THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, April 10, 1996 TAG: 9604090148
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 13 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JENNIFER BENNETT, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 89 lines
From creating stories on an old-fashioned tape recorder in Norfolk almost half a century ago to writing poetic works for theater, one Virginia Beach playwright signifies destiny.
``I never had any consciousness of being on earth without knowing that I was a writer,'' said the 52-year-old poet and novelist, Robert P. Arthur.
Arthur, an English professor at the Virginia Beach Campus of Tidewater Community College, recently put his creative expertise to work for Christopher Newport University's upcoming theater production, ``Phaedra.'' The play, about sexual obsession, will be performed Friday through Sunday at CNU's Gaines Theater in Newport News.
Not to be confused with an adaptation, the original script is based on a Greek myth about a character of the same name. In Arthur's story, a strong warrior romances a woman named Phaedra, only to desert her on his island where, in his absence, she falls desperately in love with his son.
With qualities of a classic tragedy, this work shuns ordinary standards in lieu of post-modernist style theater with a poetic script. Costuming by Sue Griffin of Theatre Virginia demonstrates attire from different times, and George Hillow's set design displays decor from one era to another all at once.
The action takes place in a ``timeless setting,'' Arthur said, ``to make it universal.'' An added bonus includes casting of international talent.
With Ina Gogalova-Marojevic, a Slovakian theater and film star in the title role, Phaedra provides an opportunity for Hampton Roads audiences to experience fresh entertainment. Under the direction of Bruno Koch, Tidewater native Joseph Mahler plays Phaedra's husband, Teddy. A complex, multi-faceted character, Teddy forces the actor to draw on numerous qualities due to Arthur's writing genius, Mahler said.
``The challenge is to maintain a heroic stature with an edge of modernity,'' the actor explained.
Having written for more than 30 years, Arthur studied under writing greats and fine-tuned his skills.
Before graduating from Granby High School in Norfolk, Arthur sparked an interest in theater. However, he began to write professionally after breaking his neck at football practice at the University of Richmond, where he was on an athletic scholarship. Instead of returning to the game, he decided to follow his call to the creative arts.
Thereafter, he paid for school by producing novels for publishers such as Doubleday and Bantam as a ghost writer. The University of Richmond was so impressed with the former athlete that they hired him to teach as soon as he graduated.
``My classmates were my students,'' recalled Arthur, who said he felt that he had taught college ``all (his) life.''
After completing his master's degree in creative writing and teaching at the University of Richmond, Arthur moved on to the University of Arkansas, where he obtained his master of fine arts and taught some more. A few years passed before Arthur returned to Hampton Roads.
``I missed the sea,'' he said. ``I'm a sea poet.'' Much of his work deals with the water, since he was raised in Melfa.
With roots firmly established in the Eastern Shore, he had good reason to miss home. His great, great grandfather, William Drummond, was a British writer.
``My family was here before the country was founded,'' he said. He has been in Virginia Beach for about 10 years with his wife, Gray, and five children. The writing tradition continues with his 31-year-old daughter, Nicole, who works as a music critic for The Washington Post, and a 19-year-old daughter, Hannah, at the University of Kentucky, who also aspires to write.
Formerly a drama critic and columnist for The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star, Arthur now writes for Port Folio and serves as founding editor of the Blackwater Review, a national literary magazine. Over the years, this writer has won numerous awards, including the Baucum Fulkerson Award for Literary Excellence, a citation for the People's Academy of the Arts and the Seay Fellowship.
Having written three books, five plays and countless poems, Arthur integrates his own special blend of poetry and theater in his work. His poetic play ``Hymn to the Chesapeake'' and the book of the same name has been viewed by audiences in New York, Russia, Norway, Washington and Virginia.
He already is at work on his next production, titled ``Fut Bar and the Nature of Evil,'' to be performed later this year. True to his calling, Arthur plans to continue writing poetic plays.
``A play is a nightmare rewriting, a novel is a nightmare butt sitting, but poetry is fun all the time,'' he said. MEMO: For tickets to ``Phaedra,'' call (804) 594-7089. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by D. KEVIN ELLIOTT
Robert Arthur wrote ``Phaedra,'' a play based on a Greek myth.
by CNB