by PegNews wire

Using live action, footage from the original film, closed circuit television, and walk through environments.

UTD's theatre department is known for some pretty avant-garde shows, and this week is no exception with their staging of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. The show will run Thursdays through Saturdays at 8:00 & 9:15 p.m. from November 13-22 and performances are free for all.

The show is an adaptation for the stage inspired by the influential, 1920 German Expressionistic film of the same name. Using live action, footage from the original film, closed circuit television, and walk through environments, UTD professor Thomas Riccio has created a performance immersion taking audiences into the world of small German town just after World War I.

As the audience enters the theatre lobby they will find themselves at a traveling fair with Siamese twins, a Bearded Lady, a Half-Man/Half-Woman, Strong Man, Gorilla Girl, Organ Grinder and his Monkey, and a body-less Fortune Teller. Inside the theatre the audience enters into the world of Dr. Caligari who presents Cesare, a man who has been sleepwalking for twenty-three years. Cesare is a hypnotized man who achieves miracles in a stupor and with his utterances spellbinds spectators with pregnant forebodings.

Is the Doctor a harmless carnival act or are his designs more devious? Are audiences watching a harmless show or are they willing victims of Caligariʼs plot? Is Caligari a dangerous madman in the quest for unlimited authority to satisfy a lust for domination ruthlessly violating all human rights and values?

The original film, often considered the first horror film, had a profound effect filmmaking, literature, architecture, and the arts. The filmʼs groundbreaking visual style has influenced film Noir and such filmmakers as David Lynch and Tim Burton. The filmʼs story remains as potent now as it was for its original audiences when it prophesized the rise of Hitler and Nazi Germany. Using the film as an Page 2 inspiration, Riccio seeks to bring the Expressionistic visual style and themes of psychological, political and media exploitation up to date.

The production, described by Riccio as a performance immersion, is equal parts amusement park event, stage production, film, and art exhibit. After Caligariʼs stage act, the audience will be able to move freely through the environment, standing or sitting next to characters, understanding the story and creating their own unique perspective from multiple narrative sources. Those choosing to watch from a more traditional theatre seated perspective may do so, but be warned, none will escape the spell of Caligari! As the performance unfolds the fairʼs frivolity and freedom turns dark and forbidding a series of murders and the maze of Caligariʼs nightmarish hallucinations become increasingly apparent. This horror tale, told in the spirit of E. T. A. Hoffmann, presents an all-pervading atmosphere of highly stylized visual and sensorial delight mixed with horror overflowing with sinister portents, acts of terror and outbursts of panic.

The performance will include an original sound score and video played live—video and disk jockey style—by Frank DuFour, Patrick Murphy, and Hernan Martinez. Multiple Rabin Award winner Jeff Stover did lighting design and special effects. The Dallas Theatre Centerʼs Jennifer Ables did the costume design with Dale Seeds designing sets and environments.

The cast includes Wes Ferguson as Caligari, Luis Midence as Francis, Brad Hennigan as Cesare, and Lori McCarty as Jane. Hennigan and McCarty were last seen in the Project X production of Orange Oranges presented by the FIT Festival 2008.

UPDATED: Here is a little trailer put together for the show:

Posted by Shawn

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