VASILISA MOST LOVELY by Kevin Kautzman
Sunday, April 28 at 6:30pm
State Theatre, 719 Congress Ave.
On her deathbed Vasilisa’s mother gives her daughter a special doll to comfort her in her grief. Later, when faced with excessive chores at the hands of a greedy step-mother and step-sisters with serious boy problems, Vasilisa discovers her doll really does have the power to comfort her: literally. A play about loss, growing up, and the hope that kindness might heal what time cannot. VASILISA MOST LOVELY is an original adaptation of the Russian folktale featuring Vasilisa (the loveliest girl in the country), her snarky doll, and the infamous Baba Yaga.
Kevin Kautzman is a playwright and screenwriter originally from North Dakota pursuing his M.F.A. as a Michener Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin. He began studying playwriting in London at the Royal Court Theatre, where he became a core writer out of the Young Writers Program. He has received commissions from History Theatre and Red Eye, and his work has been performed and developed at theatres around the UK and US. Honors include the Playwrights’ Center’s Jerome Fellowship, the Michener Fellowship, the Sewanee Writers’ Conference’s Tennessee Williams Scholarship (THEN WAVES), Lavender Magazine’s Best Playwriting (IRIS), and the International Student Playscript Competition and Repertory Theatre Iowa’s Alpha Project awards (COYOTE). THEN WAVES was also a finalist for the Pen Center drama award and the Yale Drama Series. Kevin has also taught, tutored, and provided new play dramaturgy at organizations in Iowa, Minnesota, Texas, and the UK. He is an alumnus of the University of Minnesota, where he studied history and philosophy, and is represented by Max Grossman at Abrams.
In April, Kevin’s play DREAM OF PERFECT SLEEP will appear in UTNT at the UT Austin Lab Theater. Details at kevinkautzman.com