Company of Fools Presents ART by Yasmina Reza
July 26, 2016
This summer Company of Fools (COF) will present the chic, short, and wickedly funny comedy ART by award-winning playwright Yasmina Reza and translated by Christopher Hampton. The play, which won both the 1998 Tony Award for Best Play and the 1998 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy, will run August 9–13 at the Liberty Theatre in Hailey.
ART begins by asking an age-old question—what IS art? The play revolves around an art lover (Serge) who purchases what is, in essence, a pure white painting. He pays a fortune for it, which causes his best friend (Marc) to go ballistic. To Marc, the painting is an overpriced joke, but Serge insists that Marc doesn't possess the proper sensibility to appreciate the work. Things get even more interesting when a third friend (Yvan) is pulled into the disagreement and winds up getting squeezed in the middle. Battle lines are drawn and old friends square off over the canvas, using it as an excuse to dredge up old hurts and failures. This hilarious comedy poses questions about the meaning of strange modern art and strange modern friendships—and how the two are sometimes not all that different.
“We presented Yasmina Reza’s play God of Carnage in 2012 was a huge hit with our community - that we just had to bring ART to the Liberty Theatre stage, as well,” said Core Company Artist Denise Simone. “Reza’s fabulous writing pulls you into relationships that unravel wildly over the course of the story. It’s funny, fast and furious.”
Denise Simone directs a standout cast featuring Scott Creighton (Marc), Chris Carwithen (Yvan) and Joel Vilinsky (Serge). Rounding out the creative team for ART are Joe Lavigne (Set Design), and K.O. Ogilvie (Stage Manager).
Company of Fools’ 21st season is sponsored by The Shubert Foundation, Ali Long/ Springcreek Foundation, High Country Fusion, Ken Lewis, Priscilla Pittiglio, Mary Ann and John Underwood, Linda and Bob Edwards, Arrow R Storage and Scott Miley Roofing and media sponsor The Weekly Sun.
About the Playwright: Yasmina Reza is a French playwright and novelist based in Paris. Her works have enjoyed critical acclaim and popular success around the globe and have been translated into 35 languages. She has written seven plays (Conversations After a Burial, The Passage of Winter, ART, The Unexpected Man, Life X 3, A Spanish Play, God of Carnage, How You Talk the Game) and six novels (Hammerklavier, Une Desolation (Desolation), Adam Haberberg, Dans la Luge d'Arthur Schopenhauer, Nulle Part and L'Aube, le Soir ou la Nuit (Dawn Dusk or Night). Her films include Le Pique-Nique de Lulu Kreutz, directed by Didier Martiny, and Chicas, written and directed by the author.
Ticket Information
Tickets are $35 for full price, $30 for seniors and Center members and $15 for students (18 and under). These ticket prices do not include the “Pay What You Feel” preview (August 9) and 10 for $10. There is also a SPECIAL GROUP RATE—groups of eight or more receive $30 tickets!
Tickets may be purchased online at sunvalleycenter.org, by phone at 208.578.9122 or at the Liberty Theatre box office starting one hour prior to curtain. Company of Fools’ box office is located at the Liberty Theatre, 110 N. Main Street in Hailey, with hours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. All seats are reserved, with the exception of our “Pay What You Feel” preview. You may reserve your seats in advance for the “Pay What You Feel” preview at full price.
Performance Schedule
Tuesday, August 9 7 p.m. “Pay What You Feel” Preview
Wednesday, August 10 7 p.m.
Thursday, August 11 7 p.m.
Friday, August 12 8 p.m.
Saturday, August 13 8 p.m.
TICKET INCENTIVES
“Pay What You Feel” Preview – Tuesday, August 9 (7 p.m.)
Join us for the first performance of ART and literally pay whatever you’d like! Tickets go on sale at the Liberty Theatre box office one hour prior to the performance. Simply buy your ticket, find a seat and enjoy the show. If you’d prefer to reserve your seats, you may also purchase your tickets at full price for this performance.
“10 for $10”
Ten seats are sold for $10 each on each night at the box office starting one hour prior to the performance. Limit two tickets per person.
Sun Valley Center for the Arts is located at 191 Fifth Street East in Ketchum, Idaho, in Hailey at 314 South Second Avenue and at The Liberty Theatre at 110 North Main St, Hailey. Ketchum hours are 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday through Friday year-round and 11 a.m.–5 p.m. on Saturdays in February and March and July and August.
