April 14, 1998 University Theatre Contact Karen Scheeland (541) 346-4190 or John R. Crosiar 346-3135 EDITOR'S NOTE: Photo call for "Fire in the Basement" is at 6 p.m. on Monday, April 20, at the Arena Theatre at Villard Hall, 1109 Old Campus Lane. EUGENE--"Fire in the Basement," Pavel Kohout's absurdist vision of the social chaos after the fall of communism, will open Wednesday, May 6, as the latest offering of University Theatre's 1997-98 Second Season. Additional performances will be held May 7-9 and 14-16. All performances begin at 8 p.m. in the Arena Theatre at Villard Hall, 1109 Old Campus Lane on the University of Oregon campus. Kohout, a Czechoslovakian playwright who celebrated his 70th birthday in 1997, wrote "Fire in the Basement" in 1973. His play addresses issues of living in Soviet-controlled Eastern Europe. In "Fire in the Basement," people masquerading as firemen convince a young couple that there is a fire in their home. The couple eventually are convinced of the outrageous story and are swindled into buying a costly insurance policy, after which the firemen vanish with the money and the truth. "`Fire in the Basement' is about bureaucratic corruption and the damage that it can inflict on the most personal aspects of people's lives, something with which, I think, most of us can identify," says the play's director Jim Utz, a doctor of philosophy degree candidate in theater arts from Davis, Calif. "It deals with these issues in a familiar, domestic context, and humorously exposes the questionable aspects of bureaucracies to ridicule. "This play," Utz continues, "should appeal to people who love dark humor and absurdist drama, but it features a style of absurdism characteristic of Eastern Europe: one in which the individual psyche is more or less `normal' but is forced to deal with a set of insane social circumstances. "This play is more than a glimpse into a supposedly `forgotten' way of life in the former Soviet Bloc," Utz says. "It works on a more universal level, as is evidenced by its successful production in Western Europe and Japan." "Fire in the Basement" features sets by Greg Hoffart, a theater arts master of fine arts degree candidate from Eugene; costumes by Ursula Aller, a senior theater arts major, and Esther Garcia, a senior fine and applied arts major, both of Roseburg; and lights by Michael Govier, a sophomore theater arts major of Redding, Calif. Josh Epworth, a master's degree student in theater arts from Portland, is the technical director. The production also includes sound design by Matt Berliner, a senior theater arts major of Las Vegas, Nev., and Jonathan Walters, a senior theater arts major of Georgetown, Texas; props design by Rene Ragan, a senior theater arts and humanities major, and Kate Reding, a junior theater arts major, both of Eugene; and dramaturgy by Heather Lindsley, a theater arts master of fine arts degree candidate from Grand Terrace, Calif., and Biliana Stoytcheva-Horissian, a theater arts doctor of philosophy degree candidate from Sofia, Bulgaria. Robyn Pirrie, a senior theater arts major of Eugene, is stage manager, and Michael Jacob Geissinger, a senior theater arts major of Dallas, is the assistant director. The cast features UO students Graham Prichard, a junior undeclared major of Jackson, Miss., and Sarah Scott Dyrhaug, a junior theater arts major of Tempe, Ariz., as Engl and Jartchi, the young couple. Completing the ensemble are Luke Hamilton, a sophomore theater arts major of Eugene, Sabrina Bernasconi, a junior theater arts major of Hillsboro, and Stacia Jensen, a senior theater arts and English major of Junction City, and Shelly Swearingen, a senior English major of Redmond, as the "firemen"--Vodicka, Tvrznik, Janik and Hurnik. The Arena Theatre is fully accessible for wheelchairs. Free parking is available nearby in the lot at East 11th Avenue and Kincaid Street. Ticket prices for "Fire in the Basement" are $6 for the general public; $5 for UO faculty and staff, senior citizens and non-UO students; and $3 for UO students. For tickets and more information, visit the University Theatre box office in the Robinson Theatre, or call (541) 346-4191. Box office hours are noon-6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and noon-8:15 p.m. on performance days. Tickets are also available through the EMU ticket office at 346-4363. A taped message about University Theatre productions and activities is available 24 hours a day by calling GuardLine from a Touch-Tone phone at 485-2000, ext. 2287, or visit University Theatre's Internet website at http://darkwing.uoergon.edu/~theatre/. -30- #P-2204/A&E