For Immediate Release: February 8, 2005
Media Contact: Gina Carson, Temple Theaters, 215.204.7476

Peter Reynolds entered Temple's Master of Fine Arts program in the School of Communications and Theater three years ago with a basic assignment to study the text of Shakespeare's adventure-driven play, Pericles, Prince of Tyre.

The project, under the guidance of then-Temple theater professor Jan Silverman, would, in many ways, take Reynolds three years to complete.

"From that very first reading, I was drawn to the character of Pericles because he is so very heroic in his humanness," said Reynolds. "He is a privileged young man who is thrown into the chaos of the world and is forced to take a perilous journey through the mythic Mediterranean. His journey is metaphor and archetype for a journey that we all take: the life passage from youth to maturity.

"Throughout his trials, Pericles is tested by events - some harrowing, some tragic - that result in a crisis of spirit. But, even when crippled by despair, he never loses his essential nobility and goodness. His journey culminates in an enlightened understanding of the true nature and value of love when he is reconciled to the world by a divinely arranged reunion."

On Thursday, Feb. 10 at 7 p.m., Reynolds will direct a cast of 28 undergraduate and graduate actors in the opening night of the rarely produced Shakespearian masterpiece at the Tomlinson Theater, 13th and Norris streets, on Temple University's Main Campus. It will be Reynolds' thesis production.

"As I thought about my thesis, this play kept coming back to me, and I couldn't shake it," recalled the director. "So my mentor said, 'Well, that means you need to do it.'"

The production will stand out in the Temple Theaters spotlight for many memorable reasons, most of which have to do with modifications to the stage and set to mimic the grandness of Pericles' adventures on the high seas.

The most obvious change to Tomlinson Theater audiences will be Reynolds' decision to use the full stage area, moving the standard lighting towers to the wings to make way for a vaster, more-dramatic stage vista. To balance this change, the ambitious director chose to lengthen the stage rake to 40 feet, expanding it over the orchestra pit - in turn, thrusting the playing space closer to the audience. The modification will also allow actors to emerge from the darkness of the pit mid-play by way of a series of ladders.

In addition to the stage modifications, a 20-foot-high sculpture was added, upon which the actors climb during various parts of the show. Reynolds is also re-introducing a trap door within the stage floor that has not been used in several years, from which the goddess Diana will fly out.

"I knew I really wanted to experiment with using the total space available in Tomlinson because this play is so expansive and so epic in its proportions," said Reynolds, adding that it has been some time since the entire space has been utilized in this way.

The demanding parameters Reynolds has put on the show will be accomplished through what can only be described as a departmentwide effort.

"This production is really calling on the depth of our faculty" said Pat Allen, Temple Theaters' promotions coordinator. "Almost every faculty member is involved in some way."

Theater chair Daniel Boylen, a professor of scene and lighting design and head of the M.F.A. design program, is lending his talents to design the unique set. Assistant professor of voice and speech Stanton Davis has spent countless hours in rehearsal instructing the student-actors in the appropriate voice and dialect for Shakespearian works. Choreography credits go to associate professor of movement and dance Kathy Garrinella, while David Hale, professor emeritus and adjunct professor, is contributing his experience working for Flying by Foy - the company responsible for flying Sandy Duncan and Cathy Rigby in their starring roles in Peter Pan - to supervise flying the goddess Diana in the play.

The impressive list of talented production staff members isn't confined to the current campus community, either. A number of alumni and adjunct professors working on professional stages throughout the Philadelphia area are also lending their experience to the production.

Costumes are designed by Temple alumna and adjunct professor Sam Flemming, whose professional credits include serving as costume design supervisor for all U.S. productions of The Phantom of the Opera since 1990. Alumnus and adjunct professor Dirk Durossette is serving as co-set designer. Lighting is designed by alumnus and adjunct professor John Hoey, head of production for the Pennsylvania Ballet, while sound design is being handled by guest artist Jorge Cosineau, winner of the 2004 F. Otto Haas Award for Emerging Theater Artist at the Barrymore Awards. Additionally, adjunct professor John Bellomo, who has served as fight choreographer for the Delaware Theater Company and the Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival, is pitching in to oversee combat scenes.

"Peter asked a lot of people personally to contribute to this production," noted Allen. "The list of favors he has called in is a testament to his value within the department."

Unfortunately for the department, Reynolds is graduating in May, when he'll take his talents to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival - the largest regional theater in the country. From there, he has already lined up directing gigs through the end of the year at theater companies across the country, from Maine to Missouri.

For the next few weeks, though, Reynolds will be concentrating on bringing the grand tale of Pericles and his high-seas adventures to life on the Tomlinson stage the way he envisioned during that first study of the text.

"It has it all: comedy, romance, magic, resurrection, redemption, reconciliation," said Reynolds. "It is a wonderful epic journey that pushes the boundaries of theatrical conventions. It is innovative, even 400 years later."

And just as Shakespeare pushed the boundaries of his own time and place, so too will Reynolds push the boundaries of the Tomlinson stage.

Pericles, Prince of Tyre opens on Thursday, Feb. 10, at 7 p.m. Performances continue at 8 p.m., on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 11-12, and Wednesday through Saturday, Feb. 16-19. A matinee performance is planned for Saturday, Feb. 19, at 2 p.m.

General admission tickets are $15; tickets for seniors and children are $12. Cash-only, advance ticket sales are available at the Liacouras Center box office, 1776 N. Broad St., Monday through Saturday between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. For credit card orders, call Ticketmaster at 215-336-2000 or log on to www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets will also be available on performance nights at the door.

Digital images from Pericles, Prince of Tyre are available by contacting Gina Carson in Temple's Office of Communications, 215-204-7476 or gina.carson@temple.edu. To preview the images, log on to Temple's Photo Archive at: http://mdev.temple.edu/photoarchive. Click on the theater category under the arts section to access the images available.

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