PRC Vision Series attendees ask 'Earnest' director questions

Seated in front a chic Victorian-inspired set, the director of the upcoming “The Importance of Being Earnest,” discussed his vision for the approaching show.

The public had the opportunity to converse with director Matthew Arbour through PlayMakers Repertory Company’s Vision Series event.

Oscar Wilde famously said, “The world is a stage, but the play is badly cast.”

Arbour, however, boasts an optimistic outlook about his cast presenting the playwright’s infamously witty script.

“‘It is full of enthusiasm for love, scrapes, things going wrong, getting in and out of trouble. The characters live in the world where the air is full of possibilities,” Arbour said about the play.

Though emphasis was placed on deep tones of layered meanings, Arbour made clear his intention to promote Wilde’s unavoidable humor.

“This play is about how scary girls are,” Arbour said.

“Oscar Wilde gets more delicious information into a scene than some get into a play.”

Further staying true to Wilde’s style and times, performers will be garmented in traditional English Victorian-era costumes, and Ray Dooley, a male actor, will be undertaking the role of Lady Bracknell, a woman.

“My notion about it is that it is a part of the English-speaking theater tradition,” Arbour said about the switching of gender roles.

Many questions posed by Vision Series attendees related to Arbour’s previous experience with “The Importance of Being Earnest.” Arbour directed the show eight years ago but still showed eagerness and expressed an artistic growth since his last stab.

“I have a more emotional response to the play than I did,” Arbour said of his current work compared to years ago.

The Vision Series audience, raising a plethora of shrewd questions, also seemed eager about the upcoming experience.

Allison De Marco, a long-time PlayMakers subscriber but first-time Vision Series attendee said of the play, “I listened to it on a book on tape years ago. I’m excited about this production.”

The show opens on Wednesday and runs through March 21.

The PlayMakers fans at Vision Series and the director alike appreciated the task of creating a show with numerous components, delicate staging and a well-established, rich history.

“We worked quickly and in broad strokes. We are chasing our way into performance,” Arbour said.

“I don’t think it’s all that importance to be earnest. But having said that, I think it’s important to be earnest about this play.”



Contact the Arts Editor at artsdesk@unc.edu.