Selina Fillinger’s
Charlie Chaplin
Playwright Selina Fillinger drew from a rich canon of satire
CHARLIE CHAPLIN
and farce to create POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are
“My family had a set of 10 vhs tapes of Charlie Chaplin shorts, and they were the first movies I ever saw. His timing, his impishness, and the poignancy he brought to even the silliest antics forged my comedic taste early and gave me a lifelong love of Clown.”
Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive. “I love farces,” she said in an interview with The New York Times, “but they typically rely on sexist and racist tropes.” Berkeley Rep’s Artistic Department asked Fillinger to share some insights into the literary legends whose works helped shape the wit, language, and aesthetic of her comedy. Selina Fillinger
Charlie Chaplin (1889–1977) is perhaps best remembered for his on-screen chara cter The Tramp, who, with his signature look of baggy pants, fitted coat, bowler hat, cane, and mustache, embodied Chaplin’s social commentary critiquing wealth and class amidst industrialization. SHAKESPEARE & MOLIÈRE “These days, playwrights rarely write in verse or iambic pentameter. However, when I was an actor studying classical texts, I realized how rhythm, consonants, vowels, alliteration, and breath unconsciously play on our bodies. I do not write in verse, but I am always paying attention to the aural experience of the language. I try to think of each character as an instrument, and their conversations a symphony.” William Shakespeare (1564–1616), an English poet, actor, and playwright, is largely remembered for his long list of theatrical stage plays, including comedies, tragedies, and histories, as well as his
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PHOTOS: (FILLINGER) COURTESY JENNY ANDERSON; (CHAPLIN, SHAKESPEARE, MOLIÈRE) PUBLIC DOMAIN; (WILDE) NAPOLEON SARONY; (CHURCHILL) JANE BOWN; (NOISES OFF) SHUTTERSTOCK
COMEDY CANON