ABOUT POLAROID STORIES

 

A visceral blend of classical mythology and real life stories told by street kids, Naomi lizuka's Polaroid Stories journeys into a dangerous world where myth-making fulfills a fierce need for transcendence, where storytelling has the power to transform a reality in which characters' lives are continually threatened, devalued and effaced.  Inspired in part by Ovid's Metamorphoses, Iizuka's Polaroid Stories takes place on an abandoned pier on the outermost edge of a city, a way stop for dreamers, dealers and desperadoes, a no-man's land where runaways seek camaraderie, refuge and escape. Serpentine routes from the street to the heart characterize the interactions in this spellbinding tale of young people pushed to society's fringe. Informed, as well, by interviews with young prostitutes and street kids, Polaroid Stories conveys a whirlwind of psychic disturbance, confusion and longing. Like their mythic counterparts, these modem-day mortals are engulfed by needs that burn and consume. Their language mixes poetry and profanity, imbuing the play with lyricism and great theatrical force.

 

“Visceral… if anything, what the show gives is piercing, painful honesty.” – Time Out New York

 

“Polaroid Stories is a well written dark drama which speaks about some of the heavy issues in the lives of street youth in the city. This not a heartwarming story, but a dark social commentary from a very up close and personal viewpoint.”

– Chicago Critic

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ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

 

POLAROID STORIES

by Naomi Iizuka

directed by Kate Kataja

 

CAST

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Julia Bartoletti, Philomel

Allison Crews, Echo

Lynsey Ford, Persephone/Semele

Andrew Iacovelli, Skinhead Boy

Brian Kozak, Orpheus

James Lucey, Narcissus

Victor Neto, G

Catia Ramos, Eurydice

Erika Rethorn, Skinhead Girl

Patrick Mark Saunders, D

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PRODUCTION CREW

Stage Management, Polly Feliciano

Assistant Direction, Bradly Widener

Lighting Design, Jessica Winward

Set Design, Andrew Iacovelli

Costume Design, Abigail Dufresne

Assistant Costume Design, Jaimy Escobedo

Sound Design, Antonio Forte

Movement Designer, Orlando Hernandez