The clock is ticking. It is just a matter of weeks until Threshold’s World Premiere of the heartbreaking poetic docudrama TERRORiSTKA by Rebecca Bella, directed by Jessica Holt, ignites the stage.
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TERRORiSTKA marks Threshold’s inaugural production as a fully self-producing theatre company. After producing seven critically-embraced and audience-adored plays at festivals over the last two years, Threshold is thrilled to make its solo debut at the Berkeley City Cub, April 30th – May 16th, 2010.
TERRORiSTKA tells the true story of a young Chechen woman who attempts to flee her war-ravaged country by joining a rebel faction that trains her as a suicide bomber. As the play tracks this woman’s journey from the Caucasus mountains to the crowded streets of Moscow, it contemplates her passage from innocence to menace and finally to an understanding of her own tragedy. On a broader scale, it examines how young people can become entangled in violence and enable the conflicts that destroy their lives. This expressionist drama is an important examination of the psychology of suicide bombers, as well as a serious meditation on women’s involvement in war.
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TERRORiSTKA began five years ago when Rebecca Bella was on a Fulbright Scholarship in St. Petersburg, Russia. While there, Rebecca discovered the story of 22 year-old Zarema Muzhakhoyeva who was captured by Russian police after she refused to carry out her suicide mission and walked away from a bomb in front of a crowded café. Because the bomb she had abandoned killed an FSB operative assigned to disarm it, Zarema was tried as a criminal in Russian court. And a very rare narrative was revealed: the testimony of a suicide bomber. Rebecca was drawn to Zarema’s story and a play was born.
Three years later, the play found SF-based theatre director Jessica Holt, and her company Threshold. With Jessica at the helm, Threshold welcomed the project of further developing TERRORiSTKA for the stage.
Now, TERRORiSTKA is on the brink of gorgeous theatrical realization! A multidisciplinary theatrical event, combining verse, song, choreography and visual art, this beautifully moving play examines terrorism, globalization, traditional cultures, motherhood and truth.
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Director Jessica Holt (Artistic Director, Threshold and Artistic Director, Three Wise Monkeys) helms TERRORiSTKA at The Berkeley City Club (2315 Durant Avenue, Berkeley, CA), April 30th – May 16th 2010. The production will feature sound design by Gregory Scharpen (Resident Sound Designer, Central Works), costume Design by Tammy Berlin (Resident Costume Designer, Central Works), scenic design by Chad Owens, lighting design by Alison Ostendorf, movement choreography by Marilee Talkington.
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Founded by Jessica Holt, Alex Curtis and Pamela Davis, Threshold: theatre on the verge is a dynamic new company emerging on the Bay Area scene. Grown out of a UC Berkeley directors’ workshop, Threshold is dedicated to creating bold, beautiful theater. Threshold challenges artists and audiences to imagine the edges of the possible in a process-based environment that embraces risk, growth and change. Our work is surprising and immediate and embraces the poetry of language and physical space.
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Artistic Director Jessica Holt: “Threshold was founded on the shared belief that theatremaking is alive with risk, alive with language, metaphor, material bodies, and emotional expression. At its best, theatre creates a kind of alchemy of time and space, where imagination is encouraged to take flight. Rebecca Bella’s TERRORiSTKA perfectly complements our vision and mission. We are so proud to be the first company to produce Rebecca’s important play.”
It's been a little more than 2 weeks since Terroristka closed and the Thresholders are still feeling the glow. What an incredible process, a beautiful production, and a memorable journey.
