Aporia Rep. Moves From Wien to Bigger Things

Remember that student play you saw last year about the guy who did that thing and then that other guy got into a fight with him about it? Too often, theater experiences just aren’t memorable, moving through audiences’ heads without leaving a mark. Sarah Wansley, CC ’08, artistic director of the new campus theater group Aporia Repertory Company, believes theater should stick, causing the audience to look beyond the plot and into their own lives.

Along with producing partners Alec Turnbull and Elizabeth Grefrath, both CC ’08, Wansley wants to put a stop to theater that vanishes from thought as soon as the boy gets (or loses) the girl.

Aporia’s mission and philosophy is easily summed up in the name. Aporia is a term from Plato’s Socratic dialogues that Wansley defines as “enlightened confusion.” It is a state of puzzlement reached when basic beliefs and ideas are shattered or effectively challenged. Wansley’s goal is for the company to perform plays that provoke major reactions, making what she calls a “theatre of Ideas.” To that effect, the group plans to host post-show discussions and encourage its audience to continue thinking about the play even after the curtain closes.

As a repertory company, Aporia strives to foster a cooperative and ensemble attitude both on and behind the stage. Actors with the group participate in multiple productions, as do the technical and artistic staff. The idea is to create a team whose members know each other and are comfortable working together, thereby avoiding the lengthy “getting-to-know-you” process that often takes up half the rehearsal time. This also keeps a consistent level of quality—when you attend an Aporia show, you know the level of performance to expect.

Despite their commitment to intelligent plays, the producers are not interested in making dry, academic statements or hitting the audience over the head with messages. “Good intellectual theater should be engaging and entertaining,” Wansley says. Aporia’s selections for this semester fully upholds this statement. Two of the plays, The Real Inspector Hound by Tom Stoppard and Variations On the Death of Trotsky by David Ives, are absurdist comedies. The third is No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre. According to Alec, No Exit “may not be as funny, but it is far from dull.” All three plays deal with complicated existential issues, but they are also enjoyable on a purely visceral and immediate level.

The Aporia Repertory Company wants to present complex issues to the campus community, but it is also dedicated to bringing these issues to the wider New York area. All three of the company’s chief producers are graduating this year, and their goal is to establish Aporia as a bridge between student theater and the professional theater in New York. As a result, they will be presenting two evenings of plays, one on campus and one off. The Real Inspector Hound will be performed in Wien on October 19 and 20, while Variations on the Death of Trotsky and No Exit will be performed together at the Cherry Lane Theatre on November 15 and 16.

The shows at the Cherry Lane Theatre will be late-night performances, after the Cherry Lane’s mainstage production has finished. Wansley describes the studio that the group will use as an “Off-off-Broadway space in an off-Broadway theater.” The Cherry Lane Theatre, New York’s oldest continually running off-Broadway theater, has demonstrated a commitment to helping young and developing artists by renting out space, developing plays, and offering classes. Wansley describes the Cherry Lane performance as “an opportunity to perform for a non-Columbia audience, raising the bar for the entire production.” Actors get a chance to experience a tougher crowd, and the technical crew is able to get a handle on how professional theater operates.

Eventually, the producers hope that Aporia will grow to include both alumni working in professional theater and current Columbia students. Plans down the road include a possible show over the summer during the New York International Fringe Festival. For now, Aporia is starting small with three one-acts, but it plans to produce a full-length play next semester.

Through it all, the group’s commitment to two principles—fostering a comfortable group environment that ensures a seal of quality, and producing intellectually stimulating and compelling theater—remains strong. The group’s hope is that both the campus community and the wider world of New York will take notice.