Productions

ASL interpretation at the Sunday, September 22, 2 pm performance

Braille programs available at all performances.

*Content Transparency: Strong Language, Adult Situations, Gunshots. Recommended for ages 13+.

Life Sucks. by Aaron Posner
Sort of adapted from Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov

Babs… Deirdre Bridge
Sonia… Emma Cahoon
Dr. Aster… Peter Josephson
Pickles… Rachael Longo
The Professor… Walter Maroney
Ella… Katie Proulx
Vanya… Glenn Provost

Directed by Matt Cahoon
Stage Managed by Carey Cahoon
Intimacy Choreography by Samantha Griffin
Fight Direction by Kyrie Ellison
Lighting Design by Tayva Young
Costume Design by Barbara Holbrook
Scenic Design by Matt Cahoon

Why this play, why now?

“As a theatre company we are always asking ‘Why this play? And, why now?’” says show Artistic Director Matt Cahoon. “I think that over the past several years we have all found moments to say ‘Life Sucks’ and it seems to me that in almost all cases, the way to make life suck just a little bit less is to make connections with other people. While far from being a perfect family, we do see in this play a group of people connected by a shared history, a desire for connection, and a hope that things can get better.”

Playing Posner again

This is the second time that tKAPOW has produced one of Posner’s adaptations of Chekhov’s plays. The company’s incredibly successful 2016 production of Stupid F-ing Bird was hailed by critics as “exquisite theatre, writ large by a company at the top of their game” (Caught in the Act Blog). Actress Deirdre Bridge was in that production in the role of Emma Arkadina, and is also performing in Life Sucks. “At its core, Stupid F%cking Bird reminded us that all of our actions have repercussions for others; whether our acts are brazen or subtle, loving or hurtful, our interconnectedness is inescapable,” she said. “Aaron Posner is just so good at writing what happens between people, in the negative spaces among us.”

Aaron Posner is an award-winning director, playwright, teacher, and former Artistic Director of Philadelphia’s Arden Theatre and New Jersey’s Two River Theatre. He has directed more than 150 productions at major regional theaters across the country including virtually every theatre in the DC area. As a playwright, his re-imaging of Chekhov’s The Seagull, entitled Stupid F**king Bird, was one of the ten most produced plays in the country in 2015 and has had more than 150 productions worldwide. Other plays include The Heal, JQA, Life Sucks, No Sisters, District Merchants, Who Am I This Time? & Other Conundrums of Love, The Chosen, My Name Is Asher Lev, The Gift of Nothing, Me…Jane: The Dreams & Adventures of Young Jane Goodall, and many more.>

ASL interpretation at the Sunday, February 9, 2 pm performance

Braille programs available at all performances.

*Content Transparency: Verbal descriptions of depression, self-harm, suicide and suicidal ideations. There will be some warm and inclusive audience participation.

Every Brilliant Thing by Duncan Macmillan, with Jonny Donahoe

Storyteller…Carey Cahoon (2/8, 2/21 and 2/23)
Storyteller…Peter Josephson (2/7, 2/9 and 2/22)

Directed by Emma Cahoon
Costume Design by Barbara Holbrook

Why this play, why now?

“This is a play that we have loved for many years,” says Artistic Director, Matt Cahoon, “it is a play that gnaws at you emotionally.”  In a polarized and often isolating world, the play’s format, which involves direct audience participation, emphasizes shared vulnerability and collective healing. This dovetails perfectly with tKAPOW’s season theme—conversation. “Duncan Macmillan brilliantly breaks down barriers between performer and audience member,” Cahoon says,  “reminding both of the power of community.” The play’s central theme—the creation of a list of “brilliant things” that make life worth living—resonates strongly in a time when many people feel overwhelmed by global crises (climate change, political divisions, economic uncertainty, etc.). By focusing on small, everyday joys, the play offers a reminder that, even in difficult times, there are reasons to hope and appreciate life.

Breathing in the work of Duncan Macmillan again

Every Brilliant Thing is the second play by Duncan Macmillan that tKAPOW has produced. tKAPOW’s 2015 production of Lungs was a heartbreaking and hilarious examination of the perils of parenthood in an uncertain age. tKAPOW company member said of Lungs, “I can see light and often hear music when reading a play and the only sound I heard when reading this play was a heartbeat.” Macmillan’s beautiful and evocative writing will once again take center stage in Every Brilliant Thing.

Duncan Macmillian is an award-winning writer and theatre director whose plays include Lungs, Every Brilliant Thing and 2071 (all published by Oberon Books). His play People, Places and Things transferred from the National Theatre to the West End in 2016. Duncan Macmillan’s other plays include: 1984, co-adapted/co-directed with Robert Icke (Headlong/Nottingham Playhouse, UK tour, Almeida Theatre and West End), The Forbidden Zone (Salzburg Festival/Schaubühne Berlin), Wunschloses Unglück, adaptation with Peter Handke (Burgtheater Vienna), Reise durch die Nacht, adaptation Friederike Mayröcker created with Katie Mitchell and Lyndsey Turner (Schauspielhaus Köln, Theatertreffen, Festival d’Avignon), Atmen (Schaubühne Berlin), Monster (Royal Exchange/Manchester International Festival).

*Content Transparency: references to suicide and discussions of sexual harassment.

The Best We Could (a family tragedy) by Emily Feldman by Duncan Macmillan, with Jonny Donahoe

Artist Info coming soon.