Break a leg! (Or marionette string)
It’s stage time for alumni David Oppenheim and Joseph Shragge. The two are co-producers of The Heretics of Bohemia -- a delightfully dark yet colourfully eccentric -- new play at Montreal’s Segal Centre for Performing Arts.
The absurdist comedy written by Shragge himself is about a paranoid king -- who tries to be a ruthless tyrant but fails miserably -- and his dysfunctional relationship with his mother.
“The show involves a varied cast which includes talking puppets and a bird monologue. It’s pretty different from anything people have seen before,” says Oppenheim in an interview. “The 20-odd puppets are all handmade and range from two- to eight-feet tall. Some have moving mouths, joints with strings or moving limbs and there are even shadow puppets.”
Oppenheim is also the show’s musical director and composed the score. He plays the guitar, ukulele and glockenspiel live onstage, accompanied by John Dodge, BFA 90, a graduate of Concordia’s music program, who plays bass, trombone, guitar and glockenspiel.
Another connection to the university is Morgan Nerenberg, one of the puppeteers, who is a student in Concordia’s Specialization in Theatre and Development.
“I love playing live music for theatre. Combining music and theatre adds a whole other dimension,” says Oppenheim. He has been performing, composing and directing music for theatre since 2003 and plays ukulele in the gypsy-punk band Roma Carnivale.
“Working in theatre is exciting -- I see a play through every step. It’s an amazing privilege to perform in the context of theatre. Something magical happens when musicians and actors play off each other.”
As one of five co-producers, Oppenheim is involved in everything from grant-writing, marketing and public relations, to selecting shows and securing funding. He loves his work. “It’s a lot of fun and I get to be creative everyday,” he says.
Oppenheim and Shragge have been friends since childhood. In 2003, they worked on their first show together, The Scavenger’s Daughter, the play Shragge penned as his master’s thesis.
Shragge co-founded Scapegoat Carnivale Theatre in 2006 with director Alison Darcy and stage manager Melanie St-Jacques. The company’s 2010 production of Medea at the Centaur Theatre won a MECCA award for Best Production. Shragge and co-producer Andreas Apergis translated the text from the ancient Greek into modern language and incorporated music, complete with a chorus commenting on the show.
Oppenheim earned his BA in philosophy in 2001 and his MA in history and philosophy of religion 2009. Of his Concordia education, he feels the research and writing skills he polished during his studies help him most in his work today. Among his most inspiring professors, he lists Lynda Clarke and Ira Robinson of the Department of Religion.
Shragge graduated with a BA in English and creative writing in 1998 and an MA in English in 2003.
What’s next for the pair and for Scapegoat Carnivale Theatre? Another adaptation: Euripides’ The Bacchae this fall at the Centaur, says Oppenheim.
- The Heretics of Bohemia runs at the Segal Centre from May 2 to 19.
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