Brown University/Trinity Rep Present TANGO, 5/3-13

The Brown University/Trinity Rep MFA Programs present Slawomir Mrozek's TANGO, directed by Shana Gozansky (Brown/Trinity Directing MFA '12). Performances are May 3 through May 13 in the Citizens Bank Theater, Pell Chafee Performance Center, 87 Empire St., Providence. Tickets are $12 (general admission) and $6 (students and seniors), and are now on sale at the Trinity Rep box office at 201 Washington Street in Providence, by phone at (401) 351-4242, and online at www.trinityrep.com.

"Tango is absurd and dark, wacky and real," said director Shana Gozansky.

A family of bohemian rebels is shocked when their son, suddenly, attempts to force order and a strict moral code upon their home. As they discover the consequences of underestimating his powerful ambition, their topsy-turvy existence falls to pieces. Considered his most famous piece, Tango cemented Slawomir Mrozek's position as one of the most significant Polish playwrights of the 20th century. Even though Mrozek wrote Tango in 1964, Gozansky views the story of a family struggling to preserve their chaotic, yet meaningful lifestyle as relevant for audiences today.

"It's going to be fun, surprising, and unpredictable," said Gozansky. She will be staging Tango in a way that creates a "sensation of intimacy and privacy within the expanse of the Pell Chafee Performance Center." Gozansky has tapped the talents of choreographer Shura Baryshnikov to further explore the play's inherent sense of absurd humor through movement. Combining these elements, Gozansky anticipates, "We are going to take the audience along for a wild ride! They will feel like they are in this family's house - where dark absurdist comedy meets philosophical and political revolution - participating in their crazy dance right alongside them."

The cast features third-year MFA acting students Will Austin (Arthur), Ruth Coughlin (Eleonora), Mary C. Davis (Eugenia), Tommy Dickie (Stomil), Alexandra Lawrence (Ala), Ricky Oliver (Eugene), and Charlie Thurston (Eddie).

Tango will feature set design by Tilly Grimes and assistant Daniel Dabdoub, lighting design by Scott Bolman, sound design by Daniel Baker, and costume design by Cait O'Connor.

Performances are Thursday May 3 at 7:30PM (preview); Friday, May 4 at 7:30pm (press opening); Saturday, May 5 at 2:00pm and 7:30pm; Sunday, May 6 at 2:00PM; Monday, May 7 at 7:30PM; Thursday, May 10 at 7:30PM; Friday, May 11 at 7:30PM; Saturday, May 12 at 7:30PM; and Sunday, May 13 at 2:00PM.

Shana Gozansky's directing credits include The Tempest, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hedda Gabler, The Laramie Project Epilogue: 10 Years Later, an adaptation of EE Cummings' Him, Couch Surfer by Ian Belton, Lemons Are For Emergencies Only by Claire Titelman, and VisionIntoArt's multi-media production A Tough Line. Devising and original work include The Midway World written in collaboration with poet Jessica Starr, 100 Things That Will Make Your Life Better, created and written in collaboration with director Hazel Gould and actress Nicole Shalhoub. Her most recent devised work, The Little Secrets, written by Rob Grace, was produced with a grant from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. Her work has been presented at the Bowery Poetry Club, chashama, Dickinson College, GAleGAtes et al, Manhattan Theatre Source, and the Red Room. Shana has served as assistant director on a variety of productions at theaters including Berkeley Rep, The Geffen, Manhattan Ensemble Theater, Henry Miller's Theater, and Trinity Repertory Company. She holds a B.A. in Theater Arts from Bard College, was an Artist-in-Residence at chashama and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, and is a member of the Lincoln Center Theater Director's Lab.

The Brown University/Trinity Rep MFA Programs provides a three-year professional training program for eighteen students under the auspices of an Ivy League University and Rhode Island's Tony Award-winning theater company. Brown University's Department of Theatre Arts and Performance Studies is internationally recognized for the quality of its faculty and instruction. Trinity Rep, with its deep tradition of resident artists, provides powerful artistic assets and creates a firm foundation for a new generation of theater artists.