St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival ~ Maid for a Musket ~ Non Propagandist, How?

www.stlawrenceshakespeare.ca

Ian Farthing, Artistic Director, St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival

Lucia Frangione, International Award Winning Playwright

“THE INSIDE SCOOP” is excited continue with the “SCOOP” from the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival, Prescott, Ontario about their upcoming performance “MAID for a MUSKET”, a brand new comedy by Lucia Frangione, Original music by Melissa Morris. Ian Farthing, Artistic Director of the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival has kindly introduced us to Ms. Lucia Frangione, internationally produced award winning playwright and actor, we continue …

“Non Propagandist” ~ How?

From Lucia Frangione, internationally produced award winning playwright and actor “Biography, I noticed that she been closely associated with Vancouver's Pacific Theatre, whose mandate is “the non-propagandist exploration of Christian issues”. I asked Lucia … “As a “Propagandist”, is a form of communication aimed towards influencing the attitude of the community toward some cause or position by presenting only one side of an argument, we were wondering how you portray and write scripts based from a non-propagandist position. I was wondering if “humor” helped with the transition to non-propagandist explorations of issues.”

Frangione replies … “I think it is a playwright’s responsibility to ask questions, not to give answers whether your mandate explores feminism, Christianity, the poverty in the East side, vegetarianism, Canadian history, BGLTQ community, the African Canadian experience…doesn’t matter. If an audience is told what to think or feel, they will be turned off, bored, and it will simply be crappy art. Exciting theatre is debate. It’s a balanced argument. It’s a tug of war of loyalties. It’s surprise. Audiences are engaged with a story when they can’t predict the ending, when they have to figure out for themselves who to root for and why.

Regarding balance, when I write a tragedy I always include a lot of comedy. When I write a comedy I always include tragedy. Maid for a Musket is a complete fun romp of a farce but it’s only funny because each character has a moment of genuine pain. Each has legitimate fear and hope for love. This isn’t a device: this is the truth of life. We laugh at funerals and we cry at weddings. It’s the way it goes. And in real life, like it is in a good play, we can constantly choose how to see things: light or dark.”

Stay tuned for more exciting “SCOOP” from Lucia Frangione and Ian Farthing, St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival! Check out their website for the details (www.stlawrenceshakespeare.ca), plan on a fun, and great, memorable time!