Production
The production of The Natasha Plays by Yaroslava Pulinovich at Towson University (in collaboration with the Center for International Development), in a new translation by John Freedman, marked the first performance of Natasha’s Dream in the United States and the first presentation anywhere of its companion piece, I Won. The two plays in this MFA workshop, directed by Stephen Nunns, were as different as the pieces themselves. I Won comprised the first act, and was a stylish, multimedia affair. The production design of set, sound and video (by Andrea Crnkovic and Eric Nightengale) showcased the high-tech, high privileged world of this Natasha (played by Sarah Lloyd). For the second act, Natasha’s Dream, the audience entered a very different space. A sparse set, minimal lights (designed by Justin Van Hassel) and no sound effects created the empty world inhabited by the other Natasha (played by Julia M. Smith). The production had to close early due to inclement weather, and was remounted in the first week of May 2010.
Further Reading: “The Natasha Plays: The Exploding Russian Teenage Brain Comes to Towson” by John Barry
Sarah Lloyd in I Won. Towson University. May 2010. Photo: Jay Herzog