Crime + Punishment Ticket Sales are Open!

  By Akropolis Performance Lab • November 12, 2017 - 9:00 AM , ,

Venture into the lower depths of 19th-century St. Petersburg, where the mysteries of the Russian soul and intellect, crime and love are deeply, irrevocably entwined as we reveal the mind of a killer in his search for meaning and redemption. Did we mention there’s a hurdy gurdy?!

Find complete information about Crime + Punishment: a psychological account of a particular crime on our SHOW PAGE.

Tickets are now on sale for performances in Ohio and Washington. Reserve your seats today!

Nov 30 – Dec 2 | Akron OH – Balch Street Theatre
Jan 5 – 13 | Seattle WA – West of Lenin

 

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Crime + Punishment will play at West of Lenin

  By Akropolis Performance Lab • October 10, 2017 - 2:05 PM , ,

If you’ve been watching for announcements about our upcoming production of Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, please note our new venue:  West of Lenin!

We will perform Crime + Punishment: a psychological account of a certain crime at that outstanding Fremont venue January 5-13.

This production marks the first time since 2004 that APL has elected to produce a full-scale work in a traditional theatre space.

Our work has always been developed with sensitivity to the relationship between the performance art and the specific architecture it inhabits. We call our work “site responsive” – designed to interact organically and flexibly within each unique space used.

Over the years, we have produced in a Beacon Hill historical estate house, the Volunteer Park Water Tower, a church sanctuary in Ballard, the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community lodge, and the basement of our own home. Although it’s been awhile, we also have produced in conventional theatre venues such as On the Boards Studio, Capitol Hill Arts Center (CHAC), Freehold and Seattle Chamber Theatre (when the Oddfellows Building was an arts space), Theatre4, and The Balch Street Theatre.

Wherever we perform, rest assured the artistic principles, vision, and commitment to austerity and intimacy that define our work as uniquely APL will continue to guide us without compromise.

Crime + Punishment: a psychological account of a certain crime, formerly referred to under the working title 730 Steps, is developing into a highly theatrical piece. A small, invitation-only rendering in July yielded great feedback for our fine tuning.

We can’t wait for you to experience the finished piece at West of Lenin’s beautiful theatre!

Ink us in for a date: January 5-13 at West of Lenin, 203 N 36th St, Seattle!

Ticket info coming soon.

Call for Submissions: New Plays

  By Akropolis Performance Lab • September 1, 2017 - 1:03 PM , , ,
(L-R) Playwright Stacy Flood takes notes on the discussion about his new play, The Pleasure & Sorrow of Your Company, as fellow playwrights Olivia Pi-Sunyer and Ina Chang listen. | Photo: Zhenya Lavy

(L-R) Stacy Flood and fellow playwrights Olivia Pi-Sunyer and Ina Chang absorbing the group discussion of Flood’s “The Pleasure & Sorrow of Your Company.” | January 2015 Sunday Salon | Photo: Zhenya Lavy

APL invites submissions of new plays for a developmental reading at our New Year New Play Sunday Salon in February.

This call is for new plays that have not yet had a developmental reading. While we are most interested in a full-length piece, we are open to other synergies and ask current or former PNW playwrights (emerging or established) to submit their long- or short-form plays for consideration.

The play(s) will be read by local actors at our February 11 Sunday Salon, and the reading will be followed by lively, lightly moderated discussion among the artists and intellectuals attending. There will not be a rehearsal, but APL’s artistic directors will provide guidance to the actors for their preparation, as needed. We also will confer with the playwright both before and after the reading, provide limited dramaturgical assistance, and offer the playwright the opportunity to frame questions for the discussion.

This Salon will be an invited event focused on bringing an optimal mix of people into the space to focus on your play. Although we cannot offer a stipend or travel funds, we promise a rich and productive experience for the playwright. And, as with all APL Salons, the gathering includes great community, food, and drinks.

DEADLINE TO SUBMIT: Sunday, December 10, 2017.

NOTIFICATIONS: January 14, 2018. Please note that our selection committee  provides feedback to all playwrights about their submissions. We view this as a service to fellow artists in the future evolution of their work, regardless of whether it has been selected for our Salon. If you prefer not to receive any feedback from our selection committee, please indicate this on your cover sheet.

