Apollinaire Theatre Company Presents Foreign Fest 3/25-4/30

Apollinaire Theatre Company presents Foreign Fest 4 mind-bending international plays tackle the question: What Defines Who We Are?

EAST OF BERLIN by Hannah Moscovitch ( our parents)
ENJOY by Toshiki Okada (our job)
THE UGLY ONE by Marius von Mayenburg (our looks)
ARABIAN NIGHT by Roland Schimmelpfennig (our fantasies)

"Gripping and surprisingly funny." -VancouverPlays (East of Berlin)

"a constant exhilaration." -Village Voice (Arabian Night)

"a strange and wonderful show" -New York Theatre Guide (Enjoy)

Performances of the Arabian Night by Roland Schimmelpfennig are March 25-April 30,
Friday April 25 8:00, Sat. March 26 8:00, Sat. April 2 7:30,
Sat. April 9 9:30, Sat April 16 9:30, Sat. April 23 7:30,
Wed. April 27 7:30, Fri. April 29 7:30,Sat. April 30 10:00
Performances of the Enjoy by Toshiki Okada are April 1-April 30,Fri. April1 8:00, Sat. April 2 9:30, Fri. April 8 9:30,
Fri. April 15 10:00, Thurs. April 21 7:30, Sat. April 23 9:30
Performances of the The Ugly One by Marius von Mayenburg are April 8-April 30,
Fri. April 8 7:30, Sat. April 9 7:30, Sat. April 16 7:30, Sun. April 17 4:00,
Fri. April 22 9:30, Fri. April 29 9:30, Sat. April 30 8:30
Performances of the East of Berlin by Hannah Moscovitch are April 15-April 30,
Fri. April 15 7:30, Sat. April 16 4:00, Sun. April 17 2:00,
Fri. April 22 7:30, Thurs. April 28 7:30, Sat. April 30 6:30
Performances are at the Chelsea Theatre Works, 189 Winnisimmet St., Chelsea.

Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door.
Seniors pay $18 in advance (advance purchase only).
Student rush tickets are $15 and are available beginning one hour before each performance.

FESTIVAL PASS for all 4 shows: $50

Tickets can be purchased by calling (617) 887-2336 or on-line at www.apollinairetheatre.com
Information and directions at www.apollinairetheatre.com
Performances will be followed by a Reception with the actors in the Gallery.

Foreign Fest:
4 mind-bending international plays tackle the question:

What Defines Who We Are?
March 25-April 30
Chelsea Theatre Works, 189 Winnisimmet St., Chelsea.
$20 in advance, $25 at the door. Seniors $18 in advance. Students $15. FESTIVAL PASS $50.
(617) 887-2336 • www.apollinairetheatre.com

Arabian Night is a sleek and sensual urban thriller from one of the most acclaimed new voices of the German stage. Nominated Play of the Year by six German critics, Arabian Night tells the story of five people whose destinies become inextricably intertwined on a hot summer night. When their building's water supply mysteriously disappears above the 7th floor, they are all drawn to the apartment of a sleeping beauty who unknowingly lures the others into her fantasies and nightmares.
Running time apx. 70 minutes

Enjoy is a slacker comedy of manners that follows the romantic misadventures of overeducated and underemployed workers in a Tokyo manga cafe. Gen-Y faces off against Gen-X in workplace skirmishes and the quest for the attentions of the youngest new hire. This new play from one of Japan's leading theatre artists turns the inarticulateness of this lost generation of Japanese workers into a poetry of repressed hopes and desires.
Running time apx. 2 hours including one 15 minute intermission

The Ugly One is a scalpel-sharp comedy on beauty, identity, and getting ahead in life. Lette is a rising star engineer who believes he is about to unveil his revolutionary plug at a prestigious convention. When he learns a young colleague will do the presentation in his place, he forces his boss to reveal what everyone assumed he knew- that his face is "unacceptable." When his wife confirms he is unspeakably ugly, he turns to a plastic surgeon who transforms his face into the envy and desire of all. But Lette soon learns that there is such a thing as too beautiful.

