First Rehearsal of TERRORiSTKAby playwright/poet extraordinaire Rebecca Bella began with a bang last night.
Our stellar cast -- Kate Jopson, Sarose Butler, Alex Curtis, Geof Libby, Molly Holcomb, Adrienne Krug, and Andy Strong attacked the first read-through with dynamic energy and play.
It was a strong, fun, surprisingly funny first read that revealed the heart of this moving, true-life story of a young Chechen woman who, in an attempt to flee her war-ravaged country, joins a rebel faction that trains her as a suicide bomber.
We pondered the face of Zarema Muzhihoyeva (above) and the image that started Rebecca on her playmaking journey. We recognized that under different life circumstances, we could be her.
This is a play about mistakes. What mistakes do we make that we can't take back? How do we unmake our mistakes? How do we take back the past and remake the future?
Rebecca was on hand to give us a deeper glimpse into the world. A Russian scholar and translator, she is an invaluable resource for us as we begin to construct this haunting world.
We listened to the Chechen separatist anthem which begins the play, the Russian lullaby that breathes within it, and the Russian pop song that pervades it:
The play barrels down the tracks like a freight train, picking up speed as it hurtles itself to the pressure point. On the other side, we realize that a story that at first seemed foreign now seems familiar and very much our own.
Looking forward to Day Two.
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