Roberto Zucco
March 26-April 4, 2009, 7:30 p.m.
$5 Preview Wednesday, March 25
Matinee Thursday, April 2 at 12:30 p.m.
No show Sunday, March 29
Directed by Stefan Dzeparoski
Set and Lights: Robert Shannon
Costumes: Snezana Pesic
WHAT MAKES A KILLER KILL?
Studio Theatre delves into the mind of a serial killer with the urban tragedy Roberto Zucco – a powerful psychological thriller based on a true story, playing March 26 – April 4, 2009 at 7:30 pm in the University of Alberta’s Timms Centre for the Arts (87 Avenue & 112 Street).
Written by French playwright Bernard Marie Koltès, Roberto Zucco fictionalizes the life and crimes of real-life Italian murderer Roberto Succo, who made headlines for committing a string of violent crimes ranging from the murder of both his parents and several police officers, to rape, burglary, kidnapping, and hijacking, across Western Europe in the 1980s before committing suicide in his prison cell in 1988.
Koltès play Roberto Zucco examines characters from the fringes of 20th century life, portraying the central figure as a charismatic murderer who seduces his prey. Like Icarus or Oedipus, Zucco is driven by forces he cannot control, obsessed by the question, “why does love hurt more than violence?”
The play has been compared to the stylish work of filmmaker Quentin Tarantino in the way that it is punctuated with dispassionate violence and examines the stark contrasts between life and death, attraction and repulsion.
The Studio Theatre production is directed by guest artist Stefan Dzeparoski (MFA Directing ’07) and features a cast comprised of the graduating BFA Acting students of 2009: Mari Chartier (Girl), Joel Crichton (First Prison Officer, Police Officer), Joshua Dalledonne (Police Sergeant, Pimp), Tess Degenstein (Panic-Stricken Prostitute), Samantha Duff (Mother), Vincent Forcier (Roberto Zucco), Blythe Haynes (Sister, Child), Mathew Hulshof (Brother, Bruiser), Branden Martin (Father, Melancholy Detective), Matthew McKinney (Police Chief, Old Gentleman), Joëlle Préfontaine (Roberto’s Mother, Madam) and Holleay Rohm (Lady).
Sets, lights and projected media are designed by Theatre Design Professor Robert Shannon (MFA Design ‘85), costumes are designed by Snezana Pesic (MFA Theatre Design ‘07) and the soundscape is designed by BFA Technical Theatre Production student Tully Johnson, featuring the song Cocaine Trade by Christian Hansen (BFA Acting ‘04) and the Autistics, remixed by Matthew Skopyk (BFA Technical Theatre Production ‘06). The production is stage managed by Tracey Byrne, assisted by BFA Technical Theatre Stage Management students Molly Pearson and Naomi Van Heyst.
Evening performances of Roberto Zucco run March 26 – April 4, at 7:30 pm, with a $5 preview performance Wednesday, March 25 at 7:30 pm. A matinee is scheduled for Thursday, April 2 at 12:30 pm. There is no performance Sunday, March 29.
Tickets are on-sale now, available for $10-$20 at TIX on the Square, in-person at Sir Winston Churchill Square Interpretive Centre, by phone at 780.420.1757, and online at www.tixonthesqaure.ca . Walk-up tickets are available one hour before each performance at the Timms Centre Box Office.
Sponsored by: See Magazine, CKUA Radio Network, University of Alberta Department of Drama/Faculty of Arts and Timms Centre for the Arts.