Ray Bradbury
By Siddarth Puri
Daily Bruin Contributor
He’s 81 and still going strong. He still runs to the
typewriter every morning to quickly transcribe the numerous ideas
that come to him in his sleep. He still writes for four hours a day
and lectures occasionally. He is Ray Bradbury.
Back in the public light again, Bradbury’s new project,
“Bradbury X 2″ opened last week. Produced by Bradbury,
the performance is composed of two of his one-act plays, “The
Chicago Abyss” and “Any Friend of Nicholas
Nickleby’s is a Friend of Mine.”
An Illinois native born in 1920, Bradbury has written over 500
novels, short stories, poems, librettos, screenplays and teleplays.
His most notable works include “Fahrenheit 451,”
“Something Wicked This Way Comes,” “The Martian
Chronicles” and “Illustrated Man.”
Bradbury’s literary expertise has garnered him numerous
awards including the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to
American Letters, an Academy Award nomination and an Emmy
Award.
Pandemonium Theatre Company In Bradbury’s new production,
"Bradbury X 2," "The Chicago Abyss" (the first act) stars
David Evans Brandt, Alan Oppenheimer and
Kathie Barnes (from left to right).
“I started to write when I was 11,” Bradbury said
during a phone interview from his Los Angeles home. “I loved
being in libraries and loved reading books. My main goal in writing
was, and is, to have fun; and if other people read it and enjoy it,
that’s great … but I don’t plan my writing according
to what people want to read.”
Throughout his childhood, Bradbury idolized and was influenced
by many authors who inspired him to create works that would entice
his own thoughts and by doing so, would entice readers.
“I was inspired by “˜Tarzan,’ Edgar Rice
Borrows, Edgar Allan Poe, Rudyard Kipling “¦ the list is
endless; there are so many loves,” Bradbury said.
Bradbury is most known as a science fiction writer. His interest
in the genre began when he was a young boy. Beginning with the 1950
novel, “The Martian Chronicles,” Bradbury’s
status as a science fiction writer was established. From then on,
he published numerous short stories and plays that were geared
toward the science fiction and fantasy genres.
Pandemonium Theatre Company In Bradbury’s "Any friend of
Nicholas Nickleby’s is a Friend of Mine," actors Steve
Nevil, Gordon Wells, Seemah
Wilder, David Evans Brandt and
Jeremy Sumpter, play confused people with identity
crises.
“Growing up in a society that was full of inventions, it
made me interested in many things ““ such as the history of
flying,” Bradbury said. “From the tales of flying from
fairy tales 300 years ago, to the Wright brothers in America, the
history of flying and the history of machines and inventions was
fascinating to me, even when I was 7 years old.”
From the typewriter to the theater, Bradbury furthers his
literary prowess through his numerous plays. Two such plays,
“The Chicago Abyss,” and “Any Friend of Nicholas
Nickleby’s is a Friend of Mine” have been included in
“Bradbury X 2.”
The two one-act plays, written by Bradbury, are very different
from one another ““ they are in fact on different sides of the
spectrum for the audience. “The Chicago Abyss” is a
tale of a world that has survived an episode of nuclear apocalypse,
while “Any Friend of Nicholas Nickleby’s”
describes the story of a 12-year-old boy in a small midwestern town
who meets a stranger claiming to be Charles Dickens. The characters
in the plays aim to give the audience a different outlook on
theater and Bradbury’s plays.
“The two plays are completely separate, but give the
audience a different perspective,” Bradbury said.
The first play is about a man who can’t remember poetry or
artistic ideas, but can remember mediocrities such as how a Hershey
bar looked. He tries to stir people’s memories to know what
existed long ago; thus, society views him as a dangerous man
because he remembers things others have forgotten. The second play,
on a much lighter note, is about a 12-year-old boy (who Bradbury
believes is himself) who helps Charles Dickens write his novel
“A Tale of Two Cities.”
“Leave it to Bradbury to put together two random plays to
confuse the audience even more,” said Patrick MacDonald, a
psychology and Italian student. “He likes to keep people on
their toes and thinking on so many different levels.”
Directed by Charles Rome, the plays feature well-known actors
including Alan Oppenheimer, who is known most for his regular roles
on “Murphy Brown” and “Little Big Man.”
Also in the play is David Evans Brandt and Steve Neil, who plays
Dickens.
Though these plays are written for a different artistic purpose,
for Bradbury, the medium for writing does not affect his literary
style. He writes the plays in the same consistent style in which he
writes his novels.
“There’s no difference between writing a play and
writing a novel, it’s the same person, and the same
ideas,” Bradbury said. “As long as you’re in love
with the idea, it works. I don’t intellectualize about them,
I let them write themselves, it has to be fun or it won’t be
good at all.”
THEATER: “Bradbury X 2″ will be
playing at Theatre West until March 30 on Thursdays through
Saturdays at 8 p.m. and on Sundays at 2 p.m. The theater is located
at 3333 Cahuenga Blvd in Hollywood. Tickets are $25 for general
public and $5 for students. For more information call (323)
851-7977.