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Theater for the Video Game Age
Mabou Mines’ FINN breaks boundaries at Skirball
Robbie Collier Sublett as Finn McCool in a scene from FINN ? (Photo: Paula Court)
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FINN McCool is one the most famous figures in Irish mythology. The boy who battles his way to power had been rattling in the head of Sharon Fogarty, Mabou Mines’ Co-Artistic Director, since working on a production of Finnegans Wake. Simultaneously, she was observing the behavior of her 15-year-old son, particularly his love of video games. “I was thinking about what FINN meant to the time frame. At the same time, my son was playing these video games that involved mythology.” The congruous nature of the two influences cemented the original concept for FINN, a bold new play to be presented at the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts by Mabou Mines. Fogarty continued, “FINN wants to be a leader and he sees violence as the way to get it; the violent nature of these video games, as well as their expansive qualities and the way they look, led to the idea for FINN.”
The collaboration with Skirball was essentially at the inception of the play. While doing a presentation at the theatre, Fogarty met Misha Zabranska and Misha Votruba, the duo that make up the Czech digital art company Misha Films. She began discussing her idea for FINN and the ideas about video games and film spectacle ramped up once she met them. Two years later, with the help of Irish playwright Jocelyn Clark, traditional Scottish composer Phil Cunningham and Irish composer Manus Lunny, FINN came to fruition. The play uses the Czech theatrical technique “Laterna Magika,” a multimedia presentation that makes it appear as if actors step off of the screen. Visually stunning and theatrically innovative, FINN aims to open the world of theater to a whole new audience.
FINN will play at the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, from March 4—7, 2010. Tickets are available by visiting www.skirballcenter.nyu.edu/calendar/FINN.