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Christian Scheider sat watching a documentary about Mike Nichols, the late American film and theater director praised for his film adaptation of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” when a question came to him: What makes a great film versus what makes a great play?
Mr. Scheider, a Sagaponack native and the son of “Jaws” actor Roy Scheider, is familiar with the formula necessary to produce an admirable film and play. He co-produced and directed Ray Bradbury’s short story “The Murderer” and Kurt Vonnegut’s novel “Galápagos” and turned them into fully-staged theater productions. On the filmmaking side, he co-directed the documentary “Milarch,” the sketch comedy series “Tree Puppet Show,” and is currently co-directing, writing and producing the comedy “Animal Party.”
He recognizes that film and live theater each offer certain qualities that the other cannot, and that adapting a play into a film is not always as simple as just reenacting the play verbatim in front of a camera. Mr. Scheider is more interested in cases where the adaptation offers something new and exciting, rather than repeating what has already been done. “I’m really interested in, specifically, films that are a continuation of the play rather than just a blank adaptation,” he said.
When Mr. Scheider watched the film adaptation of the Shakespeare tragedy “Coriolanus,” he noticed something interesting. “There was something distinct and vast about it that a play couldn’t do,” he said, noting that the play is usually very difficult to produce. It was that moment when Mr. Scheider thought of the idea to make a series to analyze themes and techniques of some of his favorite film adaptations of plays.
Along with “Coriolanus,” films included in the upcoming series at Amagansett Free Library are “Fences,” “Glengarry Glen Ross,” “A Raisin in the Sun,” “Marat/Sade” and “Bug.” Mr. Scheider will provide a critical and contextual introduction to each film followed by a discussion after the screening.
“I’m interested in how each of the films on the list pushes the boundary of the medium,” he said. “Viewing a play through a different medium, film, really allows for a reinterpretation of the play. It’s like another venue for the same material.”
Mr. Scheider said guests don’t need to have seen the plays to enjoy the film series, which will be held on the first three Wednesdays of July and August. With the exception of “Coriolanus,” he tried to steer away from classic, more well-known works and include fresher, modern plays.
He said he is looking forward to hosting this series at the library as he believes it is one of the best resources in the community. “It’s one of the most underused resources we have,” he said. “It’ll be great having the series there because anybody can come, and you don’t have to be rich.”
Christian Scheider’s “Plays on Film” series begins with “Fences” on Wednesday, July 5, followed by “Coriolanus” on July 12, “Glengarry Glen Ross” on July 19, “Raisin in the Sun” on August 2, “Marat/Sade” on August 9 and “Bug” on August 16. Sessions are free and begin at 7 p.m. at Amagansett Free Library. For more information, call 631-267-38910 or visit amaglibrary.org.
on Jun 23, 2017