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Camille

Camille Claudel
Camille Claudel

Camille | Media List


Statement

Camille Claudel was an extraordinary sculptor in the late 1800s & early 1900s, as well as a student & mistress of Rodin. Our show takes nearly all of its text from actual letters written by, to or about Camille, and features 5 women playing Camille at different stages of her life- as well as the other characters. Reservations highly recommended (Old Arizona, 612-871-0050). There's a slight discount on groups of 6 or more- let me know if you'd like more info.

Genevieve and one of my fellow actors will be talking about Camille on KFAI's "Art Matters" on Nov. 10 at 11 AM. So if you're near a radio, turn it on! More info below.

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Camille
a new play based on the life and works of Camille Claudel


Directed by Genevieve Bennett

created in collaboration with the actors:
Mirna Rae, Jaime Kleiman, Sara Richardson,
Judith Howard & Lavina Erickson

designed by:
Anna Lawrence, Dallas Musselman, Colette Flom, Christopher Heilman and Justin Jones



November 10th-12th and 17th-19th;
Fridays, Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 7pm
Old Arizona Theatre, 2821 Nicollet Ave. S. Minneapolis

$12 Adults/$10 Students and Seniors
Reservations: (612) 871-0050


Camille tells the true story of a passionate artist struggling to make her voice heard in a society that could not recognize her value. Enter the Paris art world of the late nineteenth century accompanied by the young and vibrant sculptress, Camille Claudel, and follow the compelling journey of her life through to its tragic end. Most widely known as Auguste Rodin’s pupil, mistress and muse, this production seeks to reveal her as what she truly was: one of the most talented sculptors of her era.


Reviews

Multiple Personalities in Order: "Camille" at Old Arizona
November 14, 2006
Elizabeth Millard

Elizabeth Millard finds the collaborative approach of this drama recounting Camille Claudel's troubled life to be rich and effective. The play runs through November 19.
Old Arizona's production of "Camille," portraying the turbulent life of sculptor Camille Claudel, doesn't have a single piece of sculpture in the props list, but creates a notable work of art anyway.

Directed and co-produced by recent Minnesota transplant Genevieve Bennett -- who here displays her first non-New-York work -- the production is distinctive in part for its fluid movement. The five actors, who all play Claudel at different points in the sculptor's life as well as other characters, circle and surround each other frequently. In one scene, they become living embodiments of Claudel's art, draping arms across one another, flowing across the bodies of the other Camilles, to give the production a cohesive feel.

The spare set (by Anna Lawence) is comprised of four boxes, each smaller than the last, in a nod toward the increasingly dwindling world that Claudel experienced. In her youth, she is dwarfed by the large space, but as she grows older and finally into madness, Claudel can barely stand, squeezed on all sides by a world that has compacted her thoughts inward and literally bends her in half.

As a young Claudel, Mirna Rae artfully captures the artist's juvenile combination of hope and fledgling arrogance. Bright-eyed, with chin confidently raised, this first Camille emerges from her ample box with a steady stride and high voice, before goading her brother into posing for her first sculptures.

Appreciated by a Parisian teacher, she's bundled off to the City of Lights and emerges a bit more hesitantly from her next boxy world. This Camille is played by Jaime Kleiman. As a woman appreciated, loved, then scorned, Kleiman has the difficult task of portraying Claudel through her largest range of emotion and experience, and she succeeds quite well. Hers is a trembling Claudel, both from romantic and artistic passion. The tremor is also fueled by a nascent outrage that will ultimately consume her.

Older, somewhat wiser, the Claudel taken on by Sara Richardson is often a tangle of confusion, and Richardson is sublime in the way she works to retain the character's dignity in an arena of constant media criticism.

A particularly intriguing decision is to have Rodin set at a distance, although his actions play a central role Claudel's life. Rather than have any of the actors play Rodin, as they do with other characters, the sculptor is tangential, with his words drawn from letters that are spoken by all the actors as a chorus.

This sense of remove heightens Rodin's inaccessibility, even when he's pronouncing his unquenchable love and passion for Claudel. At first, the sculptress is charmed by his attentions and even becomes somewhat haughty to her dear friend, driving her away with snippy comments and an increasing aura of self-importance.

But as the relationship with Rodin sours, and the critics begin dismissing her work as a mere shadow of his, Claudel's frustration turns obsessive. Slipping into the role of madwoman-in-the-attic, Judith Howard emerges from the smallest box with hair in disarray and mind to match. Unlike the other actors who struggle with restraint, Howard has no such directive, and seems to relish the scene in which she destroys Claudel's studio, screaming and writhing on the floor.

Absent any more worlds-as-boxes, Claudel is finally institutionalized, portrayed by the majestic Lavina Erickson as a confused, twitching shell of her former self, but still with a flickering recognition of her unappreciated talent. She drifts in and out of self-consciousness, as the younger Claudels appear before her, a reminder of a life that could have been lived differently.

That the actors are so precise and exquisite in their roles isn't a surprise, given the collaborative nature of the production. Although Bennett was the one who initially stumbled on Claudel's story while researching Rodin, she involved the five actors in creating the story. The group pieced together letters, journals, medical records, reports from the Ministry of Fine Arts in Paris, and even read Ibsen's "When We Dead Awaken" for a sense of tone. The result is a unique experience: we hear Claudel's own words interpreted with sensitivity and, at times, sly wit.

Camille runs November 17-19 at the Old Arizona Theater, 2821 Nicollet Ave. S., Mpls. Call 612-871-0050 for tickets.