Photo Flash: MJTC Presents A REPORT ON THE BANALITY OF LOVE
By: Gabrielle Sierra Feb. 04, 2010
Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company (MJTC) continues its 15th anniversary season with the area premiere production of A Report on the Banality of Love by Mario Diament. Hannah Arendt was a beautiful 18-year old Jewish student at Marburg University when she met Martin Heidegger, her professor of philosophy. Although he was almost twice her age, they had a passionate relationship that spanned half a century. These two brilliant individuals remained inexplicably connected while Heidegger joined the Nazi party and was then later discredited, and Arendt joined the Jewish survival effort and then became one of the most prominent political theorists of the 20th century.
A Report on the Banality of Love will be directed by Anne Byrd. Ms. Byrd is currently on sabbatical from Normandale Community College where she is a faculty member in theatre performance. While on sabbatical, she is working to finish writing a play about women soldiers in the Civil War. Ms. Byrd is the Chair of Region V of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. In this position, she coordinates an annual conference for 1,500 theater students and faculty.
A Report on the Banality of Love will feature two newcomers to MJTC's stage. Dan Hopman is Martin Heidegger. His theater credits include Park Square Theatre (Rock and Roll, Othello, Dracula, Of Mice and Men), Theatre in the Round (The Glass Menagerie), and Pillsbury House Theatre (Steamers). Carolyn Jenson is Hannah Arendt. Her theater credits include Yellow Tree Theatre (The Movie Game), Threshold Theatre Arts Project (Once Upon a Time, Mario's Angel), Theater Hikes (A Midsummer Night's Dream), and Freshwater Theatre Company (Theater of the Damned).
A Report on the Banality of Love opens March 6th and plays through March 28th, 2010 with performances on Saturdays at 8 pm, and Sundays at 2 pm and 7 pm. MJTC is pleased to present a Doorways program at 4 p.m. on every Sunday during the run of A Report on the Banality of Love. Doorways is MJTC's initiative of ongoing programs such as symposia, community forums, post-show discussions, written communications, and work with schoolchildren, all designed to open the door to greater understanding and enjoyment of the plays we present and to deeper insight into the subjects and issues they address.
Doorways programs in conjunction with A Report on the Banality of Love are as follows
The Arendt-Heidegger Connection
Sunday, March 7, 2010
William Myers, Professor of Philosophy, St. Catherine University, will take a closer look at the relationship between Hannah Arendt and Martin Heidegger, as well as how that relationship affected their philosophical work.
Inside A Report on the Banality of Love
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Tad Simons, Mpls/St. Paul Magazine's A+E Editor, will go behind the scenes and discuss with the actors, Dan Hopman and Carolyn Jenson, the making of A Report on the Banality of Love.
What Is This Thing Called Love?
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Phil Oxman, licensed psychologist, will lead a panel in a discussion on love, relationships and society.
Ethics, Love, and Philosophy
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Daniel Groll, Assistant Professor of Philosophy,Carleton College, delves into issues concerning the relationship between love, reason & responsibility.
Tickets for A Report on the Banality of Love are Saturdays $25, Sunday afternoons $22, and Sunday evenings $18. Student rush tickets are $12. Group discounts are available. All performances are at MJTC's theater home, Hillcrest Center, 1978 Ford Parkway, Saint Paul. For ticket reservations call 651-647-4315, Monday through Friday, 9 am - 4:30 pm, or e-mail info@mnjewishtheatre.org.
Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company is a non-profit organization now in its 15th year of presenting professional productions rooted in the Jewish experience and illuminating The Common humanity among us all. The audience for MJTC is almost equally divided between Jews and non-Jews. For further information about MJTC, call 651-647-4315 or visit our website at www.mnjewishtheatre.org. Join our Facebook family at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Saint-Paul-MN/Minnesota-Jewish-Theatre Company/44432069548.
Photo credit: Sarah Whiting
Carolyn Jenson and Dan Hopman
Carolyn Jenson and Dan Hopman
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