Arts Alive!: The cast of the Off-Central’s ‘Art’

What is art, anyway?

If it’s in the eye of the beholder, then why are there discussions, disagreements and out-and-out arguments about what constitutes art? Shouldn’t art mean different things to different people?

Art is also the name of a dark and cannily verbose comedy by Yasmina Reza, the French playwright who also gave the world God of Carnage. The show opened Thursday at the Off-Central in St. Petersburg, where it will stay through Nov. 23.

On this Arts Alive! podcast we welcome the entire cast of the Off-Central production, three women who portray three women who simply can’t agree on an interpretation of art. One painting in particular.

That’s the starting point, at any rate, for what transpires during the 90 rollercoaster minutes of Reza’s play. Seline (Ami Salee), Margot (Vera Samuels) and Yvonne (Debbie Yones) are tightly-knit friends whose bonds come dangerously close to unraveling as they bicker, spar and spill their guts over the course of a single, alcohol-fueled night.

Salee, Samuels and Yones have forged a friendship of their own, and in this interview they all talk about how they bonded in rehearsals, even as their characters were saying awful things to one another.

Click on the arrow to listen to the conversation.