Trap Door Theatre Presents THE FIRST LADIES, 3/10

An evocative critique of modern family and religious life, The First Ladies examines what can happen when three unfulfilled women become possessed by their own fantasies. Guest director Zeljko Djukic brings his unique and vibrant voice to Trap Door with his staging of Werner Schwab's devastatingly modern play that juxtaposes two worlds, the dream world and the low-class world, in order to tell and show us that happiness is impossible, even when dreaming.  The play utilizes hyperrealism not to represent the naturalistic world, but to put the world in quotation marks and expose its exploitative nature and cruelty. With its sophisticated nuances in movement and speech, this riveting, highly poetic play poses exciting emotional demands for both actors and audience.
 
Zeljko Djukic is the artistic director of Chicago's critically acclaimed Tuta Theatre where he is known for "productions that combine the highest caliber artistic achievement with cogent social and cultural critique"(--Cheryl Black in Slavic and East European Performance). For Tuta, Djukic has directed numerous productions including last season's Jeff nominated The Wedding, by Bertolt Brecht which is currently enjoying its second run due to popular demand. Last fall he directed Tony Kushner's Homebody/Kabul at the National Theatre in Belgrade, Serbia.
 
Werner Schwab (February 4, 1958 - January 1, 1994) was an Austrian playwright and visual artist. The First Ladies (Die Präsidentinnen) is Schwab's first play. It premiered at the Theater im Künstlerhaus in Vienna in 1990. Between then and his death four years later he wrote sixteen plays, eight of which were produced during his lifetime, making his career one of the briefest, most spectacular and most controversial in contemporary German-language theatre. Schwab's style of writing provocatively makes use of grotesque imagery, distorted linguistic tone and bizarre plots. Trap Door's last production of a Schwab play was 2005's award winning production of People Annihilation or My Liver is Senseless directed by Tracy Letts.
 
Assistant Director Brad Gunter / Dramaturg Milan Pribisic / Set Designer Ewelina Dobiesz / Lighting Designer Keith Parham / Costume Designer Nevena Todorovic / Sound Designer Sam Lewis / Stage Manager Allison Raynes / Make up Designer Zsofia Otvos / Props Designer Karen Martorano / Graphic Designer Michal Janicki / Austrian Consultant David Steiger
 
 
Opens: Thursday March 10, 2011 at 8 PM.           
Closes: Saturday April 16, 2011  at 8 PM.
Runs: Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM.
Admission: $20 (2-for-1 on Thursdays)
 
What:           
* Trap Door Theatre proudly presents guest director Zeljko Djukic's exhilarating production of Werner Schwab's The First Ladies a grotesque examination of what can happen when three unfulfilled women become possessed by their own fantasies.
          
* Trap Door Theatre proudly presents Werner Schwab's The First Ladies; a devastating and highly poetic critique of modern family life.
 
* Trap Door Theatre proudly presents Werner Schwab's The First Ladies directed by Zeljko Djukic.

Where: TRAP DOOR THEATRE, 1655 W. Cortland Ave., Chicago, IL 60622
Info/Reservations: 773-384-0494
To purchase tickets online: www.trapdoortheatre.com

 

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