NORTH ADAMS, MA – The first show of Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) Fine and Performing Arts Department’s spring semester is a new and exciting work never before seen from any cast other than its originators. RIOT is a theatrical experience you’ve never encountered before that sheds “inexpensive and functional” light on the experiences of the people involved in a stampede at the grand opening of the largest Swedish furniture store in the UK. “By focusing on the tragic irony, absurdity and sheer madness of this event, RIOT places a darkly humorous lens over the frenzied nature of consumer culture,” explained Guest Director Sara Katzoff. “Integrating a live soundscape, original songs, and physical storytelling, RIOT reminds us where we are as a human race and what we truly value. Set in a lamp-lit, flat-pack universe, RIOT disregards the diagrams to construct a surprisingly comedic and thoroughly modern tragedy.”
Devised by The Wardrobe Ensemble – a theater group working out of Bristol, UK – in 2011, RIOT is a story inspired by true accounts collected from employees and patrons of the Swedish furniture store who were involved in the incident. Katzoff worked with The Wardrobe Ensemble to rework the play specifically for MCLA to allow for a fully immersive experience. The department’s adaptation of “RIOT” by The Wardrobe Ensemble will be shown Wednesday, March 1st through Saturday, March 4th, 2017 with shows at 8 pm. There will also be a matinee performance on that Saturday at 2 pm. The show’s performances will take place in Venable Theatre on the MCLA campus.
For more information or to reserve tickets, please call the box office at (413)-662-5123 or visit https://mcla.ticketleap.com/
ABOUT THE MCLA THEATRE PROGRAM The Theatre Program at MCLA develops innovative theater artists prepared for careers in theater and graduate study. In the intimate, culturally rich setting of the Berkshires, students hone their craft through intensive studio training and hands-on experience, within the context of their broader liberal arts education. Opportunities for practical experience abound, from courses in acting, directing, design and production to working alongside a faculty of talented professionals in our award-winning production season. On stage and in the classroom, theater students at MCLA make theater of the highest quality, as they explore the rich tradition of this unique, multi-disciplinary art form.
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Fine and Performing Arts Department Theatre Program 413-662-5123 http://www.mcla.edu/academics/undergraduate/fineandperformingarts/theatre www.mcla.ticketleap.com
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