![]() Doug collected things from gardens all around Philadelphia, and worked tirelessly and imaginatively to create a beautiful environment that strikes you the second the audience enters the space. We wanted it to feel current and based on everyday objects. The props we used in the play would emerge from the garden and be used in each scene, so that there would be a cohesion between the stories. The first decision was to set the play in a garden, where things could grow-a single space that could become each of the five settings. ![]() Walking into the theater, I thought I had entered a kind of Alice in Wonderland world. Tell us about the stage design and Doug Green’s unusual transformation of the old theater into a magical playground. I also knew that all the stories should take place in a single garden. I knew right away that our handful of actors would have to play about 40 roles and that we should use objects to denote character. Reading Wilde’s stories made me laugh and cry and shake my head all at once. What were your first reactions to the invitation to direct Wilde ’ s moving story, written for children, and the challenge they present for any director? How can we tell these stories efficiently? My goal is to get rid of any excessive gesture, but also to keep the scale epic, and the visuals beautiful. The challenge of staging these seemingly unstageable moments between animals and inanimate objects is exactly what draws me to the theater. While I had not grown up with these stories, I now can’t imagine my life without them, as they seem to be little guidebooks on “how to be.” They are poetic and searing, and particularly suited for a stage adaptation. It is newly near and dear to my heart, yes! I was just introduced to the material by Alex nearly a year ago. You said that Wilde Tales “is near and dear to my heart.” Tell me why. It read, “Being natural is only a pose, and the greatest pose I know.” This inspired me to read Dorian Gray, which I devoured. ![]() My first Wilde encounter came in the form of a T-shirt I got at a Rufus Wainwright concert when I was 14. What were your first experiences with the work of Oscar Wilde, one of the wittiest, but also one of the most vulnerable Irish writers in oppressive Victorian England? For the audition, I sang “I Got No Strings” from Pinocchio, reading the lyrics off the pamphlet that comes in the CD jewel case. Jeremy Bloom: In the third grade, I responded to a local call for children to play munchkins in a version of The Wizard of Oz at a local high school. Photo courtesy of Quintessence Theatre Group. Henrik Eger: What are some of your first memories as a child or a young person in getting involved with the theater? Director Jeremy Bloom. Bloom works as a Drama League directing fellow, an EST resident director, Soho Rep Lab An alumnus of Northwestern University’s Performance Studies Program, Bloom’s assistant credits include The Met, Broadway, and regional theaters. Bloom was awarded an artist-in-residence at the Cell Theatre and serves as a HARP Artist. As one of the two founders of Rady & Bloom-the “rising stars in the indie theatre world” (TDF Stages)-Bloom produced new film and theater works with his partner, Brian Rady. Jeremy Bloom,popular New York director of original theatrical adaptations, poetry plays, and opera world premieres, created the much talked about La Boheme (Spoken) and Leaves of Grass (Nude). Philadelphia’s Quintessence Theatre Group presented five of them in most creative ways under the direction of New York Director Jeremy Bloom: The Devoted Friend, The Nightingale and the Rose, The Remarkable Rocket, The Selfish Giant, and the most famous of them all, The Happy Prince, led to a remarkable evening, enthusiastic reactions from children and adults alike, and a positive, critical response from all theater reviewers. In 1888, Wilde published The Happy Prince and Other Tales. Married to Constance Lloyd, Wilde fathered two sons-Cyril (1885) and Vyvyan (1886). ![]() Oscar Wilde (1854-1900), famous and controversial Irish playwright, novelist, essayist, and poet, also authored thought provoking fairy stories for children that appeared in various magazines.
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