The notable Serenbe Playhouse announces its limited run of Art by Yasmina Reza in September, taking place at the Atlanta Contemporary in Atlanta, Georgia.
My first experience with Yasmina Reza's Art was - yes, you guessed it - in an art gallery. My theater-major colleagues were studying the play and decided to mount a few select scenes from the Tony-winning show in our campus' on-site gallery, which boasted its own coffee shop and many original pieces created by our art majors. The space was small, intimate, and appropriately painted a stark white.
I highly enjoyed seeing the most important and poignant scenes stitched together to create a brief integration of the surrounding art on the walls, the subject of art as a concept, and the art of theater. Serenbe Playhouse seems to be thinking along the same lines when they considered the Atlanta Contemporary as a venue; they are dedicated to "proving that theatre can happen anywhere and that it truly is for everyone.”
With such a widely accessible play, it's entirely possible that bringing theater into the city will expand the Playhouse's audiences. "What better way to immerse an audience than plopping them down in the midst of a fresh, stunning art gallery?" says director Ryan Oliveti. "In a truly magical way, by surrounding the audience in art, it lets the art fade away to reveal the true heart of the story – friendship."
Click here to read the original article published by Playbill.com, written by Michael Gioia and published on August 30, 2016.