r.u.r, by karel capek​
R.U.R (Rossum's Universal Robots) is the play that invented the term "robot." Published in 1920, in the face of rapid industrialization and capitalistic growth, the play asks the prescient question, "who stands to benefit the most from technological progress?"
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The answer to that question during ÄŒapek's time was, "everyone but the working class," an unfortunate statement that has remained true even a century later.
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I directed this play as a visiting artist at Triton College and, in addition to telling a good story, one of my primary goals was to offer my cast as much opportunity as possible for artistic growth. We spent the first week of rehearsal digging into the world of the play, trying to figure out the rules for the robots, and creating big characters with strong physicalities.
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When it finally came time to get the play on its feet, I leaned towards theatricality, techniques inspired by the theoretical writings of Brecht, Meyerhold, and Vakhtangov, to create staging that could accomodate the comedic, tragic, and overtly political elements of the text.
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full performance (thank you, public domain)