Five Times God
The Department of Theatre and Dance at Gustavus Adolphus College is pleased to present the Ethan Bjelland ’12 translation of Swedish playwright Jonas Hassen Khemiri’s Five Times God. Three performances of Bjelland’s senior honors project in translation and direction in the Black Box (November 11 & 12 at 7:00 p.m. and 13 at 2:00 p.m.) are sold out. An additional performance of Five Times God has been added on Friday, November 11 at 10:30 p.m. Seating is limited for the production. Tickets for the additional show will be available online at www.gustavustickets.com, by calling 507-933-7590, or at the SAO desk.
Following up on the success of The Stronger, directed by Bjelland in November 2010, Five Times God is a high energy and inventive interpretation of the Swedish script. Five Times God, still unpublished in English, was translated by Bjelland to address Swedish identity at Gustavus. Bjelland is the third person to get permission from Khemiri to translate the piece which directly addresses Gustavus’ Swedish heritage by asking, “What does it really mean to be Swedish?”
Five scenes in this play address five very different ideas of Swedish identity. Five Times God addresses the current and universal questions of discrimination, immigration, and the privileges of education all while presenting the five hilarious yet complex characters in a Swedish drama class. Showcasing fresh Gustavus talent, Five Times God stars Tim McComas-Brussa ’13, Autumn Ike ’15, Mason Henderson ’15, Jerica Massey ‘15, and Jason Lee Dennis ‘15.
Montecore: a unique tiger, the second novel written by Jonas Hassen Khemiri and translated by Gustavus graduate Rachel Wilson Broyles can be purchased in the Bookmark. Currently one of the most popular and controversial authors in Sweden, Khemiri will potentially be speaking at the MayDay! Conference this May.
The lighting design for Five Times God was creating by Benjamin Kolis ’12 and Karla Leitzman ’13 with costume design by Jessica Van Kempen ’14. Scenic design consultation was done by Lydia Francis ’11, who is currently working at the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis as a scenic artist. Stage management for the production has been provided by Connie Boatwright with Assistant Stage Management by Kelsey Francis.
Seating is limited for the production. Tickets for the additional show will be available online at www.gustavustickets.com, by calling 507-933-7590, or at the SAO desk.