The Barbarians

An Irons in the Fire Project

June 21 - 23, 2018

Written by Jerry Lieblich
Directed by Paul Lazar

Synopsis

A loggorheic encyclopedic rambunctious gollywompus of a play concerning speech acts, political power, fractal geometry, eusociality, theater, and some other stuff too, in which a witness at a trial describes to us a play in which a team of scientists attempts to use real speeches from real US Presidents to nullify the language-power of the fake US President (but also maybe the real US President) while the rest of us bozos try to go on living lives of picturesque American normalcy, unaware that this isn’t a theater at all it’s an aircraft carrier and we’re headed for war.

Performed by

Craig Wesley Divino
Anne Gridley
Sharina Martin
Steve Mellor
Bhavesh Patel
Jennifer Seastone
Geoff Sobelle
Stacey Yen

Stage Management Production Assistant: Caroline Smith

Playwright

Jerry Lieblich writes plays and usually lives in New York. His plays include D Deb Debbie Deborah (Clubbed Thumb) and Nostalgia is a Mild form of Grief (developed at Playwrights Horizons, The Vineyard, and Page 73), and, with Tiny Little Band, Your Hair Looked Great (Abrons Arts Center) and Ghost Stories (Cloud City). He has been a UCROSS and Edward F. Albee Foundation fellow, received an EST/Sloan Foundation Commission and the Himan Brown Creative Writing Award, and is an alum of the Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab and Page 73’s I-73 Writer’s Group. Presently, Jerry is pursuing his MFA at Brooklyn College under the mad tutelage of Mac Wellman and Erin Courtney.

Director

Paul Lazar is a founding member and former co-artistic director, along with Annie-B Parson, of Big Dance Theater. He has co-directed and acted in works for Big Dance since 1991, including commissions from BAM, the Walker Art Center, Dance Theater Workshop, Classic Stage Company and Japan Society. Recent directing credits outside of Big Dance include Christina Masciotti’s Social Security at the Bushwick Starr, Rainpan 43’s Elephant Room at St. Ann’s Warehouse, and Young Jean Lee’s We’re Gonna Die. Paul is an Associate Member of The Wooster Group, acting in Brace Up!, Emperor Jones, North Atlantic and The Hairy Ape. He has acted in numerous stage productions and over 30 feature films. His awards include two Bessies, an Obie, the Jacob’s Pillow Creativity Award, and the Prelude Festival’s Frankie Award. Paul currently teaches at New York University.

Poster Art by Sean Devare