This weekend (July 19-21), Open Fist Theatre Company presents the world premiere of Tom Jacobson’s The Bauhaus Project, a theatrical event that explores the rise of fascism and anti-semitism in Germany and its impact on the arts, particularly through the lens of the iconic Bauhaus movement. The play will be presented in two parts—Bauhaus Weimar and Bauhaus Dessau and Bauhaus Berlin—with performances scheduled from Friday, July 19 through Sunday, Aug. 25 at the Atwater Village Theater in Los Angeles.
The production features performances from CalArts alums Jack Goldwait (Theater BFA 24), Sang Kim (Theater MFA 24), and John C. Sweet (Theater 12), as well as Chloe Madriaga and Katarina Joy Lopez. These actors portray multiple historical Bauhaus figures, including architect and Bauhaus founding director Walter Gropius and his successors Hannes Meyer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe; and influential artists including Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, Gunta Stolzl, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, among others.
Artistic Director Martha Demson, who directed the production and worked closely with Jacobson in its development, describes the play’s unique structure:
The Bauhaus Project takes place on several levels. The framing device is a play within a play in which modern-day art school students trace the historical narrative of the Bauhaus, a groundbreaking art school committed to ‘marrying beauty with utility’ that was closed by the Nazis in 1933. Meanwhile, the production design will emphasize the enormous influence of the Bauhaus and the exhilaration of cross-disciplinary collaboration.
The play is divided into two parts: Bauhaus Weimar, focusing on the school’s founding and early years in Weimar, will run on Fridays at 8 pm and Saturdays at 4 pm. Bauhaus Dessau and Bauhaus Berlin, which examines the school’s relocations to Dessau and Berlin amid increasing Nazi scrutiny, will be performed on Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 4 pm.
Audiences can choose to view the entire Bauhaus Project over two evenings, two matinees, or in a single day on Saturday. Viewing the parts in sequence is recommended to fully understand the historical narrative.
