R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots)
by Karel Capek
Produced by Clarkson Theatre Co., October 2005.
Cast
Harry Domin .... Clifton Mills
Sulla, a Robot .... Kyleigh Glosska
Marius, a Robot .... Ray Volmer
Helena Glory .... Katherine Buckley
Dr. Gall .... Robert Grogan
Mr. Fabry .... Matthew Kinnier
Dr. Hallemeier .... Anthony Grimaldi
Mr. Alquist .... Matthew Stedner
Consul Busman .... Michael Stridesberg
Nana .... Tegan Manino
Radius .... Kyleigh Glosska
Helena .... Niall Mangan
Primus .... Nick McGraw
Robot Ensemble .... Kelly Nolan, Tosca Chirco, Ray Vollmer
Crew
Director .... Tony Tambasco
Stage Manager .... John Pelletier
Costume Design .... Phylicia Gordon
Scene Design .... Christopher Lighty
Technical Director .... Steve Potvin
Sound Operator .... Michael Hitsman
The visions of paradise that man has dreamt over the course of history have been of a world free from labor and suffering, where every casual whim is tended to by those whom live only to serve, and exult in their station. These servants are nameless, anonymous, and disposable; an entire race of beings born and bred solely for the purpose of procuring the pleasure of others, with masters so cruel that we do not even grant them any status of personhood, let alone the free will to dare to dream their own dreams.
The vision of man's eternal bliss is a vision of slavery, and as we begin to develop the technologies that may finally enable us to achieve a terrestrial paradise, we must remember that commandants of Nazi concentration camps drank fine wine, ate good food, and enjoyed all of the amenities of culture while millions starved to death all around them. We do not achieve our humanity through the subjugation of others, and if we are to bring new forms of life, which in our own arrogance we call "artificial" into being, we must be prepared to face the fact that Heaven is a Hell to those whom suffer there, and that children rarely live only to serve the whims of their parents.
Capek, writing at a time when it seemed as if the mass of working men throughout the world might overturn society and remake it in their own image, speaks to us across the ages. We can find hope in our humanity; in our love and our dreams, but we will only reap the best fruits of an august harvest if we remember that others also love and dream.
