Adapted from the novel Holzfällen by Thomas Bernhard
using the translation Woodcutters by David McLintock
Adapted by Sara Brown + Shira Milikowsky
with Adrianne Krstansky + Lauren K. Wolfe
Directed by Shira Milikowsky
Performed by Adrianne Krstansky* + Tony Torn*
Set and costumes designed by Sara Brown
Lighting designed by Abigail Hoke-Brady
Sound designed by Bozzy Karasu
Dramaturgy by Lauren K. Wolfe
Stage managed by Lily Barnes
Vienna, circa 1984.
A writer returns from self-imposed exile only to learn of the death of an old friend whose funeral reunites a clique of aging avant-garde artists. At the “artistic dinner” following the funeral, the writer lurks at the perimeter of the room, taking stock of the vulgarity, pomposity, and hypocrisy of the people in whom he had once invested his youthful desire and ambition. Laden with both grief and guilt, the writer condemns the culture industry to which his friend was sacrificed, implicating not only himself but everyone else in her death. Bernhard’s text prompts us to ask: What happens to artistic commitments wrongly cultivated? Who suffers as a result? And what can one do with the bitter insights resulting from compromise and complicity with corrupted collective frameworks?
Woodcutters has been made possible with the generous support and funding of MITHIC (the MIT Human Insight Collaborative) and the MIT Center for Art Science and Technology.
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*The Actor or Stage Manager appears through the courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States
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Sara Brown
Associate Professor of Theater Arts
Associate Head, Theater Arts Program