a devised theatre event featuring Mason Catharini, Evan Crump, Elizabeth Darby, Steve Lebens, Talia Segal, and Lorrie Smith

Seeking a more visceral, immediate Shakespeare.

Using techniques drawn from Antonin Artaud's Theatre of Cruelty, this project takes great liberties with seven Shakespeare scenes to create an affective and sensorially evocative theatrical event. This Shakespeare isn't about character, plot, or language; it's about creating sensations using bodies in space.

by Evan Crump

directed by Ruben Vellekoop

In the future, you can live forever--for a price.

In the near future, immortality is possible through the Lazarus Procedure, but only the rich and those deemed genetically worthy can experience it. Criminals do everything in their power to cheat the system and buy themselves more time, and the underclass simply endure as long as they can. In Lazarus, a disillusioned doctor comes face to face with the hypocrisy of an eternal life, poorly lived.

John Stoltenberg at DC Metro Theater Arts writes that Lazarus "features some excellent performances, and the playwright has a nice knack for snappy, aphoristic dialogue."

by Evan Crump

directed by Keegan Cassady and Evan Crump

A soldier's worst enemy sometimes wears the same uniform.

Three soldiers, wounded and trapped in the belly of a downed plane in Afghanistan, are cut off from any hope of rescue, their only tie to the outside world a mysterious woman on the radio. As they examine the decisions that led them to face death on foreign soil, the line between insurgent and peacekeeper blurs. Body Armor explores themes of misguided patriotism, military overreach and corruption, and the fallen ideals of a country that has decided it is the world’s army.

Julieanna Novak's MD Theatre Guide Review commends the play's message: "Questioning the way our country wages war, and the price of our victories, this show will certainly make you think."

by Evan Crump

directed by Tom Prewitt

A gruesome pileup on the interstate. A young couple in love. A life in fragments. A story of love, faith, and romance after tragedy.

In Shock/Trauma, a young couple deals with the aftermath of a horrific car accident, and the physical, emotional, and psychological injuries that inevitably result. Jumping from moment to moment and event to event, the play follows two years of their lives and explores the issues of guilt and resentment, the impossible ideal of unconditional love, and the struggle for faith and human will to survive in traumatic circumstances.

In his DCMTA review, Tzvi Khan writes, "The script, which wisely avoids casting judgments on its characters or proposing pat solutions to their hardships, depicts the emotional dimensions of post-traumatic stress with intelligence." He adds, "Roundtree and Crump, for their part, deliver emotionally nuanced and ultimately heartbreaking performances that capture the psychological turmoil threatening not only to destroy their relationship, but also their very sense of self."

by Evan Crump

directed by Alia Faith Williams

One man. Forty years. Twenty-five trillion miles from home.

In Flyboy, aspiring astronaut Jake Young is offered the mission of a lifetime--but one that will take him away from everyone and everything he's ever known. Can he give up his earthbound life to chase a distant star? Flyboy grapples with themes of loneliness, the perils of human achievement, and the impossibility of living up to a father who was larger than life.

Steven McKnight writes in his five-star review in DC Theatre Scene that Flyboy is "as fine a drama as this reviewer has seen in the past three Capital Fringe Festivals." Julie Exline's five-star review in the Maryland Theatre Guide raved that "the performances are amongst some of the most passionate I’ve ever seen." Chris Klimek of the Washington City Paper said, "If you’re a sucker like I am for thoughtful, plausible depictions of off-planet life as seen in films such as Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, Danny Boyle's Sunshine, or Duncan Jones' Moon, there’s a good chance you’ll appreciate what Crump has done here."

by Evan Crump

directed by John C. Bailey

Is he human or angel? Convict or saint? Insane or divine?

Genesis inhabits the inner workings of a beautifully dangerous mind and asks: Who is the voice of reason among the insane? Who speaks for God in a godless age?

Genesis tells the story of an inmate in a mental institution who believes himself to be a fallen angel. The play tests the fine line between faith and delusion, raises tough questions at the core of Christian religion, and points to society’s willful ignorance of the mentally ill so as to avoid the moral quandaries their treatment raises.

In his five-star DC Theatre Scene review, Joel Markowitz described Genesis as "a roller-coaster ride of emotions, so buckle up and take this unforgettable ride," and called the show a "brilliant production...word has gotten out that Genesis is a small gem".

Genesis was a sleeper hit in the 2010 Capital Fringe Festival and notched a surprising win in the Best Drama category at the Fringe Awards.