TO APPLY

  • Send PDF or DOC files to ensemble@akropolisperformancelab.com, and write “Submission: [Title]” in the subject line.
  • Along with the complete script, submit a cover sheet with your full contact information, short bio, brief synopsis of script, development history (as applicable), character breakdown, a brief statement of your hopes for how this reading might help further the play’s development, and indication of your feedback preference.
  • NO FEE.

PREVIOUS NEW PLAY DEVELOPMENT SALONS:

FANGS by Jim Moran | January 2014 Sunday Salon | Photo: Zhenya Lavy

FANGS by Jim Moran | Inaugural New Year New Play Salon | January 2014 | Photo: Zhenya Lavy

 

 

What a Great Audience!

  By Akropolis Performance Lab • July 30, 2017 - 10:51 AM
Take Me: Pulkheria Floating | Emily Jo Testa

Take Me: Pulkheria Floating | Emily Jo Testa

Wow — we had a full house at Friday’s rendering of 730 Steps! Two lucky people even got to experience our work from the middle of the action, with seats in the playing space! We’re so grateful to everyone who came out to support this important part of our development process.

We were especially touched by the number of people who hung out with us well past 1:00 AM chatting not only about what they’d just seen but about their lives and things going on in the world in general.

Special thanks to Milena Hranac for her help getting us ready for the event and for running lights!

It was a wonderful evening. You have given us much to think about as we shape 730 Steps’ final form for performance.

If you attended and upon further reflection have new thoughts to share, feel free to send us an email. We welcome all of your feedback.

Watch this site for announcements about performance dates!

This project is sponsored, in part, by a grant from 4Culture.

Get a Sneak Peek at 730 Steps!

  By Akropolis Performance Lab • July 1, 2017 - 12:24 PM , , , , , , , ,
Devising Duklida: Joseph Lavy (R) provides feedback to ensemble members (clockwise from L) Emily Jo Testa, Tyler Polumsky, Matt Sherrill, and Annie Paladino during the devising process.

Devising Duklida: Joseph Lavy (R) provides feedback to ensemble members (clockwise from L) Emily Jo Testa, Tyler Polumsky, Matt Sherrill, and Annie Paladino during the devising process.

Please join us Friday, July 28, for a full rendering of our work-in-progress on 730 Steps.

 

This was the culmination of a year’s work, which began July 23, 2016, with a reading of the initial rehearsal script. As with any new-work, and especially with source material of the scope and complexity of Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, the generative phase of our development process has been richly rewarding. We now have a wealth of material to put in front of an audience for feedback.

What is a rendering?

Akropolis uses “rendering” as a particular term of art. On the one had, there is the common sense definition related to performance and the word rendition: representing or depicting something artistically; causing something to be; submitting something for inspection. However, in our work “rendering” always incorporates an older meaning that is less commonly used today: melting something down; extracting parts; or clarifying (as with butter). For APL, a rendering is always an opportunity through performance — whether for an audience of 100 or 1 — to present work for inspection for the express purpose of clarifying it, identifying parts to cut, rearrange, or reshape.

 

The July 28 rendering is an important part of 730 Steps’ development process. The feedback we receive will help us shape the final form of this massive production!

You can expect to see scene work developed to date, in continuous performance. Where there is material still to be devised for major plot points, we will represent that material in a more temporary performance manner. While the finished piece will incorporate music, we will not perform music as part of the rendering. Actors will be in costume. Major props and set pieces will be used, and there will be basic theatrical lighting. Audience will be seated on 3 sides of the action on padded chairs, and there will be risers for optimal viewing.

Plan for a 4 hour viewing. The rendering begins at 7:30 pm. You are welcome to arrive as early as 7:00 pm. Light refreshments will be provided.

This one-night event is free and open to the public. However, to comply with the wishes of our donated venue, we ask that you send us an email requesting an invitation. Seating is limited, and invitations will be sent out by email on a first-come, first-served basis.

We hope you will join the ensemble around the table afterwards to talk about your observations!

4Culture Logo
This project is sponsored, in part, by a grant from 4Culture.

Hitting the Road Next Fall

  By Akropolis Performance Lab • April 10, 2017 - 3:22 PM , ,
Rehearsing a murder | Tyler Polumsky & Annie Paladino

Rehearsing a murder | Tyler Polumsky & Annie Paladino

APL has accepted an invitation from the Center for Contemporary Theatre & Active Culture (CATAC) to present  730 Steps as part of Ohio-based New World Performance Lab’s (NWPL) 25th-anniversary celebration season!