Established in 1971, the mission of the Sun Valley Center for the Arts is to enrich our community through transformative arts and education experiences. The Center’s year-round programming includes Company of Fools’ professionally produced theater, visual arts exhibitions featuring regionally and nationally recognized artists, lectures, concerts, film, dance, classes in visual and performing arts, play readings, writing workshops and BIG IDEA multidisciplinary projects that explore a theme or idea through multiple events and disciplines. In addition, The Center works to enhance arts education in Blaine County schools by providing elementary school theater education, student gallery tours, in-school artist residencies and performances, arts-based classroom enrichment projects, student and teacher scholarships and professional development programs for classroom teachers. More than 40,000 people attend these events annually. Our programs are supported through the Engl Trust, the Idaho Commission on the Arts, the Idaho Humanities Council, the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities, private foundations, proceeds from the Sun Valley Center for the Arts Wine Auction, grants, donations and membership dues.
For more information on this program or upcoming programs, please contact the Sun Valley Center for the Arts at 208.726.9491, information@sunvalleycenter.org, or visit our website www.sunvalleycenter.org.
Sun Valley Center for the Arts is located at 191 Fifth Street East in Ketchum, Idaho, in Hailey at 314 South Second Avenue and at The Liberty Theatre at 110 North Main St, Hailey. Ketchum hours are 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday through Friday year-round and 11 a.m.–5 p.m. on Saturdays in February and March and July and August.
Established in 1971, the mission of the Sun Valley Center for the Arts is to enrich our community through transformative arts and education experiences. The Center’s year-round programming includes Company of Fools’ professionally produced theater, visual arts exhibitions featuring regionally and nationally recognized artists, lectures, concerts, film, dance, classes in visual and performing arts, play readings, writing workshops and BIG IDEA multidisciplinary projects that explore a theme or idea through multiple events and disciplines. In addition, The Center works to enhance arts education in Blaine County schools by providing elementary school theater education, student gallery tours, in-school artist residencies and performances, arts-based classroom enrichment projects, student and teacher scholarships and professional development programs for classroom teachers. More than 40,000 people attend these events annually. Our programs are supported through the Engl Trust, the Idaho Commission on the Arts, the Idaho Humanities Council, the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities, private foundations, proceeds from the Sun Valley Center for the Arts Wine Auction, grants, donations and membership dues.
Denise Simone
Core Company Artist
Company of Fools
ART begins by asking an age-old question—what IS art? The play revolves around an art lover (Serge) who purchases what is, in essence, a pure white painting. He pays a fortune for it, which causes his best friend (Marc) to go ballistic. To Marc, the painting is an overpriced joke, but Serge insists that Marc doesn't possess the proper sensibility to appreciate the work. Things get even more interesting when a third friend (Yvan) is pulled into the disagreement and winds up getting squeezed in the middle. Battle lines are drawn and old friends square off over the canvas, using it as an excuse to dredge up old hurts and failures. This hilarious comedy poses questions about the meaning of strange modern art and strange modern friendships—and how the two are sometimes not all that different.
“We presented Yasmina Reza’s play God of Carnage in 2012 was a huge hit with our community - that we just had to bring ART to the Liberty Theatre stage, as well,” said Core Company Artist Denise Simone. “Reza’s fabulous writing pulls you into relationships that unravel wildly over the course of the story. It’s funny, fast and furious.”
Denise Simone directs a standout cast featuring Scott Creighton (Marc), Chris Carwithen (Yvan) and Joel Vilinsky (Serge). Rounding out the creative team for ART are Joe Lavigne (Set Design), and K.O. Ogilvie (Stage Manager).
Company of Fools’ 21st season is sponsored by The Shubert Foundation, Ali Long/ Springcreek Foundation, High Country Fusion, Ken Lewis, Priscilla Pittiglio, Mary Ann and John Underwood, Linda and Bob Edwards, Arrow R Storage and Scott Miley Roofing and media sponsor The Weekly Sun.
About the Playwright: Yasmina Reza is a French playwright and novelist based in Paris. Her works have enjoyed critical acclaim and popular success around the globe and have been translated into 35 languages. She has written seven plays (Conversations After a Burial, The Passage of Winter, ART, The Unexpected Man, Life X 3, A Spanish Play, God of Carnage, How You Talk the Game) and six novels (Hammerklavier, Une Desolation (Desolation), Adam Haberberg, Dans la Luge d'Arthur Schopenhauer, Nulle Part and L'Aube, le Soir ou la Nuit (Dawn Dusk or Night). Her films include Le Pique-Nique de Lulu Kreutz, directed by Didier Martiny, and Chicas, written and directed by the author.
