Clio Contogenis and Rom Barkordar in "The Art of Burning." The show, written by Kate Snodgrass and directed by Melia Bensussen in association with The Huntington Theatre Company, runs through March 26 at the Hartford Stage (50 Church St.). For more information and tickets, visit www.hartfordstage.org/the-art-of-burning.
T. Charles Erickson/T Charles EricksonCan humor be found in a show that explores the breakdown of a marriage, the ugly parts of divorce, child custody, helping your teenager cope with the former, infidelity, and more?
In “The Art of Burning” by Kate Snodgrass, running through March 26 at The Hartford Stage, the audience will find out.
The plot: Mid-negotiation, modernist painter Patricia changes the terms of her "conscious uncoupling” with Jason. She wants full custody of their 15-year-old daughter Beth. Jason demands that their daughter decide, but mysteriously Beth didn’t show up for school. Has Patricia hidden her away to protect her, or is there something more sinister afoot?
Rom Barkhordar, who plays Jason, is based in Chicago. He studied filmmaking and acting at Montana State University in Boseman and went on to tour with outdoor Shakespeare theater. He eventually was hired at The Huntington Theatre Company in Boston, – which is a partner in this show.
Though the show is billed as a “new comedy,” Barkhordar said it isn’t a “full comedy.”
“There’s a lot of very serious adult-themed stuff going on,” he said. But there are funny parts in all these themes, he added.
“There are a lot of elements of comedy, absurdity, and in some cases laugh-out-loud ridiculousness. When humans are under duress they’re going to do ridiculous things. That comes to light in this play,” Barkhordar said.
His character, Jason, is part of the divorce and joint custody battle. The marriage between the characters has felt over for a while, but Jason’s affair with a younger woman is the final nail in the coffin.
“We also have a 15-year-old daughter, and we’re trying to convince her everything is going to be ok,” he said.
In the midst of all this, Patricia, Jason’s soon-to-be ex-wife, comes to the conclusion that the couple has raised their daughter entirely wrong.
“She wants to take radical steps to fix it. She realizes her daughter has been raised in a patriarchy,” Barkhordar said. As Jason, he is trying to understand this challenge and support them both.
However, he uses terms that are now considered misogynistic to dismiss his wife’s concerns, telling her she’s crazy or hysterical, the actor said.
The challenge for Barkhordar is trying to make Jason not entirely “hateable” to the audience who would then just write him off.
“We’re trying to offer a kinder, gentler Jason so that people can understand his point of view,” he said.
The audience will go through the gamut of emotions watching “The Art of Burning,” Barkhordar said, from rage, to empathy, for all the characters.
“They will relate (since) almost all of them have their own relationships with marriage, children, and family (and) have gone through similar (trials) as the characters,” he said.
The audience will also benefit from Patricia’s journey, as she shows them an alternative way of thinking toward living their lives and raising their children.
“We may realize that how our society raises children, with old values and the patriarchy, especially after the last few years, just may not work anymore,” Barkhordar said.
Barkhordar has heard from couples who have seen the show that had spirited conversations about it afterward.
“There was one (man) who told me his wife told him he couldn’t say a thing as he wasn’t allowed to have any opinion at all,” he said, laughing.
“The Art of Burning,” written by Kate Snodgrass and directed by Melia Bensussen in association with The Huntington Theatre Company, runs through March 26 at the Hartford Stage (50 Church St.). For more information and tickets, visit www.hartfordstage.org/the-art-of-burning.