Ellington

Millsaps Arts & Lecture Series presents "An Evening with Madame F" with Claudia Stevens Feb. 24 in the Ford Academic Recital Hall. Portraying an elderly woman inmate at Auschwitz who performed in the concentration camp orchestra, Stevens relates the moral dilemma faced by those who survived through their use of the arts.

Is this your first trip to Jackson?

Yes. I'm looking forward to it. The South gets dumped on so, but it has produced some of our greatest writers. I've been told that I will get to go to the Eudora Welty House and garden. I'm thrilled.

What should your audience to expect from the performance piece?

To expect the unexpected—expect to have a feeling as though they were really there at Auschwitz, as though they were one of the prisoners or camp guards. It's that gripping.

What exactly is an interdisciplinary artist?

Interdisciplinary artist, oh, gosh! In my case—it really varies—it's someone who combines performance modes. I perform as a pianist and a vocalist as well as an actor, combined in ways not predictable to the audience.

How did your performance piece evolve?

It grew out of the combination of my own exploration of taking performance to the limit and for personal expression. It was OK finally for me to deal with the topic of the Holocaust. The Holocaust is part of my family background in a very real way.

What sort of things do you do to relax?

To relax? I like to watch cop shows, all of the "Law and Orders" are soothing in a formulaic way. I can do other things while watching them, like sew or do taxes.

Could I ask what you think of Roberto Bernini's "Life is Beautiful," the movie about a man and his son interred in a concentration camp?

At first "Life is Beautiful" is charming. On second thought, it's full of misrepresentations, inaccuracies ... some of those things are offensive to those who went through it. I'm intrigued by Roberto Bernini. He did this because he wanted to try to find out what it would be like to be a comedian under an extreme experience. That is exactly what I did with Madame F—wanting to know something unknowable, exploring the world of the work.

What is something surprising about you?

(Laughing) If I tell you then they will know. I feel like I'm an open book.

"An Evening with Madame F" starts at 7:30 p.m. For ticket information, call 974-1043.