To complement the Clarence Brown Theatre’s production of Brecht’s The Life of Galileo, Jed Diamond from the Department of Theatre will host a public discussion entitled: Science, Ethics and Power in Galileo’s Trial and Brecht’s Play on Sunday, February 10 at 4:30 p.m. in the theatre immediately following the 2 p.m. matinee.

Dr. Robert Bast will be speaking on the topic of Galileo, the Church and the Roman Inquisition. He holds a B.A. in English literature from Hope College and a Masters of Divinity from Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan. He spent two years as a Fulbright Fellow at the University of Tubingen in Germany, and in 1993 received his PhD in History from the University of Arizona. As founding director of the Marco Institute, he has helped to bring national prominence to UT’s interdisciplinary programs in Medieval and Renaissance Studies. Among his publications is a monograph on the intersections of religious reform and political power entitled “Honor Your Fathers: Catechisms and the Emergence of a Patriarchal Ideology in Germany, c. 1400-1600.”

Dr. Jeffrey Kovac will speak on the topic of Power, Money, and Ethics in Science. Dr. Kovac was educated at Reed College (B.A, 1970, Chemistry) and Yale University (M.Phil, 1972 and Ph.D., 1974, Theoretical Chemistry). Since 1994 he has also been the Director of the Tennessee Governor’s Schools for the Sciences and Engineering. His scholarly interests include statistical mechanics, equilibrium and non-equilibrium thermodynamics, computer simulation, history and philosophy of science, scientific ethics, chemical education, and most recently the history and philosophy of pacifism.

Roderick Peeples has been based in Chicago since 1990. Over the years he has appeared in many Chicago productions, including the Chicago Shakespeare, Court, Steppenwolf, Next and Victory Gardens theatres. On television, he has appeared in Prison Break, ER, What About Joan, Early Edition, and The Untouchables series. Film work includes Robert Altman’s The Company, Road to Perdition, Novocaine, Payback: Director’s Cut, and The Hudsucker Proxy.

An interesting tidbit from Slashdot in light of the Clarence Brown Theatre’s upcoming production of Bertolt Brecht’s The Life of Galileo:

Reservoir Hill writes

“Pope Benedict XVI canceled a speech at Rome’s La Sapienza university in the face of protests led by scientists opposed to a high-profile visit to a secular setting by the head of the Catholic Church. Sixty-seven professors and researchers of the university’s physics department joined in the call for the pope to stay away protesting the planned visit recalled a 1990 speech in which the pope, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, seemed to justify the Inquisition’s verdict against Galileo in 1633. In the speech, Ratzinger quoted an Austrian philosopher who said the ruling was ‘rational and just’ and concluded with the remark: ‘The faith does not grow from resentment and the rejection of rationality, but from its fundamental affirmation, and from being rooted in a still greater form of reason.’ The protest against the visit was spearheaded by physicist Marcello Cini who wrote the rector complaining of an ‘incredible violation” of the university’s autonomy. Cini said of Benedict’s cancellation: ‘By canceling, he is playing the victim, which is very intelligent. It will be a pretext for accusing us of refusing dialogue.’”

To reestablish dialog, should we invite the Pope to our play?

My family had a great Christmas and New Year, and I enjoyed a little time off from work at the theatre.  Today, I came back to the office, and it wasn’t long before I had to dive into everything waiting for me — for example, doing the Final Show Report for the Clarence Brown Theatre’s production of A Christmas Carol.  We did really well, so it’s taking a while.

Like most regional theatres, we operate on a fiscal or “school” year, so we’re only half way through our season.  But today was an example of how a theatre proceeds through the year — out with the old, in with the new.

Now parked at our loading dock are two full-sized truck trailers, ready to be loaded with the set of A Christmas Carol.  The set’s been waiting on stage through the Christmas break, but now must come down to make way for The Life of Galileo.  The strike began today, involving a large number of people from the scene, props, and lighting shops.  Normally, our sets are simply thown out when a show is over — a few easily reusable items are saved for future use, but most of the set is thrown away or sent to salvage.  It’s not that we don’t want to keep them — the cost of storage is just too high.  In this show’s case, however, we know we will use this same set again very soon, so with the help of a CBT supporter, we’re storing it in the trailers until Knoxville needs another dose of the holiday spirit.  It’s kinda in the vein of the old Robert Cothran Christmas Carol set with the three turntables, which reappeared for a couple of decades.  We’ll see how long this one lasts — it worked well this (oops, last) year.

About the same time, actors and designers gathered in the Carousel for Galileo’s first rehearsal.  This new production draws upon not only our resident company, but a “hired gun” lead actor and artistic personnel from around the country.  The production’s principles got together for a “Meet and Greet”, viewed presentations by the designers, conducted Actor’s Equity business, and got started with the rehearsal process.  Opening Night (February 1) will be here before we know it!

In the box office, I busied myself with making deposits and then moved onto the aforementioned Christmas Carol  Final Show Report after making a few adjustments to the seating charts for The Life of Galileo.  We’re also processing more gift certificates and season ticket orders that came in the last couple of days of the run of Christmas Carol.

Later this week, I’ll be considering some ticketing system options for next season.  The artistic director and faculty will be finalizing the program lineup for next year.  It never stops!

There’s another thing that never stops — the needs of the less fortunate in our community.  The Clarence Brown Theatre made a modest effort in asking our single ticket buyers of A Christmas Carol  to bring non-perishable food items during the run for the Second Harvest Food Bank’s Food for Families program.  Our patrons responded with several barrels full of food items, some of which were picked up and distributed before Christmas, and others to restock their supply. 

Although the collection at the theatre is over, the need for food for the poor of East Tennessee transcends calendars, so we ask that you consider making your contributions directly to Second Harvest or to any of the other charitable organizations in the area.  Hopefully, this New Year will be a happier one for everyone!

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