Photo Flash: First Look at First Floor Theater's KAFKAPALOOZA, Opening Tonight

First Floor Theater (FFT) is thrilled to announce its third annual literary festival, KAFKAPALOOZA, a festival of nine world premiere plays, by some of Chicago's most exciting playwrights, inspired by the life and work of Franz Kafka. Over the past two years, the FFT LitFest has brought together some of Chicago's greatest writers, including Seth Bockley, Philip Dawkins, Bonnie Metzgar, Ike Holter, Morgan McNaught, andPaul Oakley Stovall, to respond to literary greats The Brothers Grimm and Mark Twain.

Last year's piece, Sender, which premiered in a 10-minute form, by Ike Holter, has been adapted to a full length play which received a reading at Victory Gardens and will have its world premiere at A Red Orchid Theatre this season. This year, some of Chicago's finest writers have found inspiration in Kafka's tragic life, his nightmarish imagery, gallows humor, and sharp critique of modernity. Presented back-to-back, these eight new pieces taken together are a diverse, intelligent, and often darkly comic exploration of urban life, the dangers of bureaucracy, and the power of fable and dream. All eight plays in the festival will be performed every night, divided into two acts with a short intermission.

KAFKAPALOOZA will play August 14 - August 22, 2015 at Collaboraction's Pentagon Theatre in The Flat Iron Arts Building. Tickets will be available at http://firstfloortheater.com/. The press opening is Friday, August 14, 2015, at 8pm.

"Kafka's writing is strikingly vivid in its imagery and undeniably relevant to current events and contemporary headlines. Few writers have so aptly described the frightening and tragicomic problems of urban modernity. We are thrilled to continue the conversation he began," says Artistic Director Hutch Pimentel. "Each of these pieces is radically different in style and vision, and I'm honored to welcome this extraordinarily diverse group of writers to this year's LitFest."

KAFKAPALOOZA features new plays by:

Ike Holter, Brett Neveu, Kristiana Colon, Marylin Campbell, Karen Kessler, Managing Director Amanda Fink and Company Member Emmett Rensin, Skye Robinson Hillis, and Ariel Zetina.

The production team for KAFKAPALOOZA includes: Bobby Huggins (scenic design), Sarah Collonge (lighting design), Will Cotter (sound & projection design), Helen Behnke-Hanson (production manager), and Chelsea Wellman (stage manager).

Title: Kafkapalooza
Curators: Artistic Director Hutch Pimentel and Company Member Jesse Roth
Writers: Ike Holter, Brett Neveu, Kristiana Colon, Marylin Campbell, Karen Kessler, Managing Director Amanda Finkand Emmett Rensin, Skye Robinson Hillis, and Ariel Zetina.

Directors: Josh Altman, Hutch Pimentel, Jesse Roth, Sarah Gittenstein, Tara Branham

Location: Collaboraction's Pentagon Theater at The Flat Iron Arts Building

1579 N Milwaukee Ave, 3rd Floor, Chicago, IL 60622

Dates: Press Opening: August 14, 2015 at 8pm

Regular Run: August 15 - August 22, 2015

Show Times: Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays at 8pm

Sunday, August 15 at 3 p.m.

Tickets: $15 general admission. Tickets for KAFKAPALOOZA are available at firstfloortheater.com.

Photos by Ariela Subar

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