Theater of the People presents Project M – Madhouse and Mayhem as part of their third season, which they're calling Season Three: The Search for Light.
Art And Inclusion
David Nosko and Hannah Moss are the co-founders of Theater of the People. The first two seasons had their ups and downs, Nosko admits. "Not all traditional theater audiences are too pleased with what TOP's has been able to achieve across eight shows in two seasons."
However, Moss affirms both TOP's mission and its artistic choices. "We are committed to working toward quality theater," she says. "This season, we'll do that with a wide variety of art projects. From absurdist work to a 10-minute play compilation from Bloomington playwrights, to a set of children's fairy tales, TOP is still committed to inclusion, to a mission that enables anyone to participate."
One Play That Glows, And One That Disturbs
Nosko and Moss share the directing chores for Project M. It was Nosko who picked Alfred Jarry's pre-absurdist Ubu Roi, a play that touched off a riot in the theater where it was first produced, in 1896. "It kind of began with a fascination about the piece. I read it and it didn't seem possible as a stage work, but somehow the thing seemed to glow. As I kept going back to it, I found that it could be done. So far, our actors have been proving me right."
Six Characters in Search of an Author by Luigi Pirandello is a more established stage work. Yet "it's really a thoughtful and in some ways disturbing piece," Moss says. "Just what an actor is, what a script represents, and the separation between the two, become quite unsettling in the play. A thoughtful audience member can come away with a lot to think about."