Co-Artistic Directors Joseph and Zhenya Lavy were founding members of NWPL, with Zhenya serving as the company’s music director. It is through their work with NWPL and its co-artistic directors, James Slowiak and Jairo Cuesta, who were longtime collaborators of Jerzy Grotowski and authored Routledge Performance Practitioner’s Grotowski, that the Lavys began their journey among the Grotowski diaspora. They not only participated as work leaders in the final year of Grotowski’s Objective Drama program at the University of California-Irvine, but also developed the foundations of the artistic aesthetic, praxis, and ethos which define APL’s work and distinguish our ensemble among Pacific Northwest theatre companies.

730 Steps is APL’s new adaptation of Dostoevsky’s dark, psychological masterpiece Crime and Punishment. This is APL’s fourth performance encounter with Dostoevsky. And while Joseph Lavy has been working on the textual adaptation for more than a year, the seeds of this work were born in the early 1990s.

Watch for more announcements about this exciting tour, as well as our local performances in Seattle.

Welcome Jennifer Crooks as Porfiry Petrovich

  By Akropolis Performance Lab • February 23, 2017 - 10:35 AM , ,

Jennifer CrooksJennifer Crooks is our newest APL Affiliate Artist, joining the 730 Steps cast to take over the role of Porfiry Petrovich!

Jenny has been seen locally with GreenStage, ReAct Theatre, and Ghost Light Theatricals. She’s also appeared with Chesapeake Shakespeare Company and  Constellation Theatre Company.

We can’t wait to get started on our collaboration!

Costume Designer Fantasia Rose joins 730 Steps Creative Team

  By Akropolis Performance Lab • February 10, 2017 - 4:20 PM , , , ,

Fantasia RoseFantasia Rose has joined the 730 Steps production team as Costume Designer!

Originally from Northern California, Fantasia considers herself a professional dabbler. As a makeup artist/stylist/costume designer, she’s had the opportunity to work on various stage and screen projects including: Scary Mary and the Nightmares Nine (Annex Theatre, 2017), Hold Your Head Up (Maiah Manser, Music Video, 2014), and Growing Pains (Don’t Do It, Web Series, 2016). She also has worked on several productions by The Libertinis.

She holds a BFA in Theater from Cornish College of the Arts – Theater Department.

Welcome, Fantasia!

Auditioning Actors for Immediate Vacancy

  By Akropolis Performance Lab • February 1, 2017 - 11:12 AM ,

We have an opening for one actor (non gender-specific, Age: 30-55) to join the cast of 730 Steps (original adaptation of Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment). Role TBD.

Committed to strengthening a more multicultural artistic community and the principle of diversity, we strongly encourage applications from historically underrepresented groups.

The audition process, which will include a preliminary interview with an APL Artistic Associate and a practical working session with the ensemble, will be conducted February 14-16, 2017.

APL does not generally cast on a per-show basis, making this is a rare opportunity to work with an established and highly regarded ensemble-based company with deep artistic lineage and an international reputation.  While we are specifically looking to fill an unexpected vacancy in the cast of this production, we also will be assessing based upon potential for a more long-term artistic association.

We are committed to rigorous work in a highly focused and personally supportive environment. We are looking for someone interested in creating devised psychophysical theatre following long-form, ensemble-centered methodologies that have evolved out of our nearly 30 years of working in Central and Eastern European theatre traditions.

Considerations:

  • The ideal candidate can begin rehearsing sooner rather than later. We have some flexibility to work around pre-existing commitments. But we would need this actor dedicated full time in the evenings (7pm to 11pm, Mon – Thurs, with some Sundays) beginning no later than May.
  • We are committed to a minimum of 30 minutes of physical training at the beginning of each rehearsal. We would expect this actor to learn our exercises and participate along with the rest of the company.
  • The entire ensemble will be expected to sing Russian traditional and religious songs with complicated harmonies and in their native language.
  • We intend to add this production to a repertoire of pieces available for national and international touring. We would hope this actor could be available when such opportunities arise
  • APL pays a higher-than-average, non-union performance stipend
  • Rehearsals have been ongoing since September. We work within a precisely articulated, longform rehearsal process and are committed to presenting the art only when it is ready. It is important that ensemble members embrace this process.
  • Seattle performance venue is booked for a local run July 14 – 29

If you would like to be considered, please send an email expressing your interest, along with your resume and headshot to ensemble@akropolisperformancelab.com with the subject “730 Steps Audition.”