![\"Oedipus](\"http:\/\/www.utk.edu\/tntoday\/wp-content\/uploads\/oedipus_rex_2010.jpg\" "\\"Oedipus")
<\/a>\u201cThis play is an example–an ancient example–of a culture\u2019s effort to make sense of the incomprehensibility of man\u2019s existence.\u00a0 It raises searching questions about man\u2019s place in the world–is man free or are his actions predetermined by some supernatural force?\u00a0 This question is at the heart of Sophocles\u2019 play and one that has perplexed philosophers and theologians for centuries,\u201d said director John Sipes. \u201cOedipus left his home to escape his \u201cdestiny\u201d only to learn later that he had precisely fulfilled the god\u2019s horrific prediction.\u00a0 Ironically, it is Oedipus\u2019 choice to uncover the truth that destroys him; it is in exercising his free will that he discovers the horrible truth of his existence.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n Sipes is a second-year faculty member in the UT Theatre Department.\u00a0 Prior to this, he was the Resident Movement Director for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon. In thirteen seasons at the Festival, he worked on over 100 productions. Before joining the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, he directed shows and choreographed fights for the Illinois Shakespeare Festival for twelve seasons; he served as the Festival\u2019s Artistic Director from 1990 to 1995. Recent directing credits include \u201cLove\u2019s Labour\u2019s Lost\u201d and \u201cAll My Sons\u201d at the Clarence Brown, \u201cHenry VIII\u201d and \u201cKing John\u201d at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, \u201cThe Year of Magical Thinking\u201d and \u201cThe Hollow\u201d at the Milwaukee Rep, and \u201cJulius Caesar\u201d at Shakespeare Santa Cruz. He received an MFA in Acting from Indiana University. He is a certified Teacher of the Alexander Technique (AmSat), and a certified actor\/combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors. John also trained in Corporeal Mime with Etienne Decroux in Paris, and studied with Tadashi Suzuki in Japan.<\/p>\n The cast includes many talented resident artists, MFA students, and community actors, all of whom have been seen regularly on the CBT stages.\u00a0 They are:\u00a0 David Alley, Carol Mayo Jenkins, David Kortemeier, Donald Thorne, Cycerli Ash, Jessica Ripton and Matt Ventura.<\/p>\n The cast also includes three visiting guest artists.\u00a0 Jeremy Holm, a New York actor, returns to play the role of \u201cOedipus.\u201d\u00a0 He previously appeared in the CBT productions of \u201cAnna Karenna\u201d and \u201cThe Trojan Women.\u201d Elizabeth Norment, also a New York actor, will play the role of \u201cJocasta.\u201d\u00a0 She has appeared on regional theatre stages, Broadway and in film and television, and she most recently performed in the one-woman show \u201cThe Year of Magical Thinking\u201d at the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre.\u00a0 Ned Schmidtke, formerly based in Chicago, now resides in Los Angeles where he maintains a busy career in television, film and theatre.<\/p>\n Visiting guest artist, Jennifer Tipton, designed the lights.<\/p>\n \u201cMs. Tipton is a two-time Tony Award and two-time Drama Desk Award winning Lighting Designer, and a recipient of the prestigious MacArthur Genius Award.\u00a0 She has designed lights for theatre and dance on Broadway and in regional theatres across the country.\u00a0\u00a0 In addition to her prolific professional career, Ms. Tipton has taught Lighting Design at the Yale School of Drama since 1981 where she has inspired countless young designers many of whom are now significant professional designers themselves.\u00a0 We all feel privileged to have the opportunity to collaborate with an artist of Ms. Tipton\u2019s caliber,\u201d Sipes said.<\/p>\n MFA set design student, Mary Pingree, designed the set.<\/p>\n \u201cThe set contains some architectural elements that harken back to the ancient theatres of Greece, and some others that could be found in our city centers today.\u00a0 So, the set will appear simultaneously foreign and familiar, old and new, much in the same haunting way the story of \u201cOedipus Rex\u201d feels–at once mysteriously distant and unreal, while at the same time, disturbingly recognizable and very real,\u201d Sipes said.<\/p>\n Marianne Custer, head of Design at UT, designed the costumes.<\/p>\n \u201cMarianne\u2019s costume designs suggest a modern world while simultaneously evoking aspects of the ancient past.\u00a0 Her designs, as always, contributed immeasurably to the shaping of our approach to the play\u201d Sipes said.<\/p>\n UT Theater faculty member, Terry Silver-Alford, and resident sound designer, Mike Ponder, collaborated as Composer and Sound Designer.<\/p>\n \u201cOur production will include some of Terry\u2019s original music played on a \u201cprepared piano.\u201d\u00a0 Terry\u2019s music captures exquisitely the mystery and haunting beauty of the play,\u201d Sipes said.<\/p>\n Preview for the show is February 4.\u00a0 Opening night is February 5. The show runs to February 21. Evening performances begin at 7:30 p.m. Matinees begin at 2 p.m.\u00a0 For tickets, call the Clarence Brown Theatre box office at 865-974-5161, Tickets Unlimited at 865-656-4444 or online at http:\/\/www.clarencebrowntheatre.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n ###<\/p>\n Who: Clarence Brown Theatre in the Carousel Theatre<\/p>\n What: \u201cOedipus the King\u201d<\/p>\n When: Feb. 4-21. 2010, 7:30 p.m. and 2 p.m.<\/p>\n Tickets: Preview: Adult $20, UT Fac\/Staff\u2014BOGO $17, Seniors $17, Students $12, UT Students Free with ID<\/p>\n Opening: Adults $33, Students $20, UT Students $10 with ID<\/p>\n Wed\/Thursday: Adults $22, UT Fac\/Staff\u2014BOGO $19 Seniors $19, Students $12, UT Students $5 with ID<\/p>\n Weekends: Adults $27, UT Fac\/Staff-BOGO $22, Seniors $22, Students $15, UT Students $5 with ID<\/p>\n