The Songs of Robert
The Songs of Robert
by John Crutchfield
11 - 21 September 2008
Thursdays - Saturdays at 7:30, Sundays at 2:00
All tickets $15
AWARD-WINNING LOCAL PLAYWRIGHT TO PRESENT SHOW AT NC STAGECorpus Theatre Collective is proud to present John Crutchfield’s successful one-man show The Songs of Robert in its Asheville premiere, at North Carolina Stage Company. The play will open September 11th and run through the 21st, as part of the Catalyst Series.
The Songs of Robert combines original poetry, choreography, live music, and a menagerie of unforgettable characters, to tell the story of Robert, a high school boy growing up in a small Southern Appalachian town. In addition to the usual perils of high school –– insane Guidance Counselors, sadistic Assistant Principals, and megalomaniacal Class Poets –– Robert is also caught up in the surreal world of being in love for the first time. As he struggles to make sense of his emotions, he finds help from a mysterious pair of wandering street-musicians: Ol’ Preacha’ and his punk side-kick, Monique.
Crutchfield plays a dozen different characters, evoking images that run the gambit from Willie Nelson to James Joyce; and performs songs ranging from old time traditionals to delta blues – all of it with a mischievous vaudeville twist. “The play has a long history,” Crutchfield says. “It began as a collection of odd little poems, and has evolved into an odd little play. A lot of people have worked with me on this material over the years, and it has continued to change, sometimes radically, with each new production. I’ve felt for a long time, though, that the essence of the play would be best embodied by a single performer. I’m excited by the chance to try this idea out.”
That concept involves a presentational style, which means changing costumes onstage, creating all of the music live, and relying mostly on the performer’s physicality to create the imaginative world of the play. “I wanted to get back to the basics of theatre: no bells and whistles, just a highly energized performance with intensified language and dynamic movement. And to add to the 'grassroots' feel of the show, I’ve used only found objects for the costumes and set: donated clothes, dumpster-dive furniture, and a shopping cart I found beside Swannanoa River Road––apparently left there by the flood back in 2004.”
Crutchfield, currently a professor at Warren-Wilson College, has been widely published as a poet, essayist, and translator, and his plays have been performed, and have won prizes, throughout the country and internationally. Local audiences will remember Twelve Treatises on Memory: An Epistemological Slapstick (With Sock-Puppets), which was produced in September 2007 as part of the Catalyst Series at North Carolina Stage Company. Earlier this year, Black Snow Flying Upwards, or: My Embarrassment, a movement-based solo performance, was featured as part of the Asheville Fringe Arts Festival; and Ivory, a full-length drama, premiered this June at the BeBe Theatre. Crutchfield has also acted in productions by NC Stage, Zealot, Warren-Wilson College, Lenoir-Rhyne College, Appalachian State University, and Blue Shift Theatre Ensemble.
Performances are September 11th – 21st, Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30pm, and Sundays at 2pm. All tickets are $15. The show is appropriate for all ages.
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