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“Theatre is a Strange Loop
Lake Erie College would like to announce its spring theatre performance, an original play titled, “Theatre is a Strange Loop,” which will take the stage April 1-4 at 7:30 p.m. and April 5 at 2:00 p.m. in the C.K. Rickel Theatre of the Fine Arts Center.
Lake Erie College Professor of Theater Jerry C. Jaffe, Ph.D., conceived this play, while the cast and crew devised the performance.
This original and highly-creative work was inspired by the idea that live performance is made up of many feedback loops, such as the way the audience and actors affect each other during a show.
Jaffe sees many feedback loops in live performance, including how the actors engage with each other, the actors responding to a play script and the actor-director relationship.
“My hope has been that by playing with these dynamic relationships,” Jaffe explained, “we could highlight them, which would be fun for the students, and end up with a very original and entertaining show for the audience.” Jaffe says that he first started thinking about these ideas after reading a book by Pulitzer prize-winning author Douglas Hofstadter, called “I am a Strange Loop.”
Students have reportedly expressed excitement in rehearsals that it is unlike any play they have ever worked on. Senior Fine Arts student Brian Schweikert, who is one of seven actors participating in the show, said of working with Jaffe, “He’s got a very different approach to the theatre, every rehearsal is different and a lot of fun.”
The other student actors involved are, Amanda Brown, Joseph Fath, Kaitie Fox, Derek Jividen, Stephanie Kilper and Jenn Vladic. The technical director and stage manager for the show is Lake Erie College alumna Julie Harter, and the lights are being designed by a Cleveland-based professional, Michael Boll.
Jaffe is a recent addition to the Lake Erie College staff and brings a wealth of experience to the theatre department. He comes by way of The University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand, where he was a senior lecturer in theatre studies. Prior to New Zealand, Jaffe directed and performed in Japan.
In July 2008, a book he co-edited entitled, “Performing Japan: Contemporary Expressions of cultural Identity, was released. His production of the play “Shape of Things” was cited as one of the best productions in New Zealand for 2006 in the national magazine The NZ Listener.
While living in Japan for four years, Jaffe taught at Tsukuba University and participated in different theatre performances, including acting on tour with Japan's largest professional children's theatre group kaze no ko (in their production of “Oretachya benriya”) and starting an English language community theatre in Tsukuba City called Bingo Parallax.
With Bingo Parallax, he directed eight plays in two years, including David Mamet's “Speed-the-Plow” and “Glengarry Glen Ross,” Woody Allen's “God” and an original devised piece “Words by Shakespeare.”
Additionally, Jerry has directed at regional and university theatres in the United States, including the Toledo Rep Theatre (“The Phantom Tollbooth” and “The Jungle Book”) and Bowling Green State University, where he directed a production of Alan Bennett's “Habeas Corpus” and several more devised pieces, including “The Diary of Soren Kierkegaard, Ah Sin!,” “The Quality of Mercy” and “Tribal Titus.”
All tickets are $5. For information on the plays or to reserve tickets, call the Fine Arts Box Office at 440.375.7450. Free parking is located off Gillett Street.
