The artistic head of Piccolo Theatre, John Szostek was interviewed recently by Behind the Fringe.com, a fantastic website that casts its spotlight on smaller theatres. They give smaller "fringe" theatres and emerging artists in Chicago, New York, London and beyond a place to tell the world about their artistic mission, what projects they are doing, and why you should see them. Check it out!
Excerpt from interview with Behind the Fringe.com
BTF: Will you tell us about your show?
JS: Housewives Antonia and Margherita, fed up with high prices in the supermarket, take matters into their own hands and "liberate" some items from the local grocery store. Keen to hide their light-fingered antics from their hot-headed husbands, Giovanni and Luigi - not to mention the pol
Piccolo Theatre: LOW PAY? DON'T PAY!
ice - the women are forced to resort to more and more inventive hiding places, as slapstick confusion leads to rollicking chaos. The first version of Dario Fo’s We Won’t Pay! We Won’t Pay! was presented in 1974 and was what he described as a "story that was pretty much impossible, if not downright surreal." A few months later the events of the play happened in Milan. The shoppers that went in for "proletarian shopping" were arrested and put on trial.
BTF: How and when did it come about?
JS: Piccolo Theatre’s first full production was We Won’t Pay! We Won’t Pay! presented ten years ago at Next Theatre. In celebration of our tenth Anniversary we decided to remount the show. It was recently updated by Dario Fo and re-titled, Low Pay? Don’t Pay! I had the honor of making the American version of the play.
BTF: What's your story?
JS: I began my love for Commedia dell'Arte while performing in Geoffrey Buckley's Commedia dell'Arte Troupe in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. I have performed as a featured actor in the Lyric Opera productions of Don Quichotte(Arlecchino) and Cosi fan tutti (Pulcinella) and performed in the American Ballet Theatre production of The Firebird and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra production of Beauty and the Beast. I was also played Dan Farblundget in the Emmy Award winning season of Beyond the Magic Door. Since founding Piccolo Theatre I have directed the company in, We Won't Pay! We Won't Pay!, The Artful Widow, Scapin, Mistero Buffo, Sinbad, Vaudeville and Robinson Crusoe. In 1997 I undertook the restoration of the Main Street Metra Station and turned it into a cultural center and theatre. In 2008 I was honored with the Artist of the Year Award by the Mayor of Evanston. I am currently the Executive Director of Evanston Festival Theatre which produces the annual Custer Fair.
To read further about John's theatrical influences and what you should never expect from him, reach the full interview here.
The first round of Low Pay? Don't Pay! production photos have arrived! Check out the Piccolo Facebook page to see more.
Photos by Denita Linnertz
Are you in the mood for a heavy handed, in-your-face, hilarious, agitprop farce? Oh, you are? Well check this out... a play that'll make you think, make you laugh, then punch you in the nuts!
(Thanks to Ensemble Member Glenn Proud for summing up the show so beautifully!)
Well, we love them most of the time. And to be fair, they've probably only loved us most of the time. Theatres and critics have always had an uneasy relationship, and Piccolo is no different from other theatres in that respect. We've had rotten reviews and we've had amazing reviews, often for the same show.
But no matter a theatre's relationship with the critics, we have to admit it's been a tough year for arts critics in Chicago.
Those who are not closely tied to the arts may not have even noticed the changes. But to those of us in the field, it's very clear that we are entering a new era. Because of shrinking budgets, the newspapers, magazines and journals you read every day have had to cut back on feature articles, trim the amount of staff covering the arts, or just plain limit the number of performances they review. While this news may not seem like a big deal, you'll find that arts organization and performers rely heavily on these reviews and feature articles.
Picture this: you see a listing for a show and can't find anything good that anyone has said about it. Your eyes skim past it to........a listing accompanied by a photo and article about the famous Italian Director-in-Residence, or even simply the words "Highly Recommended!". Chances are that you are much more likely to spend your money and time to see that show.Aside from personal word-of-mouth, those feature articles and reviews are the next best thing artists have to reach out to you, our patron. Artists depend on the critics to truthfully convince you to pay for tickets and patrons depend on the critics for thoughtful reviews when choosing what to spend their money on. Granted, there is no possible way to guarantee that all critics are ingenuous and discerning, just as there is no way to assure that every theatre out there is putting on life-changing, wonderful work. That's an entire separate blog entry!
So, back to the topic at hand. How do we all accept and embrace the change as the media moves away from old (paper) traditions and into the digital realm? I can only tell you from Piccolo's perspective. This is why you won't see Piccolo taking out traditional ads. It's why Piccolo is developing a strong presence on Facebook, in your email, and here on this blog. It's why we love to hear your thoughts on blogs and hear your reviews on Yelp!. This is why we are spending some of our hard-earned dough on updating our website to accommodate iPads and mobile devices. It's all because we want to make a connection with YOU! And that's why we have been welcoming reviewers and critics from sources in addition to the stalwart, old standbys. Have you seen the reviews for our current production of Low Pay? Don't Pay! ? You may not recognize all of the publications, but we urge you to become familiar with them. Check them out!
Notice the new publications? We at Piccolo Theatre are so thankful to the local papers and established blogs who still send critics to see our work. And we welcome the newcomers, hoping the addition of their voices and thoughtful opinions you can trust will convince you to walk through our doors and have a good laugh with us.
By the way, there is still time to catch Low Pay? Don't Pay! Laughs and biting political/economic commentary will be running through October 23.
Want to know more about the the changes taking place in the media or the current state of arts critics? The following readings might be of interest to you.
"What is it About 20 Somethings?"New York Times Magazine (This article lays out why the media and the rest of the world is being forced to change, thanks mostly to Gen Y!)
I'm not spoiling anything when I mention that the two women in Low Pay? Don't Pay! spend most of the show faking pregnancy to hide the groceries they have stolen. This leads to some pretty hilarious shenanigans, akward moments with cabbage, and some (eh-hehm!) "educating" of the men. There will be more posts on this dubious topic in the future.
But for now, I just hope to entertain you with this little beauty, which was used to market a production of We Won't Pay! We Won't Pay! produced by The Next Arena theatre company in L.A. in 2005. So now that I've given them credit, pretend Piccolo shot this and then be so intrigued that you have to come to our production. Heh heh!
And let's not leave out hysterical pregnancies. Funny, right? "Hysterical" is right in the name! Before anyone jumps on us for our insensitivity, I know many other theatres would find an eloquent and interesting way to explore the emotional trauma that often comes with this condition. We here at Piccolo urge you to go see those shows, but would simply prefer to crack you up.
As the women in Low Pay? Don't Pay! try to find a way out of their obviously fake pregnancies, one option is to "say it was a hysterical pregnancy! It happens all the time. Women get pregnant and then all that comes out is air." It is decided that the husbands surely won't fall for it, so an alternative plan is hatched.....that is even more ridiculous! (And yes, the husbands fall for it.)
In the spirit of the ladies' initial hysterical pregnancy plan, enjoy this little bit of rediculousness.
