KRAPP'S LAST TAPE By Samuel Beckett To Be Performed at 2+U in Seattle, WA

Independent producer, director and actor Adam Kern will present a production of KRAPP'S LAST TAPE, by Samuel Beckett. The Production will play at The Studio at 2+U, an 1,100 sq. ft. workshop and presentation space in downtown Seattle.

Kern will stage and perform the piece. Beckett's work is set in the future, and strongly resonates with our almost?-post-Covid world. It's about creating art in isolation and coping mechanisms we use to keep our anxiety at bay and our dreams alive. Kern suggests that "as we work our way out of Covid, many artists have had to find ways of keeping their art alive. Social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram have given us a voice again, and for some an opportunity to make a living, but the sense of community that is also integral to our lives isn't as clean cut as in the real world."

"Online we project more confident, positive versions of ourselves, but we hide much of what is under the surface. When something is wrong, we frame it as a positive so our followers will see value in, and be moved by our seemingly "raw truth". Even then, we are still hiding behind our online characters as we curate endless streams of "content" only to substitute passive likes for more meaningful connections."

Krapp's Last Tape is a story about following a singular vision to the inevitable death of a dream. The death of a dream can be a devastating blow, but if you allow yourself to be adaptable, dreams don't have to die - they can evolve. If you let them.

PRODUCTION DETAILS

Production dates are Saturday July 30th and Saturday August 6th, at 7:00 pm and 8:30pm, with additional performances to be released at a later date. There are no matinee or virtual performances planned at this time.

Performances take place at The Studio at 2+U at 1201 2nd Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101.

"Krapp's Last Tape" is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com

Every year on his birthday, Krapp records a breakdown of his past year.
Armed with a banana, and several drinks, he is first drawn to replay the annual recordings made by his younger selves. Perpetually stuck in his work, he fights to stay inside the purgatory between his dreams, and his reality.

Tickets are $20, and seating is limited to 25 audience members per performance. For Ticketing information: https://ackproductions.ticketspice.com/krapps-last-tape

Performed with no intermission, run time is 35-45 minutes, depending on the caffeine levels of the actor.

Samuel Beckett (1906-1989) is widely recognized as one of the greatest dramatists of the 20th century. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1969. Mr. Beckett is most renowned for his play Waiting for Godot, which launched his career in theatre. He then went on to write numerous successful full-length plays, including Endgame in 1957, Krapp's Last Tape in 1958, and Happy Days in 1960. Mr. Beckett received his first commission for radio from the BBC in 1956 for All That Fall. This was followed by a further five plays for radio, including Embers, Words and Music and Cascando. Like no other dramatist before him, Mr. Beckett's works capture the pathos and ironies of modern life yet still maintain his faith in man's capacity for compassion and survival, no matter how absurd his environment may have become.

Adam Kern is a Producer, Director, and Actor, currently based in Seattle. As a director, Adam's work has been seen most recently at The 5th Avenue Theatre's Gala, where he wrote and directed a mini-immersive, Clueless Intentions. Prior to that he served as the Artistic Virtual Programs Manager for Cleveland Play House, where he led the artistic visionioning of their digital season from concept to execution. He is co-owner of Shadow of the Run LLC, Cleveland's first Immersive Theatre company. As a producer and director, Adam has led events from 20-2000 people, from 20+ staged readings to full productions,
including CPH's Theatre Thursday series projects Let's Get Physical! and Onward!, and also productions of Shadow of the Run Chapter 1: WanderLust and The Torso Book Club.
As an actor, Adam was recently seen on CBS show One Dollar, the feature film I See You, with Helen Hunt, and shows on Hulu and Comedy Central, and enjoyed a short gig as a radio trivia host with his show "Friend Date with Adam", a Spoon Original. In Theatre, Adam made his Seattle debut with Witness Immersive's Last Days of the Tsars. He has worked with The American Repertory Theatre, the Classical Theatre of Harlem, Coeurage Theatre Ensemble, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Moscow Art Theatre, and at the Old Vic, in London. He holds a BFA Musical Theatre from Kent State and the questionable approximation of a graduate degree from the A.R.T. / MXAT Institute at Harvard University. Proud member of AEA and SAG-AFTRA. www.adam-kern.com @admchrstphrkrn

The Studio at 2+U generously provided through a grant from Shunpike and Skanksa.
Shunpike is excited to launch a new partnership with Skanska, as facilitators of a dedicated 1,100 sq. ft. workshop, rehearsal, and presentation space at 2+U, in downtown Seattle. The Studio is created with underserved creative communities in mind, those most affected by gentrification and displacement, and is available at no cost to selected musical and movement artists who have had difficulty practicing under COVID-19 restrictions. It is an opportunity for musicians and dancers to be loud and expansive again, which has been difficult to accomplish when stuck at home with neighbors.

Photo Credit: Hannah Dexter Photography

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