FRESHWATER

Anne Bogart talks about her approach to Virginia Woolf's one and only play, FRESHWATER.

Virginia Woolf described the first staging of Freshwater at a friend's studio as an "unbuttoned laughing evening".  Has this influenced your direction of the play?

Oh yes!  The question that is always of utmost significance to me is "what were the conditions of the original production and what kind of energy was released at that moment?"   The fact that Woolf wrote the play for her family and friends is key.

What are the main challenges of bringing this work to a traditional theatre stage when the play was original written for a more intimate setting amongst friends - as part of the Bloomsbury parties of the 1920's?

How can we channel the humor, intelligence, talent and giddiness of the original Bloomsbury group?  How can we mine their extraordinary sensibilities and celebrate them in a way that means something to a 2009 audience?  The characters in Freshwater - Julia Cameron, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Ellen Terry and the others - had tremendous significance for for the Bloomsbury folk.  How do we match their fascination for these characters within the context of our own post-postmodern age?  

The main characters in the play are based on real people, some very famous.  Has this had an effect on your direction of the play?
Yes. The characters in the play were the direct predecessors of the Bloomsbury group for whom the play was performed.  They represented the generation that Woolf and her colleagues were rebelling against.  The fact that Virginia Woolf cast specific members of her family as specific characters in the play is also of great interest.  The combination of irreverence and awe for these characters is something I want to emulate. 

What do you consider as the main challenges of directing a comedy?
A comedy must be taken very seriously, much as a tragedy must be approached with great lightness and humor.  

What do you consider the main benefits of working with Womens Project?
The mission of the Women's Project is inspiring.  I'm also a huge fan of Julie Crosby and am so interested in her plans for the future.  

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