Ecce Faustus is an original performance event revolving around the Faust legend and its reverberations in the world today. We all know the basic story: successful but unsatisfied, Faust sold his soul to the devil in exchange for his deepest desires. In Ecce Faustus, APL deconstructs the familiar legend, liberating the theatrical event from narrative shackles to create a resonant, Modern Medieval Mystery Play.
Shadowed by the Angel of Death, The Dramatist conjures forth from The Book of Faust a maddening rite of wisdom, pride, ego, innocence, transgression, and regret.
Inspired by the climactic chapters of Thomas Mann’s novel Doctor Faustus, APL imagines what might be revealed at the threshold between heaven and hell in the singular moment that is simultaneously the pinnacle of The Dramatist’s artistic career, the fulfillment of a diabolical bargain struck 24 years earlier, and the surrender of his life.
Ecce Faustus is an uncompromising example of APL’s signature aesthetic, Theatre of Polyphony: our original approach to crafting compelling and vital ensemble performance events that symbiotically interweave music, movement and poetry while reinventing the given spatial location and audience relationship to our art.
Integral to Ecce Faustus are madrigal and sacred choral masterpieces composed by Carlo Gesualdo – a Renaissance Italian prince, madman, and murderer – sung a cappella by the cast in otherworldly five-part harmonies. Joseph Lavy’s textual montage draws from numerous sources about the Faust story or relevant to its themes , and the ensemble plumbs personal and archetypal associations to investigate the possibilities of sacrifice, salvation, damnation, and the unfathomable mystery of death.
Where and how will the Faustian impulse be revealed?
Look forward to an exquisite artistic experience governed less by narrative than by the rules of music and poetry.
CAST
- ANGEL OF DEATH: Emily Jo Testa
- SOPHIA: Zhenya Lavy
- PSYCHOMACHIA:
- GOOD ANGEL: Annie Paladino
- BAD ANGEL: Tyler J. Polumsky
- HELEN: Sara Kaus
- NARCISSUS: Matt Sherrill
- ECHO: Catherine Lavy
- THE DRAMATIST: Joseph Lavy
PRODUCTION TEAM
- DIRECTOR: Joseph Lavy
- MUSIC DIRECTOR: Zhenya Lavy
- TEXTUAL MONTAGE: Joseph Lavy
- ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Margaretta Campagna
LOGISTICS
- Dates: February 5-27 (inclusive Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays)
- Time: 8:00 PM, runs 75 minutes
- Address: Northminster Presbyterian Church, 7706 25th Ave NW, Seattle WA 98117 (Ballard neighborhood)
JOIN THE CONVERSATION
- #EcceFaustus (Primary show hashtag. Show news, images, thoughts, etc.)
- Ecce Faustus (Curated Storify board of show reviews, responses, images, news, artist thoughts and process, etc.)
REVIEWS
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“I have a terrible fear I shall one day be pronounced holy”: Akropolis Performance Lab’s Ecce Faustus – Omar Willey, Seattle Star, February 6, 2016
“…they’ve created a work that makes me think all is not lost in Seattle. […] Without question, APL’s work continues a tradition of holy theater in Peter Brook’s sense that’s rather gone missing in Seattle’s theaters. […] a poetic and thoughtful meditation upon the possibilities for a theater that exists at the boundaries: beyond mere recitation of text, beyond merely ‘natural’ movements that accompany dialogue–but not exactly dance, and not exactly chorus either.” - “Ecce Faustus” – Marie Bonfils, Drama in the Hood, February 7, 2016
“A truly ensemble cast of Emily Jo Testa, Zhenya Lavy, Annie Paladino, Tyler J. Polumsky, Sara Kaus, Matt Sherrill, Catherine Lavy and Joseph Lavy worked well together as singers, dancers, narrators and actors in this seemingly innovative yet traditional moralistic show.”
TICKETS: $0-$50 Sliding Scale
- VIP Admission | $50
Admission with reserved, VIP seating and an annotated copy of the play text. Thank you for helping us subsidize admissions for others unable to see this piece at full price. - Full Price | $30
Admission with general seating. - Students, Seniors, Industry | $20
Admission with general seating. Please bring your ID to show at the door. - Subsidized Admission ($15 off) | $15
We offer this option to ensure accessibility to individuals who could not otherwise attend this event. If your means allow, please pay full price.
Restrictions: Advanced, online reservations with guaranteed seating at this price are limited to 4 per show. Additional tickets at this level can be purchased day-of at the door for seats remaining. - Subsidized Admission ($25 off) | $5
We offer this option to ensure accessibility to individuals who could not otherwise attend this event. If your means allow, please pay one of the higher subsidized rates or full price.
Restrictions: Advanced, online reservations with guaranteed seating at this price are limited to 4 per show. Additional tickets at this level can be purchased day-of at the door for seats remaining. - Fully Subsidized Admission ($30 off) | FREE
We offer this option to ensure accessibility to individuals otherwise unable to attend. Please consider purchasing at a paid price level if your means allow.
Restrictions: Advanced, online reservations with guaranteed seating at this price are limited to 2 per show.
- Press Review Comp
Stipulations: All persons receiving a reserved press review ticket are expected to produce a written review with a publication date no later than the Friday following their attendance. Limited to 1 reserved seat per reviewer, plus 1s can be requested day-of at the door for seats remaining. To request a press review ticket, email ensemble@akropolisperformancelab.com with your preferred date of attendance, title and URL of publication, and the date you expect the review to be published. APL reserves the right to deny requests for press review comps.
