{"id":24110,"date":"2018-11-13T09:42:41","date_gmt":"2018-11-13T14:42:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/?p=24110"},"modified":"2018-11-14T19:16:17","modified_gmt":"2018-11-15T00:16:17","slug":"southern-gospel-meets-1660s-france-in-utc-theatre-companys-tartuffe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2018\/11\/southern-gospel-meets-1660s-france-in-utc-theatre-companys-tartuffe\/","title":{"rendered":"Southern gospel meets 1660s France in UTC Theatre Company’s ‘Tartuffe’"},"content":{"rendered":"

UTC Theatre Company continues its 2018-2019 season with Jean-Baptiste Moliere\u2019s Tartuffe<\/em>, tweaking it with a modern twist.<\/h4>\n
\n

If you go<\/h3>\n

What:\u00a0<\/strong>Tartuffe<\/em><\/p>\n

When:\u00a0<\/strong>Tuesday, Nov. 13 – Saturday, Nov. 17, 7:30 p.m.; 2 p.m. Saturday Matinee, Nov. 17<\/p>\n

Where:\u00a0<\/strong>Dorothy Hackett Ward Theater, Fine Arts Center<\/p>\n

Admission:\u00a0<\/strong>$12 adults; $10 faculty, staff, seniors and students<\/p>\n

Information:\u00a0<\/strong>Learn more and purchase tickets at utc.edu\/theatre<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The stage set\u2019s shiny pink curtains, green carpet and rubber ferns transport the audience to a not-so-distant past, stirring up memories of a 1990s Southern church. But you won\u2019t find a gospel choir singing \u201cWhat a Friend We Have in Jesus.\u201d<\/p>\n

Directing the company\u2019s production of the 17th<\/sup>-century French classic is 2011 graduate Blake Harris. He returns to Chattanooga after graduating with a Master of Fine Arts with a concentration \u00a0in theatre directing from California Institute of the Arts.<\/p>\n

Harris wanted to find a new approach to the classic satirical comedy. Inspired by his own childhood memories in the church, Harris transformed the setting, reframing the story in the Southern gospel scene.<\/p>\n

The centuries-old play about hypocrisy becomes more accessible in this familiar setting, Harris says. \u201cPeople will recognize the context and know these things should not be occurring here.\u201d<\/p>\n

The play has seen its fair share of censorship, banned in some countries and considered \u201cdangerous.\u201d But that danger, and the conversations it stirs, makes it ideal for a college campus, explains Evans Jarnefeldt, who portrays Orgon, the play\u2019s central character.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll get to know why this play has lasted for so long \u2026 It\u2019s not just high literature, it\u2019s also great entertainment,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The creative team for Tartuffe <\/em>includes Harris, set designer Samantha Burns, costumer designer Chalise Ludlow and(lighting designer and technical director Jeff Davis.<\/p>\n

The cast includes Jarnefeldt, Alex Walker, Hailey White, Linsey Watkins, D\u2019Andre Anderson, Meg Phinney, Jesse Wilyat, Autumn Hemmelgarn, Blaine Lindsay, Tate Runyon, Julia Walker, Maggie Weaver and Mark Elich.<\/p>\n