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Mother Dis-Courage
Just Another Absurdist, Neo-Brechtian,
Anti-Imperialist Extravaganza
September 16-25, 2004
at the Squeaky Wheel Media Arts Center
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Subversive Theatre made its first
presentation for the annual Buffalo Theatre Festival Curtain Up with our
production of the world-debut of MOTHER DIS-COURAGE as part of a
double-bill opposite the Gerald Fried Theatre Company's rendition of Arthur
Miller's one-act drama I CAN'T REMEMBER ANYTHING.
An off-the-wall political farce, MOTHER DIS-COURAGE
pit the Ghost of Bertolt Brecht versus Britney Spears and George Orwell versus
John Lennon in a battle for the hearts and minds of one American soldier
stationed in Iraq and his pacifist mother. Drawing on Brecht's classic
play MOTHER COURAGE as well as images
of torture in Abu Graib Prison, the spirit of the Dixie Chicks, and even
snippets of Dickens' A CHRISTMAS CAROL, this one-act agit-prop-esque
spoof offered just the kind of unapologetically anti-war, anti-establishment
mis-en-scene that Subversive Theatre is known for.
In her luminous review, Staff Writer Alice Gerard wrote for
Alt Press Magazine: "Despite the unpleasant reality of the issues
brought up, the play never becomes tedious or tasteless. It always stays
in the realm of political satire, and, as such, makes for far better
entertainment than the daily newspaper."
Written and Directed by Subversive Theatre's Founder and
Artistic Director Kurt Schneiderman, MOTHER DIS-COURAGE ran for a
two-week engagement at the Squeaky Wheel Media Arts Center and enlisted the
talents of the following performers:  DRAMATIS
PERSONAE
Bertolt Brecht . . . . . . Keith Elkins+
Britney Spears . . Jeannine Giffear+
Mother Dis-Courage . . Kate Olena
Son Dis-Courage . . . Rich Kraemer
Mr. Moneybags . . . . Donald Gallo
George Orwell . . . Emanuel Fried*
John Lennon . . . . . . . Kevin Costa
Paul McCartney . . . Paul Wynecski
* = indicates members
of the Actors' Equity Association
+ = indicates members of the Subversive Theatre
Collective
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