Jean Genet's "The Maids" Begins March 17 at The Chocolate Factory

The Chocolate Factory, in association with Escapist Productions, is proud to present the revival of Jean Genet's haunting masterpiece about servants turning on their Master in The Maids at The Chocolate Factory (located at 5-49 49th Avenue, take the 7 to Vernon Blvd.-Jackson Ave. or the G to 21st Street, Queens). Performances begin Thursday, March 17th and end Saturday, April 9th. The schedule is Wednesdays – Saturdays at 8 PM. Tickets are $15, and can be reserved by calling 718.482.7069. For more information, please visit www.chocolatefactorytheater.org.

Staged at a very creepy 5,000 square foot warehouse turned art space, The Maids eerily goes inside the disturbed minds of two servant girls (played here by two men) plotting the murder of their haughty mistress. Impersonating the grating qualities of the Madame, the two girls all too realistically, role-play how they are going to do the deed in a dangerous mise-en-scène. After the Madame returns from the police precinct supporting her monsieur for a crime that the maids framed him for, they incompetently try and realize the game they had been playing and finally kill her. When they fail, unbeknownst to Madame, the game takes a dangerous and unexpected turn!

"This production aims to give its audience a voyeuristic glimpse into a private ritual of domination and humiliation," says director Michele Chivu. "The play is an exploration of rage funneled through ritual, the characters are like children who wait until their parents are out to play a game they're not supposed to play, the series of photographs entitled 'Hide' by Anna Gaskell depicting young girls in ambiguously violent and sexual interplay served as visual inspiration."

Director Michele Chivu has directed such shows in NYC as I Never Sang for My Father and Rhinoceros (both at Center Stage/NY), Shotgun (Impact Theater), et al, as well as dabbling with the macabre in helping create the Halloween Adventure Haunted House. Her artistic team includes: Adrian Jones (Set Designer - In The Tropics at Coconut Grove Playhouse, The Goat and The Dazzle (CT Critic's Circle Award), Anna-Alisa Belous (Costume Designer), Ann Warren (Sound Designer), and Thomas Dunn (Lighting Designer).

The cast includes: Ax Norman as Solange, Nate Rubin as Claire and Elizabeth Pitman as Madame

Founded in 2003 by two downtown theater companies -- theater et al and The Laboratory for Int'l Theater Exchange -- The Chocolate Factory Theater presents visual and performing arts events in a wide range of disciplines including dance, theater, video, music, performance art and spoken word. In addition to the work of its founders, The Chocolate Factory supports the development of new work by visiting artists in a variety of ways, including full engagements, a recurring festival of works-in-progress and a bi-monthly performing arts.