The ‘New and Improved’ Molotov Theatre Group. There Will Be Blood (just a smidgen)

By Kyle Osborne

In a city blessedly crowded with top-notch theatre, the Molotov Theatre Group always stood out from the pack since its inception in 2007. In their first year, Molotov won Best Comedy by audience vote in the Capital Fringe Festival. In 2008 they won Best Overall in the Capital Fringe, and in 2011, they were Helen Hayes Awards Recommended for their revival of Nicky Silver’s “Fat Men in Skirts.”

But “Fringe” can be a double-edged sword, perhaps less inviting to the more meek theatre goers in D.C. And with the company’s devotion to Grand Guignol theatre, there was always a good chance of blood being shed on the stage (theatrical blood, of course).

Now back after a year-long hiatus that found the company re-imagining new elements and reinforcing some old ones, Molotov kicks off a new season with Extremities , an Off-Broadway play that became a well-known film starring Farrah Fawcett. Other productions this season will include Normal, Written by Anthony Neilson and Directed by Jay Brock, as well as Killer Joe, Written by Tracy Letts and Directed by Michael Wright.

Extremities plays Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday Evenings through November 3^rd. Buy tickets Here

Read The Review of ‘Extremities’ : http://www.entertainmentordie.com/2013/10/theatre-review-extremities-by-molotov-theatre-company/

 

We caught up with Molotov Theatre Group Co-Artistic Director Alex Zavistovich to get an update on the “New and Improved” company, and about their unlikely venture into the food business, as a new way of fundraising.

Question (Kyle Osborne)  What was Molotov doing the past year? Were you still having meetings? Looking for funding? Were you close to having to shut down for good?

Answer (Alex Zavistovich) “A year ago, I was planning on shutting down Molotov. Then I became reacquainted with my now Co-Artistic Director Michael Wright, who had been running his own production company. We rolled his company, See No Sun productions, under the Molotov brand. We also took on a new Board of Directors, and are continuing to actively recruit to expand that board.”

“Over the past year, we have completely overhauled Molotov. We have a new logo and web presence, a new tagline (“Art Imitates Death”), A Molotov Literacy Project initiative for adult literacy, and an entire line of branded products which we are using to attract audience members from outside the traditional theater community.”

Q: When you say “branded products” you mean?

A: “Those products include an energy drink, hot sauce, salsa, cigarette lighters, skull-themed shot glass, and the more traditional T-shirts sold by many companies. The food and beverage products are actually being carried in a select number of restaurants and retail establishments. To our knowledge, nobody else in town is approaching this job of brand development and awareness in quite the same way as Molotov. Here are the places we’re working with so far:  Rocklands’ Georgetown location (2418 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, DC, 20007) will carry “Molotov Seven Sins Chipotle Hot Sauce.”

·     Batch 13 (1724 14th St NW, Washington, DC 20009) will carry “Molotov Blast Sugar-Free Energy Drink.”

·     Silesia Liquors (10909 Livingston Rd, Fort Washington, MD 20744) will carry “Molotov Blood Bath Habanero Salsa.”

Q:  What is “new and improved” about  Molotov? Will long-time supporters be cool with “change”? Will the changes help to usher in new supporters?

A: “We are taking ourselves a bit more seriously while staying true to being DC’s only horror- and suspense-focused company. Considering our previous slogan had been “suck it, wimps,” we weren’t doing ourselves any favors in the funding department. It was long since time to elevate the brand a bit.”

“We are also staying true to the Grand Guignol style of theater, and are applying those original practices to contemporary works, such as our current production of Extremities. Later this season we will doing Normal by Anthony Nielson, and Killer Joe, by Tracy Letts (who just won a Tony award for the revival of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?)”

“We think our fan base is going to continue to support us even though we’ve made these changes, and we’re confident that being a more fully engaged part of the theater community in general will bring us some much-deserved credibility in that circle as well.

Q: Now you’re onstage with Extremities, how would you sum up the play in a few sentences?

A: “Extremities is a harrowing suspense story. A woman thwarts a sexual assault against her in her home, turns the tables on the attacker, disables him, hogties him, blindfold him and stuffs him into a fireplace while she figures out what to do with him. Throughout the rest of the play, psychological mind games ensue as the attacker tries to drive a wedge between his would-be victim and her housemates who arrive after he’s already been incapacitated.”

Q: Of course, I have to ask…Will there be blood?

A: “Surprisingly, just a smidgen. Most of the effects are going to be in the service of the menacing of the attacker by his would-be victim. There are some very sophisticated special effects, convincing fight choreography, and one extremely hard-to-believe reveal towards the end of the show. I would be doing a disservice to audience members if I said anymore. But you won’t believe it happens in front of your very eyes.”

Q:. Part of Grand Guignol involves “horror”, but , in the case of Molotov productions, is the word meant to describe something more like Poe than John Carpenter?

A: “The Molotov Literacy Project uses the classics of horror literature, such as Frankenstein, and Dracula, to help promote adult literacy.

On stage, however, we are more interested in depicting the human monster — the depraved, the misanthropic, the psychologically damaged, and the horrors that those fringe elements perpetrate.

In short, we focus on stage on the human monster, not the monster of Victorian nightmares.”

Q: How will the audience be involved? How big is the space?

A: “The DC Arts Center in Adams Morgan is a small black box fixed-seat theater that seats approximately 40 people. We have blocked off most of the front row to allow for a larger performing area for the actors. While we are not doing this production as an audience participation event, to create more of a claustrophobic feeling, some of the action actually moves straight up the center aisle of the theater. We’re confident that that will be a bit of a jolt to people in the audience.”

For more information, and to buy tickets, please visit: http://molotovtheatregroup.org/