FIRST FLOOR THEATER

Hutch Pimentel's first full production in Chicago was Polaroid Stories, Naomi Iizuka's masterful mash-up of Roman myth and documentary theatre. The play is an explosive re-imagining of Ovid's Metamorphoses, blended interviews from street-based youth and sex workers with ancient myth. The production took place in the underbelly of a city where junkies scheme, lovers run and the lost wander. It was a refuge for those living on the edge of society. In her script, Iizuka illuminates the depths of a metropolis with her chaotic elegy of desire, desperation and transcendence. It explored the complex intersection of two different modes of storytelling, documentary and mythology, and the power of their confluence. The design aesthetic embraced a similar method of re-imagining technologies and materials for new use. 

Cast:

Brandon Boler - G
Andrew Cutler - Skinheadboy
Amanda Fink - Skinheadgirl
Luke Grimes - Narcissus
Jenni Hadley - Philomel
Brandon Markell Holmes - Orpheus
Alyssa Vera Ramos - Eurydice
Shariba Rivers - Persephone
Johnard Washington - D
Kait Ziegler - Echo

Creative Team:

William Boles -- Set Design
Sarah Collonge & Sarah Ingraham -- Lighting Design
Markie Gray -- Sound Design
Alexis Chaney -- Costume Design
Molly FitzMaurice -- Dramaturg
Nathan Bartley -- Production Manager
Niki Dreistadt -- Stage Manager

Reviews

★★★★

““Powerfully acted and immersively staged…a jittery punch to the gut…the effect is visceral, to say the least.”

— Time Out Chicago

Highly Recommended!

“…a smart, visually striking First Floor Theater staging directed by Hutch Pimentel with an ensemble of exquisitely trained young actors."

—Chicago Reader

Highly Recommend!

“…brilliantly illustrates theater of the uncomfortable…under the precise direction of Hutch Pimentel….Pimentel’s staging is theater of the real…the most important theatre makes us feel uneasy because it’s then that we learn most about ourselves.”

— Showbiz Chicago

“First Floor Theater’s mash-up of classical writing and city life feels seamless…Hutch Pimentel’s street-smart staging in effect brings the outside in, with found props, a step ladder, the occasional video painting and a magically illuminated tree the only scenery to suggest a cityscape.”
— Stage and Cinema

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