A new comedy from Eve Ensler, the author of The Vagina Monologues, O.P.C. is an exploration of consumption and politics that asks, “How are we to survive as a species if we insist on destroying the world we love?” A dumpster-diving freegan is doing just fine squatting in an abandoned apartment, but when her mother, a candidate running for the Senate, tries to make her toe the party line, radicalism comes into collision with mainstream liberalism. Mother and daughter wrestle with the inconvenient truths at the heart of consumer culture, tossed between political compromise and “obsessive political correctness.”
Click here to read the full O.P.C. program.
Click here to learn about Freeganism and the themes discussed in O.P.C. in our fall Guide.
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Really, Really, Free Events
In exploration and celebration of the issues explored in O.P.C., the A.R.T. welcomed audiences to a series of free events, including skillshares, post-show discussions, and an interactive lobby experience featuring artists from our community. Click here to learn more.
Lobby Exhibits
We pulled together an interactive exhibition of work from our community partners, local artists, and students in our neighborhood.
For the duration of the production, we displayed photographs, trashion, and eco-friendly furniture from local artists:
- An O.P.C.-inspired photography project by students at CRLS
- High trashion dresses by Jackie Olivia
- An eco-friendly living room made by teens from Artists for Humanity
Notable dates
ASL Dates
12/30, 7:30PM1/4, 2:00PM
Audio Described Dates
12/30, 7:30PM*1/3, 2:00PM* *Touch tour 1 hour prior
Age Appropriateness
O.P.C. is recommended for grades 10 and up due to mature language and sexual content.
Discussions
Post-performance discussions took place after the following matinee performances:
12/6, 12/10, 12/13, 12/17, 12/20
Click here to learn about some of the special talkbacks and O.P.C. Community Events we hosted.
This work was supported, in part, by The Robert Brustein Endowment for New Work.
Press
Cape Cod Times
Cape Cod Times: Ensler’s ‘O.P.C.’ strikes just the right balance
Sure, there are preachy moments, but for the most part Ensler finds the tricky balance between drama and comedy, between making some serious points and inducing some genuine laughs. The actors, main and supporting, nail it. The characters, while exaggerated at times, are not caricatures, and all of them evolve their positions over the course of the play.
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Huffington Post
Huffington Post: On Eve Ensler’s OPC (Obsessive Political Correctness)
Political correctness is a hostile phrase. It is used as a dismissal of those who criticize the systems of power. The phrase is used to squash and indict those who question and criticize. They are pigeonholed as being too pure, too uncompromising, too demanding, too narrow. Ensler takes the phrase and ups the ante to an obsession. She turns the tables and fuses them inside out: OPC becomes the diagnosis for those who care too much.
Read full article
Credits
Creative team
By
Eve Ensler
Directed by
Pesha Rudnik
Scenic Design
Brett J. Banakis
Costume Design
ESosa
Lighting Design
Bradley King
Sound Design
Jane Shaw
Projection Design
Shawn Sagady
Movement
Jill Johnson
Casting
Stephen Kopel, CSA
Production Stage Manager
Taylor Brennan
Cast
Mrs. M and others
Nancy Linehan Charles
Kansas
Nicole Lowrance
Sister Ro and others
Liz Mikel
Smith
Kate Mulligan
Damien
Peter Porte
Prakash and others
Babak Tafti
Romi
Olivia Thirlby
Bruce
Michael T. Weiss
Additional staff
Assistant Stage Manager
Stephanie M. Holmes
Assistant Director
Annabell Reader
Dramaturg
Robert Duffley
Voice Coach
Erika Bailey
Assistant Set Designers
Rebecca Phillips, Mia Cook
Scenery Studio Assistant
Rachel Vaught
Assistant Costume Designer
Adrienne Nussey
Production Assistants
Cate Agis, Nina Goodheart, Megan Jones
Managing Director, Eve Ensler and Lotus Productions
Tony Montenieri
ASL Coach
Michael Krajnak
Access Services Consultant
Mary Beth Peters
Carpenters
Thomas Eckenfels, Bill Hawkins, Derek Jay, David Jewitt, Dan Lincoln, Jimmy Lynch, Marty Lynch, Brian Melcher, Dane Palmer, Andy Remillard, Ray Reyes, Nick Tosches
Scenic Painters
Elizabeth Johnson, Richard Ouellette
Carpentry Intern
Mehran Jahedi
Wig and Makeup Stylist
Amber Voner
Stitchers
Sally Ravitz, Michelle Johnson Ross, Carol Schaberg
Props Carpenter
Christine Goldman
Props Artisans
Brendan Conroy, Lisa Guild, Susanna Labowitz
Props Free Shopper
Amy James
First Hand
Chelsea Kerl
Crafts
Jen Bennett, Jackie Olivia
Sound Crew
Kevin Corzett, Dylan Foley, Chris “Thunda” Kurtz, Michael Policare, Nell Robinson
Ms. Mulligan’s wig by Jared J. Janas
Additional Lighting Equipment provided by Christie Lites
Television Equipment provided by Robert Massey, Pulse Media
Additional Sound Support: Sound Associates, d&b audiotechnik
Understudies
For Romi: Natalie Battistone; For Smith: Ingrid Werner; For Bruce: Corey Sullivan; For Kansas: Kristen Wetherington; For Damien: Kevin Wade; For Mrs. M, Sister Ro, Prakash, and others: Ahmad Maksoud
Special Thanks
David Binder; Carole Black; Jennifer Buffett; Myunghee Cho; Liz Perlman and Costume Works; Global Green USA; Johann Hari; Rachael Kadish and Maximus Thaler; Naomi Klein; George Lane; James Lecesne; Joe Machota; Pat Mitchell; New York Stage and Film; Nancy Rose; Scott Seydel; David Stone; Steven Stone; UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television; Susan Celia Swan, Cecile Lipworth, and the V-DAY team; Monique Wilson.
