Kim, Occhiogrosso to headline 'Oedipus Rex' reading

HACKETTSTOWN — Randall Duk Kim and Anne Occhiogrosso headline Centenary Stage Company’s presentation of a free staged reading of Sophocles’ drama “Oedipus Rex” on Wednesday, Sept. 19 at 7:30 p.m. in the Kutz Theatre at the Lackland Performing Arts Center.
The Sept. 19 reading and the master classes that precede and follow it marks the first installment of the 2018 Gates Ferry Lecture Series: “What is Truth?” The Sept. 19 reading will be the first of three presentations, all featuring Kim and Occhiogrosso, which also includes a staged reading of scenes from Shakespeare’s “King Lear” on Nov. 14 and a full stage production of Henrik Ibsen’s “Enemy of The People” from February 15-March 3, 2019.
To reserve tickets, please call the Centenary Stage Company box office at (908) 979 0900 or visit www.centenarystageco.org.
The action of “Oedipus Rex” concerns Oedipus, the King of Thebes. Prior to the start of the play, Oedipus has unwittingly fulfilled a prophecy that he would kill his father, Laius (the previous king) and marry his mother, Jocasta, whom Oedipus took as his queen after solving the legendary Riddle of the Sphinx. The action of Sophocles’ play concerns Oedipus’ search for the murderer of Laius in order to end the plague which has ravaged Thebes, unaware that the killer he is looking for is actually himself.
Kim and Occhiogrosso originally proposed the 2018 Gate Ferry Lecture Series, “What is Truth? And Does It Matter?” with the goal to encourage a public dialogue surrounding this most serious of contemporary issues. Following the reading of “Oedipus Rex,” Kim and Occhiogrosso and members of the Centenary University academic community will lead an in-depth audience discussion of the play and its relevance to today’s world.
Occhiogrosso states, “In this time of ‘Fake News,’ and ‘Alternative Truths’ and convenient omission of the facts, one is forced to ask ‘What is Truth? And Does It Really Matter?’ Kim adds, "Both these questions have served as the core inquiry of the world’s greatest and most popular playwrights over the past two thousand years. The theatre allows us to see man’s encounter with this mightiest and perplexing concept. We can see how they encounter it, try to escape it, hide from it, expose it and deny it, and how it affects their lives and the consequences endured through its encounter.”
The Sept. 19 reading will be preceded by a master class on the weekends of Sept. 8 and 9 and Sept. 15 and 16 from 1-4 p.m. Twenty interested participants selected from the University and the community will read and explore “Oedipus Rex” under Kim and Occhiogrosso’s guidance with a focus on how the play tackles the question “What is Truth?” and how specifically it addresses the concept of “Truth Un-Avoided.” Select “Oedipus Rex” master class participants will be invited to join Kim and Occhiogrosso as members of the chorus in the September 19th public reading.
As creators of the Centenary Stage Company series “Great Authors Out Loud,” Kim and Occhiogrosso have offered readings from authors Edgar Alan Poe, Mark Twain, Dorothy Parker and James Thurber and classical theatre playwrights William Shakespeare, Sophocles, Moliere, Chekhov and Ibsen which has drawn a loyal and enthusiastic following since 2012.
In addition to the readings, they have taught a Shakespeare Intensive Course at Centenary College in which students study one play over a thirteen week period. The last three semesters focused on Hamlet, The Merchant of Venice and King Lear.
Director Anne Occhiogrosso received national attention for her body of work at American Players Theatre where she was co-artistic director. An acclaimed director, dramaturg, acting coach and actress, her focus has always been classical theatre with a special emphasis on the works of William Shakespeare. At the American Players Theatre, she directed 16 Shakespearean plays along with works of by Moliere, Ibsen, Plautus, and Chekhov. She also performed the roles of The Nurse in Romeo and Juliet, Gertrude in Hamlet, Natalya in The Proposal, Madame Arkadina in The Seagull, Jocasta in Oedipus Rex and Anna Petrovna in Ivanov, a production which was co-directed by Morris Carnovsky and Phoebe Brand who have served as career mentors to both Kim and Occhiogrosso. She has also taught at the Stella Adler Conservatory of Acting and the New York Shakespeare Festival. Professional partners onstage for over four decades, Occhiogrosso and Kim are married in real life.
The “Oedipus Rex” staged reading on Wednesday, September 19 at 7:30 PM is free to the public and will be held in the Kurtz Theatre of the Lackland Performing Arts Center. Due to limited seating, advance reservations are highly recommended. For more information about the “Oedipus Rex” reading, all Gates Ferry Lecture Series’ “What is Truth?” events or to reserve tickets, call the Centenary Stage Company box office at (908) 979–0900 visit www.centenarystageco.org.