WE ARE PUSSY RIOT OR EVERYTHING IS P.R.

APR 21 - MAY 15, 2022

WRITTEN by Barbara Hammond
DIRECTED by Mike Werckle

In February 2012, five young women walked into the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow to protest the illegal presidential election in Russia. The young activists offered up a 48-second “punk prayer,” shouting, “Virgin Mary, chase Putin away!” and were arrested as enemies of church and state.

When Western media ran with the story, Pussy Riot’s protest became the greatest piece of performance art in Russian history!

As Vladimir Putin bombs theaters in Ukraine, The West Side Show Room is proud to share the story of these brave women who dared to stand up against the most powerful man in Russia.

WHY USE THAT WORD?

Pussy Riot is a feminist performance art group in Russia that uses Punk Rock to protest Vladimir Putin, his authoritarian policies and his corrupt influence over the Russian Orthodox Church.

As to their reason for choosing such "a dangerous word" for their name, Pussy Riot might ask why the violent word "riot" is not seen as the more dangerous word.

In a society where feminists are extremely marginalized, and women are imprisoned or even assassinated for speaking the truth, Pussy Riot chose two powerful English words for their name— and succeeded in bringing international attention to their cause.

PUSSY RIOT EASTER EGGS

The set for We Are Pussy Riot looks like an abandoned Russian factory covered with years of graffiti.

Set Designer Lenae Weichel along with scenic artists Dakota Goettl, Karen Guler and the cast of the show covered the walls with all kinds of imagery that references Russian politics and history.

Lenae created a checklist of some of the “Easter eggs” she hid in the set. We will have copies of this check list available at the theater, or you can look at it on on your phone!

We hope you will have fun finding them all!

FREE FRIDAYS

EVERY SEAT | EVERY FRIDAY

West Side Show Room believes everyone should have access to high quality contemporary theater and performing arts, so every Friday we open our doors to share our work with the people of our community— free of charge.

Free Friday tickets become available at 8am on the Wednesday before the show. Limit 2 per order.

Even though we offer these tickets for free, that doesn’t mean the shows are free for us to produce. Our expenses for We Are Pussy Riot are over $10,000, which we have outlined in the budget below:

(For context, our actors, staff, and volunteers each work for over 200 hours on our productions.)

If you are able to donate without experiencing financial hardship, we encourage you to Add A Donation at checkout and help us make the performing arts available to everyone in our community.

Learn more—> FREE FRIDAYS

COVID SAFETY

Everyone is welcome at WSSR!

AUDIENCE MEMBERS MUST WEAR MASKS

Our cast performs unmasked so audience members must wear a mask except when eating or drinking in our lobby. Masks must be worn at all times during the show.

PERFORMERS

Cast members are fully vaccinated, tested weekly, and perform without masks.

STAFF

All staff members are fully vaccinated and wear masks when inside our space.

Any questions? contact@wssr.org

FAMILIES + KIDS

WE ARE PUSSY RIOT is an important piece of immersive political theater which may be of interest to middle or high school kids who are inquisitive about history and politics. The show contains some profanity and adult situations.

Running Time: 90 Minutes | No Intermission
Rating: PG-13
Minimum Age: 9 years

For specific info: contact@wssr.org

SENSORY INFO

We Are Pussy Riot is an energetic piece of political protest theater and contains immersive elements that may feel intense to some audience members.

For specific info or accommodations: contact@wssr.org

PLAYWRIGHT

BARBARA HAMMOND

Barbara Hammond is a New York playwright, filmmaker and songwriter. She is a New Dramatists resident playwright (Class of 2018) and is currently under commission from both the Royal Court Theatre and the Contemporary American Theatre Festival. Awards and recognitions: 2014 Seven Devils Theatre Conference; the 2012 Helen Merrill Distinguished Playwright Award; 2010-2014 Yale Playwrights Festival mentor; a 2011 Edward Albee Foundation Fellow; a Tyrone Guthrie Centre repeat resident in Annaghmakerrig; finalist at the Tennessee Williams One-Act Play Festival and the Kerouac Project; Special Jury Award, First Irish 2009 Theatre Festival. She is a member of ASCAP and the Dramatists Guild, and was named one of the Influential Women of 2011 by the Irish Voice. Playlist: Visible from Four States; The Eva Trilogy: Eva the Chaste, Enter the Roar, No Coast Road; Beyond the Pale; Summerland; Norman and Beatrice; Paper Tigers and a collection of three one-acts entitled New York in June.

CAST

Carolyn Cadigan
Judge, Anna P., Madonna, Cossack

Carolyn Cadigan has called Rockford home for more than 30 years. She originated north of Boston MA and spent seven years with the Lamb’s Players in San Diego. She was the theatre director and teacher at Keith School for seven years. She is now in her 6th production with WSSR, the most recent being Peter And The Starcatcher. She dedicates her performance to all those fighting oppression around the world!

