Submitted by Olympia Waldorf School
One local Middle School eighth grade has made a challenging selection this year for their class production. Olympia Waldorf school’s class of 2015 will be performing “The Water Engine” by David Mamet this Friday and Saturday, May 8 and 9, in the Recital Hall on the Evergreen Campus beginning at 7 p.m. These performances are free to the public. Donations for their class trip will be accepted, but they are not required. Seating is on a first come first serve basis.
The story follows an inventor that developed an engine that runs on water. It tracks his progress and interaction with big business and lawyers as he tries to patent, produce and share his engine with the world. The play takes place in Chicago. The year is 1934 in and around the Century of Progress Exposition.
The play is presented with a unique theatrical device. It is presented simultaneously as both a radio and live drama. The atmosphere of the setting is that of a live radio broadcast in
Mamet was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Glengarry Glenn Ross in 1984. He is a founding member of the Atlantic Theater Company and first drew attention with three off-Broadway plays in 1976; The Duck Variations, Sexual Perversity in Chicago and American Buffalo. The Water Engine was written in 1977. He has also received great acclaim for his work on film and in print.
When Olympia Waldorf secured the rights to produce this play, the representative with Samuel French asked, “you want to do what with eighth graders?” This may be the youngest cast ever to perform in a play by Mamet. The class has approached many mature themes this year. They read both To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and Maus by Art Spiegelman. The Class’ faculty, Martin Lee thought this would be a valuable and fun challenge for his class to pursue and fit well with the other selections. Director, Jerry Berebitsky, brings over 20 years of theatrical experience to this production. He is most recognized in Olympia for his large scale puppets seen in the Procession of the Species. His last creation was a life size giraffe.
The Water Engine is presented by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.
