The Cherry Artists’ Collective will present English-language world premiere of A Day online
Who: The Cherry Artists’ Collective
What: English-language world premiere
Where: Livestream from the State Theatre of Ithaca
When: November 13-14, 19-21, $15-$45, 7:30; live Zoom discussion Monday, November 16, free with RSVP, 4:00
Why: While theaters are still closed to audiences, many companies are using their spaces to perform works onstage and stream them live and/or recorded online. I’ve seen Yasmina Reza’s ‘Art’ from the San Francisco Playhouse, Albert Camus’s The Fall from FIAF, and Sarah Kane’s Crave from the Chichester Festival Theatre in England (with a masked audience before the new lockdown was announced). From November 13 to 21, the Ithaca-based Cherry Artists’ Collective will present the English-language world premiere of Québecoise playwright Gabrielle Chapdelaine’s 2018 award-winning A Day (Une journée) from the friendly confines of the State Theatre of Ithaca.
Translated by Josephine George, the ninety-five-minute play covers twenty-four hours in the ordinary life of four mysteriously interconnected characters, portrayed by Karl Gregory, Jahmar Ortiz, Erica Steinhagen, and Sylvie Yntema. The actors will be performing in multicamera green-screen booths at the theater, directed by Wendy Dann, with video mise en scène by Cherry artistic director Samuel Buggeln, mixing live and prerecorded audio and video that features other members of the collective as well. Performances take place November 13-14 and 19-21 at 7:30; tickets are $15 (minimum), $25 (recommended), or $45 (supporter). For a sneak peek, you can check out a short clip from a Zoom rehearsal above. In addition, Chapdelaine and Buggeln will take part in a live Zoom discussion moderated by Mat Fournier on November 16 at 4:00.