Key for a production of Woodcutters.

Stage Adaptation

Woodcutters

An immersive evening inside one man’s unspoken grievances. Now spoken. Refreshments provided.

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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?

Date & Time
Location
Building W97 Theater at MIT
Ticketing
Free and open to the public

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* + Wesley Savick
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

Key for a production of Woodcutters.

Please note that this event will be documented. By attending, you consent to the capture and use of your likeness in photos and/or video taken during the event. This production also contains descriptions and discussion of suicide.

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.

Performance is a multiplier of creativity, extending far beyond the stage—to science, to engineering, to leadership. The MIT Theater program provides a dynamic space to challenge, learn, inspire, and nourish community through its groundbreaking engagement with the arts. Help us continue the conversation by making a contribution here.

*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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