Ticket Information
Tickets are $35 for full price, $30 for seniors and Center members and $15 for students (18 and under). These ticket prices do not include the “Pay What You Feel” preview (August 9) and 10 for $10. There is also a SPECIAL GROUP RATE—groups of eight or more receive $30 tickets!
Tickets may be purchased online at sunvalleycenter.org, by phone at 208.578.9122 or at the Liberty Theatre box office starting one hour prior to curtain. Company of Fools’ box office is located at the Liberty Theatre, 110 N. Main Street in Hailey, with hours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. All seats are reserved, with the exception of our “Pay What You Feel” preview. You may reserve your seats in advance for the “Pay What You Feel” preview at full price.
Performance Schedule
Tuesday, August 9 7 p.m. “Pay What You Feel” Preview
Wednesday, August 10 7 p.m.
Thursday, August 11 7 p.m.
Friday, August 12 8 p.m.
Saturday, August 13 8 p.m.
TICKET INCENTIVES
“Pay What You Feel” Preview – Tuesday, August 9 (7 p.m.)
Join us for the first performance of ART and literally pay whatever you’d like! Tickets go on sale at the Liberty Theatre box office one hour prior to the performance. Simply buy your ticket, find a seat and enjoy the show. If you’d prefer to reserve your seats, you may also purchase your tickets at full price for this performance.
“10 for $10”
Ten seats are sold for $10 each on each night at the box office starting one hour prior to the performance. Limit two tickets per person.
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For more information on this program or upcoming programs, please contact the Sun Valley Center for the Arts at 208.726.9491, information@sunvalleycenter.org, or visit our website www.sunvalleycenter.org.Sun Valley Center for the Arts is located at 191 Fifth Street East in Ketchum, Idaho, in Hailey at 314 South Second Avenue and at The Liberty Theatre at 110 North Main St, Hailey. Ketchum hours are 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday through Friday year-round and 11 a.m.–5 p.m. on Saturdays in February and March and July and August.
Established in 1971, the mission of the Sun Valley Center for the Arts is to enrich our community through transformative arts and education experiences. The Center’s year-round programming includes Company of Fools’ professionally produced theater, visual arts exhibitions featuring regionally and nationally recognized artists, lectures, concerts, film, dance, classes in visual and performing arts, play readings, writing workshops and BIG IDEA multidisciplinary projects that explore a theme or idea through multiple events and disciplines. In addition, The Center works to enhance arts education in Blaine County schools by providing elementary school theater education, student gallery tours, in-school artist residencies and performances, arts-based classroom enrichment projects, student and teacher scholarships and professional development programs for classroom teachers. More than 40,000 people attend these events annually. Our programs are supported through the Engl Trust, the Idaho Commission on the Arts, the Idaho Humanities Council, the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities, private foundations, proceeds from the Sun Valley Center for the Arts Wine Auction, grants, donations and membership dues.
For more information on this program or upcoming programs, please contact the Sun Valley Center for the Arts at 208.726.9491, information@sunvalleycenter.org, or visit our website www.sunvalleycenter.org.
Sun Valley Center for the Arts is located at 191 Fifth Street East in Ketchum, Idaho, in Hailey at 314 South Second Avenue and at The Liberty Theatre at 110 North Main St, Hailey. Ketchum hours are 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday through Friday year-round and 11 a.m.–5 p.m. on Saturdays in February and March and July and August.
Established in 1971, the mission of the Sun Valley Center for the Arts is to enrich our community through transformative arts and education experiences. The Center’s year-round programming includes Company of Fools’ professionally produced theater, visual arts exhibitions featuring regionally and nationally recognized artists, lectures, concerts, film, dance, classes in visual and performing arts, play readings, writing workshops and BIG IDEA multidisciplinary projects that explore a theme or idea through multiple events and disciplines. In addition, The Center works to enhance arts education in Blaine County schools by providing elementary school theater education, student gallery tours, in-school artist residencies and performances, arts-based classroom enrichment projects, student and teacher scholarships and professional development programs for classroom teachers. More than 40,000 people attend these events annually. Our programs are supported through the Engl Trust, the Idaho Commission on the Arts, the Idaho Humanities Council, the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities, private foundations, proceeds from the Sun Valley Center for the Arts Wine Auction, grants, donations and membership dues.
Denise Simone
Core Company Artist
Company of Fools
Contact:
Denise Simone
denise@companyoffools.org, 208-788-6520
