 st. louis . metroeast . theatre |
st. louis . metroeast . theatre |
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Director, playwright, translator, founder/artistic director of
Upstream Theater; Director, Marija's Pictures
2007 Kevin Kline Award Nominations for Marija's Pictures:
Outstanding Production of a Play
Outstanding Sound Design
Outstanding New Play or Musical (Lydia Scheuermann Hodak)
Outstanding Ensemble in a Play
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play (Linda Kennedy)
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Play (Elizabeth Birkenmeier)
Philip Boehm's mission is to bring an international perspective to St. Louis theater, and he's well equipped to do it. Fluent in several languages, Boehm has spent his career finding points of contact between cultures. Formerly an Artistic Associate at 7 Stages Theatre in Atlanta, in 2004 Boehm founded Upstream Theater, which strives to enhance local cultural offerings with innovative dramatic productions and to engage audiences from a variety of cultures.
Linguistic leanings: Boehm studied German in high school, learned Polish living in Poland, and "picked up" Spanish at home in Texas and abroad. But translating novels isn't simply a matter of knowing a foreign language, Boehm explains. "You do need to understand the language you're translating, but you really have to know your target language. You have to hear the voice in Polish and then rewrite it in English." Boehm fits the bill on both counts: he's received several awards for his literary translations, most recently the Schlegel-Tieck Award from the U.K. Society of Authors.
Found in translation: Boehm sees similarities between his work as a literary translator and his work in the theater. "Both are acts of interpretation," he explains. "There's more overlap than most people realize. They are both kinds of crossings. You're working to translate one culture or one language into another."
A synthesis of arts: A relative latecomer to theater, Boehm didn't begin to explore the performing arts until he was in college. "I felt drawn to a number of arts," he explains. "Theater combines so many forms &emdash; music, art, literature. It's that synthetic aspect of theater that appealed to me."
Theater behind the curtain: In the '80s, Boehm studied at the State Academy of Theater in Warsaw, and was struck by vibrancy of theater in the country. "This was communist Poland in a period of shortages and rations," he recalls. "It was a time of material want and spiritual need. Theater was very much part of the fabric of the society."
Slavic True West: While working in Poland, Boehm mounted the Polish premiere of Sam Shepard with a production of True West. Explaining why he chose that play, Boehm says, "I felt the showdown between the two brothers would have a universal appeal." Still, the translation presented its own linguistic challenges for Boehm and co-translator Elzbieta Sklodowska. "It wasn't easy to find a Polish equivalent for a
line like 'Sucker hauled ass, didn't it?' &emdash; about a 1940 Ford."
Collaborative arts: As artistic director of Upstream Theater, Boehm is particularly grateful to work with a board that shares his excitement about projects which bring a variety of cultures and institutions into collaboration. Alma en venta/Soul on Sale, an original premiered by Upstream in April of 2006, was about a Mexican-American painter struggling to define his artistic and ethnic identity. For that production, Upstream commissioned a number of paintings by local
Hispanic artists. When Prof. John Garganigo, an Upstream supporter, brought a Spanish version of Marija's Pictures back from Argentina, Boehm knew it was a perfect fit. "The subject is sadly universal, and we were specifically looking for a play that would engage local communities from the former Yugoslavia &emdash; there are over 50,000 Bosnians living in
St. Louis. The playwright, who is Croatian, loved that idea."
Alt St. Louis: "I see St. Louis as an emerging theater scene," says Boehm. "When you look all over the country, most regional theaters are doing the same set of plays. In some places their offerings are enhanced by groups doing other things. We're starting to see more of these alternatives in St. Louis, but we're a big city, so we could be supporting even more innovative theater." And Upstream is certainly doing its part &emdash; Knives in Hens, by British playwright David Harrower opens at Upstream April 27.