Running time apx. 60 minutes
East of Berlin tells the story of Rudi, the son of a Nazi doctor, who is living with his family in Paraguayan exile blissfully unaware of his father's crimes. After discovering the devastating truth, he travels to Berlin in an attempt to invent a new life. There he meets Sarah, a Jewish New Yorker with secrets of her own, and they fall in love. But Rudi's past catches up with him, and he must return to Paraguay to confront his father, and face the source of his confusion, rage, and guilt.
Running time apx. 90 minutes

PLAYWRIGHTS:
Roland Schimmelpfennig (Arabian Night) is one of the most produced European playwrights. His plays have been translated into over 20 languages and he made his U S debut in 2007 with a production of his play Arabian Night. He first worked as a freelance journalist and author in Istanbul before studying as a theatre director. In 2010, Schimmelpfennig was awarded the Mühlheimer Dramatists Award for his play The Golden Dragon. Schimmelpfennig also received the highest Playwriting Award in Germany, the Else-Lasker-Schüler-Prize, to honor his entire Oeuvre.

Marius von Mayenburg (The Ugly One) is a playwright, translator, dramaturg, director and one of the most widely produced German playwrights. His plays receive regularly productions at the Schaubühne/Berlin, the Royal Court Theater/ London, and other major theaters around the world. His first play FIREFACE (FEUERGESICHT), written in 1997, has been successfully produced worldwide and translated into many languages. For FIREFACE, Mayenburg received the Award for Emerging Playwrights "Kleistförderpreis für junge Dramatiker" and the prize of the Frankfurt Writer's Foundation "Preis der Frankfurter Autorenstiftung". He is currently dramaturg and playwright in residence at the Schaubühne/Berlin.

Hannah Moscovitch (East of Berlin) is a Canadian actor and playwright best known for her plays East of Berlin, Essay, and The Russian Play. Now a playwright-in-residence at Tarragon Theatre, Hannah has enjoyed successful productions of her plays at Great Canadian Theatre Company, Factory Theatre, Magnetic North, Thousand Islands Playhouse, Harbourfront, and 2b theatre company. She has been commissioned to create new works by Canada's most exciting established and experimental theatre companies, including Prairie Theatre Exchange, Volcano Theatre, and Company Theatre Crisis.

Toshiki Okada (Enjoy) was born in Yokohama in 1973 and formed the theater company chelfitsch in 1997. Since then he has written and directed all of the company's productions, and has come to be known for his use of hyper-colloquial Japanese. His play Five Days in March won the prestigious 49th Kishida Drama Award. As the representative of his country, he took part in Stuecke'06 International Literature Project and in December of the same year, he presented Enjoy at New National Theatre, Tokyo. His collection of novels The End of the Special Time We Were Allowed was awarded the Kenzaburo Oe Prize. In March 2008, he presented Freetime, a piece co-produced by KUNSTEN FESTIVAL DES ARTS (Brussels), Wiener Festwochen (Vienna), and Festival d'Automne (Paris). His works have been translated into many languages and published abroad. His newest piece Hot Pepper, Air Conditioner, and the Farewell Speech was premiered in Berlin, in co-production with Hebbel Am Ufer.

CAST & PRODUCTION TEAM:
Arabian Night:Mauro Canepa, Alexandra Harrington, William Schuller, Sean Stanco, Rydia Q Vielehr
Directed by Danielle Fauteux Jacques
Enjoy:
Rhiannon Angell, Andrew Cromartie, Christie Lee Gibson, Kenard Jackson, Anglea Keefe, Chris LaVoie, Brian McCarthy, Ari Shapiro, Melissa Marie Walker
Directed by A. Vincent Ularich

The Ugly One:
Kate Mock Elliott, Vladimir Noel, Evan Sanderson, Phil Thompson
Directed by Danielle Fauteux Jacques

East of Berlin:
Harry Hobbs, Alison Meirowitz, Evan Sanderson
Directed by Danielle Fauteux Jacques

Stage Managers: Becky Fleckner, Travis Joyce
Production Stage Manager: James Coleman Wilkinson
Sound Design: Aaron Mack
Costume & Props Design: Paul S. Benford-Bruce
Set Design: Rob Lemire
House Managers: Carol Bortman, Eli Bortman, Ida Rudolph

Apollinaire Theatre Company stages passionate plays at their elegantly restored theater in the Chelsea Theatre Works, as well as New England's only bilingual free summer theater in the park. Less than five miles from downtown Boston, our historic building is at the center of the burgeoning Chelsea arts community. Recent productions include Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand, The Wedding on the Eiffel Tower by Jean Cocteau, dark play or stories for boys by Carlos Murillo, The Wonderful World of Dissocia by Anthony Neilson, and Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom by Jennifer Haley.

 

To post a comment, you must register and login.