Baldwin Players' 'Waiting for Godot' opens March 30
Mar. 8—TIFTON — The Baldwin Players at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College have announced their spring production of "Waiting for Godot" will open March 30 and run through April 1. The production will be under the direction of Brian Ray.
The cast consists of Ryan Norton, an ABAC alum from Tifton, as Vladimir; Alena Norton, an ABAC alum from Richmond Hill, as Estragon; Tiftonite Peter Pinnow as Pozzo; Gabriel Zachery, an agriculture education major from Lawrenceville, as Lucky; and Kaitlyn Shields, an engineering major from Monroe County, as the Messenger. In addition, Craig Mark Wells will be the assistant director.
"I first encountered this play when I was in college, oh so many years ago, when I had the opportunity to play the part of Lucky," Ray said. "Ever since then, I have been fascinated with how it asks so many questions and provides very few answers.
"When I decided to produce this play at ABAC, I was reassured by the fact that as an academic institution, we could tackle something a little outside the mainstream. This play brings something new to ABAC students, and to the members of the Tifton community."
Ray said that Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot," subtitled "A Tragicomedy in Two Acts," is considered a classic example of the mid-20th century dramatic movement called the Theatre of the Absurd that explored the nature of our humanity after the two World Wars. In a poll conducted by the British Royal National Theatre in 1998/99, it was voted the "most significant English-language play of the 20th century."
Ray explained that the production of the play capitalizes on both halves of the "tragicomedy" as separate parts of human nature — society's ability to endure almost anything and laugh at its own struggles.
"We encounter two individuals, Vladimir and Estragon, who are waiting for the arrival of a man named Godot, who they've never actually met," Ray said. "They don't know when, or if, he'll arrive, or if they're even at the right place, but while they wait, they talk about their lives, their experiences, and their expectations. They also encounter two visitors, Pozzo and Lucky, who pass through and provide a brief diversion."
Ray said that Beckett has given his audience a "barebones play that doesn't distract from the ideas through bells and whistles or even any soundtrack or special effects." Instead, it focuses on several basic human themes: memory, time, suffering (even cruelty), friendship, and, most importantly, waiting.
"After all, how much of our lives do we actually spend waiting for the unknown?" Ray said. "Or, just waiting in general?"
"Waiting for Godot" will be performed from at ABAC's Howard Auditorium at 7 p.m. General admission is $10, $5 with non-ABAC school ID and is free to ABAC students, staff and faculty.
For further information, contact Ray at bray@abac.edu.
