Renaissance Society Hosts Trap Door Theatre 5/4

The Renaissance Society and University Theater are pleased to host Trap Door Theater's farewell production of A Couple of Poor Polish-Speaking Romanian by Dorota Maslowska. This is its last staging before Trap Door takes it on the road to Poland and Romania. This event will take place in FXK Theater, Reynolds Club, 3rd floor, 5706 S, University Ave. FREE

The U.S. Premiere of....

A Couple of Poor, Polish-Speaking Romanians

Written by: Dorota Maslowska

Directed by: Max Truax

Cast: Tiffany Bedwell, Kevin Cox, Beata Pilch, David Steiger and Bob Wilson

A Couple of Poor, Polish Speaking Romanians With "Gripping! Full-frontal Nihilism!"- Kerry Reid, CHICAGO TRIBUNE, Polish novelist Maslowska explores the struggles of class and national identity with humor and pathos in her first play, A Couple of Poor, Polish Speaking Romanians. "Challenging but breathtaking expressionist theater...a gorgeous and off-balanced abstract piece about identity, class and xenophobia. Truly inspired performances from the entire cast." - Monica Westin, NEW CITY CHICAGO. We follow a bitterly comedic pair who set off pretending to be poor, polish-speaking Romanians while indulging their drug-induced fog with hitchhiking adventures through the countryside. As the high wares off, so do their personas and they are faced with the bitter realities of their very different identities.

THE TOUR:
The tour will include the Arad-Fun Underground Festival in Arad, and the 19th edition international student festival in Timisoara, one of the largest student art festivals in South-Eastern Europe and the Bagatela Theatre in Cracow, Poland. Michael Garvey, Trap Door's long time artistic partner, will also showcase his latest political piece "Hope Manifestos", at the events.
Dorota Mas?owska is a Polish writer and journalist. At 19, she wrote the internationally acclaimed, award-winning novel, Wojna polsko-ruska pod flag? bia?o-czerwon? (translated to English as either White and Red or Snow White and Russian Red) a depiction of unbalanced, sexually aggressive, amphetamine-scarred youth both feted for its originality and condemned for its brutal vulgarity. A notable example of post-modernist literature, her book became a best-seller in Poland and was almost immediately translated into several languages, including French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Russian, English, Hungarian and Czech. Her second novel is Paw królowej (The Queen's Peacock). Currently Dorota Mas?owska lives in Cracow, collaborating with a number of magazines, most notably the Przekrój and Wysokie Obcasy weeklies, as well as Lampa monthly and the quarterly BEAT magazine. At 24 she wrote her first play; A Couple of Poor, Polish-Speaking Romanians. The play ran for 2 years in Warsaw, before being produced by the Soho Theatre in London; this is its U.S. premiere.

Lighting Designer Richard Norwood / Costume Designer Beata Pilch / Graphic Designer Michal Janicki / Set Designer Ewelina Dobiesz / Video Designer Aaron Covich / Sound Designer Aaron DeYoung

When: Tuesday, May 4, 2010 at 8PM in Chicago at FXK Theater, Reynolds Club, 3rd floor, 5706 S, University Ave. FREE

Saturday May 15th at the Old Theatre in Arad, Romania at 7PM and Monday May 24th at the Bagatela in Cracow, Poland at 4:30PM and 7:15PM.

What:

* Trap Door Theatre proudly presents A Couple of Poor, Polish Speaking Romanians. Controversial Polish writer Dorota Maslowska's hilarious and scathing critique of the relationship between class stratification and national identity.

For more information about the tour please visit us at : www.trapdoortheatre.com