Kennedy Theatre Media Release Department of Theatre and Dance University of Hawai'i at Manoa 1770 East-West Road Honolulu, HI 96822 Contact: Kristy Miller, Publicity Director Phone: (808) 956-2598 Fax: (808) 956-4234 Box Office: (808) 956-7655 (v/t) email: theatre-pr@hawaii.edu March 8, 2003 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE UHM KENNEDY THEATRE’S LAB THEATRE PRESENTS THE WELL KNOWN PLAY BY SAMUEL BECKETT, “WAITING FOR GODOT” The University of Hawai‘i at Manoa's Department of Theatre and Dance presents the well- known absurdist play “Waiting for Godot" by Samuel Beckett. This play will take an exciting twist as MFA candidate Tim Wiler uses kyogen elements in his direction of the timeless play. “Waiting for Godot” will be presented in the Earle Ernst Lab Theatre March 12, 13, 14, 15 at 8pm and March 16 at 2pm. A post show rap will follow the Friday night performance. Beckett, a playwright, novelist, and poet, was born in a suburb of Dublin to a privileged Anglo-Irish Protestant family in 1906. As a student of Trinity College, he was exposed to the leading literary and political figures in Ireland and was influenced by the leading theatre forms of Dublin: Irish nationalism, experimental European drama, melodrama and American vaudeville. When Beckett was 40 years old he took a break from writing prose and wrote the play “Waiting for Godot.” The first production in 1953 in Paris was met with mixed reviews. As one critic put it, “Nothing happens–twice.” In the 1955 London production and 1956 New York productions it gained international attention, eventually earning Beckett the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1969. “Waiting for Godot” has entertained audiences as diverse as children, prisoners and university students and is accepted as one of the classics of the twentieth-century stage. Two burned-out hobos, Estragon (Chi Ho Law) and Vladimir (Jonathan Egged), wait on a country road for a meeting with a Mr. Godot. As they continue to wait they pass the time with conversation, food and philosophical discussions. They mistake two passers-by, Pozzo (Alvin Chan) and his slave Lucky (Dezmond Gilla), for Godot. After more conversation and food, Pozzo and Lucky continue on their way leaving Vladimir and Estragon still waiting. The first act closes when Godot’s Messenger, (Ken Uehara), tells the tramps that Mr. Godot will not be coming today. He will come tomorrow. The second act repeats the events of the first act, except Pozzo is blind and Lucky is mute. Again the boy comes to deliver the message that Mr. Godot will come tomorrow. Nothing happens twice. Wiler has performed kyogen at Kennedy Theatre in the December production of “Kyogen: Laughter for All Time” and in two productions in 1998 that toured across the United States. As an undergraduate at University of Kansas, he toured to Greece in 1997 and directed plays for EMU theatre in Lawrence, Kansas. He has served the past two years as the Managing Director for Late Night Theatre and is currently in the process of creating a new experimental theatre group for Hawai‘i with other UHM theatre alumni. Tickets for "Waiting for Godot" go on sale Monday, March 10 at the Kennedy Theatre Box Office. Tickets may be purchased in person or by phone at the Kennedy Theatre Box Office Monday through Friday, 10am to 3pm. Ticket prices are $9 regular, $7 for seniors, military, UH faculty, staff, youth and non-UHM students, and $3 for UHM students with a validated Spring 2003 photo ID. For more information, call the Kennedy Theatre Box Office at 956-7655 (v/t). - 30 - "Kyogen: Laughter for All Time" Wednesday March 12 8pm Thursday March 13 8pm Friday March 14* 8pm Saturday March 15 8pm Sunday March 16 2pm *Post Show Rap $9 Regular 7 Seniors, Military, UH Faculty, Staff, Youth and Non-UHM Students $3 UHM Students with validated Spring 2003 photo ID	See also: Back to Release Index PHONE NUMBERS Box Office (808) 956-7655 Publicity Office (808) 956-2598 Department Office (808) 956-7677 Fax (808) 956-4234