PITT REP’S 2006-07 ‘GLOBAL CROSSINGS’ SEASON CONTINUES WITH A TOOTHACHE & A PLAGUE & A DOG: Three Plays for the Theatre by Osvaldo Dragún at Pitt Rep
RUNS NOVEMBER 8 -19 IN THE STUDIO THEATRE
Osvaldo Dragún’s A Toothache & A Plague & A Dog is made up of three hilariously controversial one-act plays that look at the ruthless dynamics of social inclusion and exclusion through the lens of comedy. Appropriate for all ages and featuring puppetry, this production, directed by Melanie Dreyer, will run November 8 – 19 in the Studio Theatre, Basement (B-72) of the Cathedral of Learning, University of Pittsburgh, Oakland.
Director Melanie Dreyer sees this show as a chance to comment on both national and international policies. During the first weeks of rehearsal, Dreyer encouraged the students/actors to daily engage both U.S and foreign press and TV news, and to investigate the harsh realities of many Pittsburgh neighborhoods by taking the cast on collective field trips. The director and the actors elaborated the emotions and impressions developed during these trips in creative activities and acting exercises that helped them use their personal experience into the construction of stage characters.
Pitt Rep’s production of Dragún’s classic promises to be imaginative and adventurous and it will employ puppets designed by Teaching Artist in residence Tavia LaFollette. The designer intends “to leave the puppets as raw and exposed as possible by building them from the rubbish of our disposable society”. When asked about her artistic goals, LaFollette explained that she wants “to get to the human side of this show by deconstructing what we throw away, take for granted, or dig up to survive.”
The exploration of poverty and the portrayal of an underworld ruled by social injustice inform also all other design choices. Set designer Johnmichael Bohach conceived the seating area as a highly hierarchical place where some people sit on chairs while others have to settle for mattresses and milk crates. This design conveys the idea that society creates inequality by fostering a strict class system and economical divisions.
Tickets are $19 each. Tickets for senior citizens, Pitt Alumni Association members, as well as Pitt and UPMC faculty and staff are $15. Student tickets are $10 for any show and Student Semester Passes are available for $34 for five admissions. Pitt’s flexible season pass, the Encore! Card, is on sale for $60 for four admissions and $85 for six admissions. The pass is good for Pitt Rep admissions for any show on any date. For information, please call 412.624.PLAY (7529) or visit www.play.pitt.edu.
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A Toothache & A Plague & A Dog
About the plays: In the first play, a street vendor without health insurance can’t work because of a painful tooth abscess which eventually kills him. In the second, Panchito causes an epidemic of bubonic plague in South Africa by distributing canned rat meat to the local populations. Finally, the third play illustrates what happens to a man who can’t find employment and, as a consequence, must accept a job as a guard dog. All three plays deal with how society dehumanizes its members and reduces them to an animalistic state.
About the Cast: The cast includes a talented group of both graduate and undergraduate
students such as Lizzie Donaldson, Carin Bendas, Chaya Gordon, Nichole Herring, Ryan Ben,
Lashawn Keyser, Brad Davis, Eric Burnett, Justin Lawrence, and Jacob Vanzin.
About the Director: Melanie Dreyer graduated with an MFA in Directing from Northwestern University, where she worked with Mary Zimmerman, Frank Galati, Tina Landau and Bob Falls. She is the former Co-Artistic Director of ShatterMask Theater, a critically acclaimed theatre specializing in exploring alternatives to traditional modes of production. Fluent in German, she translates and directs contemporary German plays, and directs professionally in Germany. Directing credits include: Woman from the Past (her translation) for German Theatre Abroad, The Arabian Night (her translation) for Quantum Theatre, The Glory of Living and This is Our Youth for Barebones Productions, She Stoops to Conquer for Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre, Lie of the Mind, The Boundary, Mother Courage (her translation), Ballad Hunter, Learned Ladies, and Silent Spring for Pitt Rep. She runs the Performance Pedagogy and Performance Training programs at the University of Pittsburgh.
About the Artistic Staff: The artistic staff includes director Melanie Dreyer, dramaturge and
translator Stefano Muneroni, set designer Jonmichael Bohach, costume designer Tavia LaFollette,
lighting designer Annmarie Duggan, sound designer J. Jumbelic, stage manager Ashley Martin
and assistant stage managers Nicole Zoellner and Tanaz Balaporia.
About the 2006-2007 Season: The University of Pittsburgh Repertory Theatre’s 2006-07 Global Crossings season will transport audiences around the globe through the imaginative, witty, and truthful observations of international playwrights including Argentina’s Osvaldo Dragún, Britain’s Caryl Churchill, and Russia’s Anton Chekhov. The Global Crossings season will take audiences on an adventure through the world of international drama; whether solving a mystery or laughing at the foibles of love and marriage, audience members will find no shortage of food for thought in these four dynamic theatre offerings.
The Pitt Repertory Theatre season dovetails with Pitt’s strength in international studies as we partner with the University Center for International Studies (UCIS) to provide a diverse and dynamic theatre-going experience. All four areas of the University of Pittsburgh’s emphasis in international studies are showcased in Pitt Rep’s season allowing vibrant works from Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, and Far East Asia to take center stage.
Audiences of the “Global Crossings” season will also be treated to a tour of the Department of Theatre Arts’ performances spaces, as the plays will be produced in the Henry Heymann and Charity Randall Theatres in the landmark Stephen Foster Memorial, as well as the intimate Studio Theatre at the Cathedral of Learning, Forbes and Bigelow on Pitt’s Oakland campus.
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A Toothache & A Plague & A Dog
CALENDAR FOR A Toothache & A Plague & A Dog
Preview Wednesday, November 8 – 8:00 pm
Opening Night Thursday, November 9 – 8:00 pm
Runs Friday, November 10 – 8:00 pm
Saturday, November 11 – 8:00 pm
Sunday, November 12 – 2:00 pm Talk Back after the show
Tuesday, November 14 – 8:00 pm
Wednesday, November 15 – 8:00 pm
Thursday, November 16 – 8:00 pm
Friday, November 17 – 8:00 pm
Additional 2 pm matinee Saturday, November 18 – 2:00 pm & 8:00 pm
Closes Sunday, November 19 – 2:00 pm