Elise Campbell
Masha

Elise is excited to perform in her second show in Rockford! Elise was last seen at WSSR as Captain Scott and Hawking Clam in Peter And The Starcatcher. Elise earned a BA in Theatre Arts from Augustana College in 2020. Some of her favorite roles include Tilly (She Kills Monsters), Albert (Newsies), and Young Townsperson (Elephant’s Graveyard). Elise is especially grateful to her partner Naomi for always supporting her.

Sierra Goddard
Nadya

Sierra is pleased to playing her first role as a woman in the WSSR’s production of We Are Pussy Riot. Sierra was previously seen as Lord Leonard Aster in Peter and the Starcatcher, John Wesley Powell in Men On Boats, and Loud Stone in Eurydice. Sierra has also performed in productions at Winneshiek Playhouse, Pec Playhouse, and [usual] Suspects.

Erica Grajciar
Devout Woman, Lieutenant, Russian Language Professor

Erica (she/her) is joining the cast of We Are Pussy Riot in her first performance with the West Side Show Room. Erica has performed recently with The Studio and Main Street Players of Boone County in various roles in shows such as Happily Ever After, Elf!, and the original musical Grimm. Erica discovered her love for the performing arts in high school which continued to grow during her time at Rockford University and beyond. Erica is supported endlessly by her fiancé Dylan and her two children, Aeri and Livi, who both share her passion for the performing arts.

Adam Hagedorn
Pyotr, Russian TV Host, Security 2

Silas Morales
Reporter, Defense, British Feminist Lecturer

Silas is thrilled to be performing again with The West Side Show Room. Silas was last seen as Prentiss in the WSSR’s production of Peter And The Starcatcher. He is currently a student at Auburn High School and has been studying theatre through the CAPA program. He wants to go to college for acting and hopes to pursue that as his career. It is such a pleasure working with the cast and crew of this show!

Kevin Poole
Putin, Guard, Security 1

First observed in 1846, the planet Neptune, a giant ball of various gases that orbits the sun, is so far incapable of sustaining human life. Or at least it was. Had Nepatune been in observation a mere six and a half minutes prior, a very concerned German astronomer would have noticed a human-sized object being launched out of Neptune’s atmosphere and heading straight towards Earth. On the 11th of June 1996, this human-sized object landed in a small town in Northern Illinois where it preceded to take the identity of the first child it met, sending that same child back into space. Oblivious to the fate of the child, who now having grown up runs a successful accounting firm near Alpha Centauri, the former human-sized object spends most of its time involved in community theatre.

Maura Renicker
Patriarch, Prosecutor, Doctor

Maura was born and raised in Rockford and is a graduate of Rockford Lutheran high School. We Are Pussy Riot is her second show at the West Side Show Room and she previously appeared as Ted in Peter and the Starcatcher. Maura hopes you enjoy the show!

Ky Rankin
Katya

Ky has been performing in theater in Chicago and Rockford for decades. We Are Pussy Riot is Ky's third show at WSSR. She was last seen as Alf in Peter and the Starcatcher and as Dunn in Men on Boats. Ky has her BFA in Classical Theater from Columbia College Chicago and is a Veteran of the US Air Force. She absolutely loves being on stage and loves being part of the WSSR family. With her husband John, Ky recently opened J & K’s Lounge in downtown Rockford.

Camden Sabathne
Sergei

Camden is thrilled to play Sergei Barbarov in their first show at the West Side Show Room. They last played Reuben Soady in the Pec Playhouse production of Escanaba in Da Moonlight. Camden is pursuing a Master of Fine Arts in Fiction Writing and in their free time loves to perform. Some of their past favorite roles include Algernon (Importance of Being Earnest­) and Little Charles (August Osage County). Camden would like to thank their family for their continued support. And, they are always taking recommendations of good fiction.

PRODUCTION STAFF

DIRECTOR
Mike Werckle

SET DESIGNER
Lenae Weichel

COSTUME DESIGNER
Sarah Renicker
Katherine Ziemannm

LIGHT + SOUND DESIGNER
Mike Werckle

FIGHT CHOREOGRAPHER
Ky Rankin

REHEARSAL STAGE MANAGER
Meredith Laubert

PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER
Sarah Renicker

ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER
Axandra Smalley

PROPS COORDINATOR
Holli Connell

MARKETING COORDINATOR
Katherine Ziemann

BAR MANAGER
Starr Hutto

PRODUCER
Mike Werckle

WEST SIDE SHOW ROOM

ASSOCIATE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Lenae Weichel

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Mike Werckle

WSSR BOARD
Beth Edgerton
Marilyn Lamar
Mike Werckle

WE ARE PUSSY RIOT OR EVERYTHING IS P.R. is presented by special arrangement with Broadway Licensing, LLC, servicing the Dramatists Play Service collection. www.dramatists.com

WE ARE PUSSY RIOT OR EVERYTHING IS P.R. was commissioned by the Contemporary American Theater Festival, Shepherdstown, West Virginia (Ed Herendeen, Founder & Producing Director, Peggy McKowen, Associate Producing Director), which produced the world premiere in 2015.

WE ARE PUSSY RIOT OR EVERYTHING IS P.R. was developed at Emerson Stage at Emerson College.