While most people know playwright Samuel Beckett from his tragicomedy “Waiting For Godot,” probably far fewer have ever heard of his “Play,” “Act Without Words II” or “Quad.” And that is exactly why they appealed to Eleventh Hour Theatre, a small production company comprising three college seniors at Vassar College, Yale University and Northwestern.
“Our goal is to pick lesser-known, lesser-performed, less-familiar works by well-known playwrights,” said Brian Deneen, a Communication senior who is directing “Quad.” “Playwrights who have made really significant contributions to the aesthetic of the theater.”
Deneen, the NU component of Eleventh Hour Theatre, began the company two summers ago with two high school friends, Elliot Greenberger and Chris Devine. The three theater students chose Beckett’s “Rough For Theater II” for their first production in 2002, and Devine directed Sam Shepard’s “Cowboy Mouth” while Deneen and Greenberger were out of the country last summer.
They began planning in May for this summer’s show — which brings together three plays from the second half of Beckett’s drama career — and have been rehearsing since June. The plays, grouped under the heading “Being Seen: 3 Acts by Beckett,” open Friday and run through Aug. 8 at Links Hall Studio, 3435 N. Sheffield Ave.
Although, with a staff of 10, the production company is currently at its largest point, it still requires a dynamic flexibility that can be a challenge for its creators. On top of directing “Quad,” Deneen is acting in Devine’s play, “Play,” while Devine is also acting in Greeneberger’s “Act Without Words II.”
“It’s hard to treat each piece independently when we are also involved in all the others,” Deneen said, adding that their involvement conversely ensured they were each deeply involved and contributing to all the pieces.
Although the company occasionally rehearses in Kresge Centennial Hall, it is independent from the university or any other institution — which gives the directors more freedom but also added responsibility and stress.
“It has been very interesting because it is a completely self-sufficient group,” said Bridget Moloney, a Communication senior who is acting in “Quad” and is on the executive board of the NU production company Vertigo. “It seems that the production staff has really had to be creative in the true sense of the word.”
Moloney also got involved with Eleventh Hour Theatre through previous acquaintances with Deneen and another “Quad” actress, Communication senior Greta Lee.
“It’s pretty free and the relationships with the directors is different, much more casual,” Lee said of the close-knit group. “For the most part it leads to some good work because people seem to be willing to work towards a common goal.”
Neither Lee nor Moloney had worked on Beckett before, and both found him a difficult but intriguing playwright.
“It’s very interesting but it also seems very contrary,” Moloney said. “The more simple things are the more complicated the execution needs to be. It’s made me very aware of the power of simplicity.”
Deneen acknowledged that “Quad,” as well as much of Beckett, “can be, at first glance, cold and confusing,” but added that it was that austerity that drew him to the work.
“It is the kind of play that rewards painstaking attention to detail and a language that is very sparse and economical,” he said.
Managing Editor Miki Johnson is a Medill senior. She can be reached at [email protected].
Being Seen: 3 Acts By Beckett
Where: Links Hall Studio, 3435 N. Sheffield.
When: July 30, 31 and Aug. 1, 6, 7, 8 at 8 p.m.
How much: $10, $8 students
