spite of Himself. He has performed with numerous regional theatres and Shakespeare Festivals. He teaches Drama at Rudolf Steiner College in Fair Oaks. In 1988 he founded The Short Center Repertory, and has served as Artistic Director since.
The Short Center Repertory has been the recipient of grants from The National Endowment for the Arts, The California Arts Council, and the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission.
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