Dough by David Lescot at New Ohio Theatre

Artist Statement   

On a stage, I like to present things that are not usually part of it. The way I deal with the notion of time in theater pieces reflects that approach. In Poetics, Aristotle states that a theater piece cannot tell the story of a complete life. I want to transgress that dramaturgical code. Indeed, in order to, I need to find unusual ways that would allow me to overcome that challenge. 

With Dough, I wanted to write about the development of time during a lifetime, without a single interruption. I didn’t want any elliptical narratives, black outs or subtitles such as “15 years later,” “20 years later.” The rule I chose to write for this play was to write about a continued life. Things come one after the other. I wanted a unique, undivided movement. Plays such as Dough are attempts, experiences. 

With its particular time structure, Dough makes us rethink the act on stage. For me, that time development seems like a movie about an accelerated life. It is about editing effects. Cinema has strongly influenced my writing, without doubt. 

Dough tells the passage of time, the passage of eras, of decades. While I was writing the play, I thought a lot decades-wise: I divided a lifetime into decades. As for me, a life unity would be a decade. I enjoy a lot in the play to tell that half-phony, half-deep theory of my philosophical friend: from age 0 to 40 you learn about life, from 40 to 60 you dominate the world (or at least you try), and, after 60, you learn how to die. 

When this friend told us that theory, we roared with laughter. Yet, at the same time, it is quite an accurate image of life. 

About the Artists   

David Lescot (writer, director): An author, stage director, and musician, David Lescot is an associate artist of Théâtre de la Ville, Paris. Like his stage work, his writing seeks to mix theatre with non-dramatic forms—in particular, music. David’s work has been recognized with several prizes (Prize of the Best French Speaking Creation, 2007; New Talent (Révélation, Molière Award, 2009), and his plays, published by Editions Actes Sud, have been translated into English, German, Polish, Italian, and Russian. Lescot also directs opera, such as Mozart’s La Finta Giardiniera (2014 at Opéra de Lille), among others. His work Les Ondes magnétiques was presented by La Comédie-Francaise –Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier in his own staging, a second collaboration with the famous troupe. 

Matthew Brown (multiple roles): As a performer, Matthew strives to become involved with physical and dance-driven pieces ranging from immersive to traditional. Matthew recently performed the US debut of Oh Boy! directed by Olivier Letellier at The Duke on 42nd St. as part of The New Victory Theater’s 2017 season. He has toured around the world with The Wooster Group, dancing in their production of Early Shaker Spirituals. Other favorite credits include work with Target Margin Theater, The Met Opera, Punchdrunk, and 600 HIGHWAYMEN. Learn more on his website.

Hannah Mitchell (multiple roles): Hannah Mitchell is an actor and theater-maker based in Brooklyn. She acts in plays and on-camera and creates original theatrical works, drawing from a broad array of influences, including clown, sketch comedy, contemporary dance, and daytime TV. She was a 2019 Resident Artist with Mabou Mines, where she premiered her new evening-length show, Warm-Line. She has performed at many venues around New York, including: The Public Theater, The Armory, Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, Segal Center at CUNY, HERE Arts Center, Target Margin Theater, The Invisible Dog, Gibney Dance, Roulette & Dixon Place, among others. Her work has been seen in festivals such as Crossing the Line, Bard SummerScape, and No Theme Festival, and she regularly contributes to the monthly variety show, Do The Funny Thing. She earned a BA in Theater & Performance from Bard College. Learn more on her website. 

Zach Lusk: Zach is a Filipino-American theater artist, writer, and barista. He is currently working on a philosophy book with the working title of Everything is Star Wars: a series of essays by a barista with a liberal arts degree. Past roles include Giri in The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, and Kenny in Edith Can Shoot Things And Hit Them. Future endeavors include a cat café with a queer performance space, and writing for a live-action Batman Beyond television series based on the 2000s cartoon. Sarah Lawrence, BADA, NTI. zachlusk.com | @xzo.luskado (Instagram) 

Roderick Murray (lighting design): Roderick Murray is a Bessie-Award winning artist who has been designing lighting and installations for dance, music, and opera internationally since 1989. Murray designed projects for Ralph Lemon, Benjamin Millepied, LADP, Wally Cardona, Dusan Tynek, Kathy Westwater, Yanira Castro, Luca Vegetti, among others. He also has a life-long collaboration with choreographer Kimberly Bartosik ,whose recent work through the mirror of their eyes was seen at New York Live Arts. Upcoming projects include a premiere by Raphael Xavier and a new Romeo and Juliet by LADP. roderickmurraylighting.com 

Dough is a production of Compagnie du Kaïros, Paris. Co-presented by Villa Albertine/the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the United States and New Ohio Theater, New York. 

The production of Dough is made possible with funding from Villa Albertine in partnership with FACE Foundation; New Ohio Theater, New York; and the Compagnie du Kaïros. This work was developed at the Collapsable Hole. Compagnie du Kaïros is supported by the Ministry of Culture – DRAC Ile de France. 

In the theater field, Villa Albertine aims to highlight the work of French playwrights–both in French and English translation–for a broad American audience. In recent years, greater attention has been devoted to developing productions of French plays translated to English staged with an American cast. Dough is part of this momentum.

Supported by FACE Contemporary Theater, a program from Villa Albertine and FACE Foundation, in partnership with the French Embassy in the United States, with support from The Ford Foundation, Institut français, the French Ministry of Culture, and private donors.