Southeastern Louisiana University

Southeastern Theatre stages challenging '4.48 Psychosis'

Contact: Christina Chapple

11/9/06

CAPTIONS …

(1 & 2) 4.48 PSYCHOSIS AT VONNIE BORDEN THEATRE – Shiloh Klein of Hammond is one of the eight actors in “4.48 Psychosis,” a play by the late British writer Sarah Kane, which will be produced by the Southeastern Louisiana University Theatre at Vonnie Borden Theatre in D Vickers Hall Nov. 15-18. The controversial play is for adult audiences and has been described as “a brutal and poetic exploration of a mind preparing to shut itself down.” Curtain time is 7:30 p.m.

(3) A MIND SHUTTING DOWN -- Victoria Stinson of Mandeville, Shiloh Klein of Hammond and Alicia Reagan of Slidell rehearse a scene from "4.48 Psychosis," the Southeastern Louisiana University production opening Nov. 15 at Vonnie Borden Theatre. The play runs nightly at 7:30 p.m. through Nov. 18.

(4) A GIANT DRAMATIC POEM -- Courtney Casale of Mandeville is one of eight Southeastern Louisiana University students appearing in the Southeastern Theatre production of "4.48 Psychosis." Director James Winter calls the play, which is recommended for adult audiences, "a giant dramatic poem."

     HAMMOND – The Southeastern Louisiana University Theatre will stage the late British playwright Sarah Kane’s controversial “4.48 Psychosis,” a brutal and poetic exploration of a mind preparing to shut itself down, Nov. 15-18 at Vonnie Borden Theatre.

     Director James Winter of the Southeastern Department of Music and Dramatic Arts, said the play, which he described as “a giant dramatic poem,” has been a creative challenge for him, the actors and the artistic staff.

     “There are no specific number of characters, no specific setting,” he said, “The dialogue at times is only numbers. Sarah Kane wanted whoever produced the play to give it their own interpretation.”

     Winter has cast eight student actors, who “have literally built this production from the ground up,” he said. Some of the students, he said, are appearing in their first Southeastern show. “I cannot stress enough how hard they have worked,” Winter said.

     The cast includes Shiloh Klein, Hammond; Sara Boykin, Covington; Courtney Casale and Victoria Stinson, Mandeville; Alicia Reagan of Slidell, Jaren Mitchell, New Orleans; and Lanie Moore and Marjorie Parker, Baton Rouge.

     Curtain time at the theater in D Vickers Hall is 7:30 p.m.

     Winter stressed that the play is for adult audiences since it contains very explicit language and material. “We don’t encourage anyone under the age of 16 to attend,” he said.

     “4.48 Psychosis” was Kane’s fifth and final play. One description says, “Spiked with gallows humour, it charts the journey of mind and body; from darkness into light, from pain into love, from life into death.” The title represents 4.48 a.m., the time when most suicides are attempted. Kane took her own life in 1998 at the age of 28, shortly after completing “4.48 Psychosis.”

     “By most accounts,” Winter said, “Sarah Kane battled clinical depression and possibly Dissociative Identity Disorder, previously called multiple personality disorder. The raw emotion and unconventional structure of her work polarized theater critics and audiences alike. ‘4.48 Psychosis’ is considered to be her greatest work.”

     Although admittedly dark in subject matter, “There is a beauty in the play,” Winter said. “As one critic said, ‘There’s nothing else like it in the language.’ It’s a beautiful piece of theatrical writing.”

     Klein, a veteran of a number of Southeastern Theatre productions, has the role of the play’s "core personality," which is being both haunted and helped by a variety of alternate personalities played by the other actors, explained Winter.

     Winter said the play has been a major commitment for the eight actors and crew. “This is truly an ensemble piece,” he said. The cast, he said, initially spent several weeks meeting and discussing the play, even consulting about its challenging subject matter with the staff from the University Counseling Center, including director Barbara Hebert.

     “Many of the choices you see on stage are the actors’, not mine,” Winter said. “They've done most of their own choreography and script analysis. Each actor has brought his/her own unique set of skills, talent and ideas to our show. I am more proud of these eight actors than they will ever know. This is their show.”

     “We have tried to present our interpretation of the play in a manner Sarah would have been pleased with,” Winter said. He said the production will be Southeastern Theatre’s entry in the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival.

     The play also allowed interpretive freedom for set designer Steve Schepker, who has fashioned a set of multi-level platforms and stairs that extend into the audience and includes on-stage seating. “It’s almost theater-in-the-round,” Winter said. Costumer Richard Walsh has outfitted the actors in shades of black, grey and white.

     The artistic staff also includes Klein as choreographer; Ben Norman of Covington, lighting design; Travis Falks of Livingston and Randy Malbrough Jr. of Gonzales, sound design; and Lydia Caballero of Slidell, stage manager.

     Tickets for “4.48 Psychosis” are $10, general admission, and $6, senior citizens, Southeastern faculty, staff and alumni. Admission is free for Southeastern students with university I.D. Tickets are available at the theater box office in the lobby of D Vickers Hall and at the door.

     For additional information, contact Winter at 985-549-3546.