GREAT BARRINGTON, MA—Bard College at Simon’s Rock’s Theater Program will perform RIOT on Thursday, November 10- Saturday, November 12. RIOT is directed by Assistant Professor of Theater and alumna Sara Katzoff ‘97.
Originally created and devised by the internationally acclaimed Wardrobe Ensemble from Bristol (United Kingdom), RIOT is an epic tale of violence, greed and cheap sofas. Set in a lamp-lit showroom, RIOT integrates live music, early 2000’s nostalgia and eyewitness accounts to reimagine the story of an actual riot that broke out during the grand opening of an infamous Swedish furniture store in north London. Filled with physical comedy, awkward romance and more characters than you can throw a meatball at, RIOT shines a humorous light onto the dark and frenzied nature of consumer culture.
| Performances are Thursday, November 10th at 7:30pm, Friday, November 11th at 7:30pm, Saturday, November 12th at 2:30pm & 7:30pm and will take place in the Black Box Theater at the Daniel Arts Center. The approximate run time is 80 minutes with no intermission. Tickets are free and must be reserved in advance here. If tickets are not claimed 10 mins before the start of the show, they will be given to walk-ins. |
| Cast members: Agnes Allman, Ashlyn Bagocius, Liam Forest, Lydia Helmstadter, Cole Morrison, Tevah Rose, Rowan Truman, Johnny Vitell, Theo Walker and Jesse Yaverbaum. Directed by Sara Katzoff. Music Direction: Gigi Teeley. Lighting & Scenic Design: John Musall. Costume Design: Amanda Bury. Stage & Production Manager: Jean Kalin. Assistant Stage Manager: Rowan Truman. Assistant Director: Ashlyn Bagocious. |
| ABOUT THE WARDROBE ENSEMBLE The Wardrobe Ensemble are a group of energetic and irreverent theatre artists, musicians and devisers who work together to make new plays that dissect the twenty-first century experience. Consisting of nine core members, one producer and a constantly growing community of associate artists, the Bristol, UK based company defines themselves as “flashy, rough, silly and serious.” The Wardrobe Ensemble is dedicated to exploring the big ideas of our time through intimate human stories that live at the crossroads of where the intellectual and the emotional collide. Since forming in 2011 the company has created, toured and performed numerous plays internationally including RIOT, 33 (Both of which had their US premiere here at The Daniel Arts Center while in residency at The Berkshire Fringe); 1972: The Future of Sex (Commisioned by Shoreditch Town Hall); Education Education Education (Fringe first award for Best Ensemble) and The Last of the Pelican Daughters (Developed in association with Complicité and co-produced by the Royal and Derngate Theatres) The Wardrobe Ensemble has been seen at Battersea Arts Center, The Edinburgh Fringe, The Berkshire Fringe JACK, Salisbury Playhouse, Northern Stage, The National Theater and on The West End. |
| Sara Katzoff (she/her) is a theater maker, director and producer who is dedicated to amplifying new work by emerging artists and investigating contemporary performance through multiple lenses and embodied practices. As a director, deviser and educator, Sara is particularly interested in work that reignites the cultural relevance, potency and accessibility of live performance as a space where diverse communities and artists can gather and engage with one another. Some of her recent production credits include: And Jesus Moonwalks the Mississippi (Booth Theater); The Waypoint (MASS MoCA, artist in residence), Laughs In Spanish (Boston Playwrights Theater); Particularly in the Heartland (Artist In Residence, The Foundry); PASSAGE (Kickwheel Ensemble Theater); Facing Our Truth (WAM/Colonial Theatre); The Motherf**ker With the Hat, Intimate Apparel, Palimpsest (Guest Artist, Mass College of Liberal Arts); The Exonerated (Guest Artist, University at Albany); Beowulf: A Thousand Years of Baggage, The Clean House and The Lathe of Heaven (Boston University). |
| Prior to returning to Simon’s Rock, Sara served as the co-artistic director of Bazaar Productions and The Berkshire Fringe where she was the recipient of the Moxie Award for distinguished arts innovation and leadership. Her writing has been published in HowlRound and American Theater Magazine and she has received grants from The Martha Boschen Porter Fund and The Massachusetts Cultural Council. Sara holds an MFA in directing from Boston University, is a graduate of Dell’Arte International and is a proud alumni of Bard College at Simon’s Rock. She has been teaching at Simon’s Rock since 2022. |
About Simon’s Rock
Bard College at Simon’s Rock is the only college in the country specifically designed for students ready to enter college after the 10th or 11th grade. Simon’s Rock offers a curriculum in the liberal arts and sciences, taught by supportive, highly trained faculty, who are leading scholars in their field. The College grants degrees in more than 35 majors. Simon’s Rock is ranked No. 4 for Most Innovative School and No. 5 for Best Undergraduate Teaching by U.S. News and World Report and The Princeton Review ranked Simon’s Rock among the Best Regional Colleges in the Northeast.
Bard Academy at Simon’s Rock is the nation’s first two-year boarding and day program designed to prepare 9th and 10th graders to start college early. Within six years of entering Bard Academy as a high school freshman, a student who matriculates into the College will earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. The Academy curriculum is designed and taught by college professors.
For more information, visit simons-rock.edu and bardacademy.simons-rock.edu.