MACOMB THEATER COMPANY
About The Big “A”: scenes from a vanishing landscape
Maybe that’s what hell is. You go mad, and all your demons come and get you just as fast as you can think them up. - Anne Rice
From playwright and director Robert Epstein
The Big "A" is a family drama about Alzheimer’s, cancer, dementia and caregiving, and represents a situation that so many families are dealing with today. While it is a common situation, it is a different world from the one in which people ordinarily live. Everything in the world of dementia is intense, sometimes brutal, sometimes wildly and absurdly funny, turned upside down, and it is like waking up in a nightmare that can only be understood by those who have experienced it. This play came out of those real experiences that my family went through during the months of my father's pancreatic cancer which led to his death.
My mom had already had Alzheimer’s for several years, and my dad was her constant companion and caregiver. In his 90s, he still enjoyed shopping and cooking, doing his own bills, and feeding and taking care of my mom. When he suddenly got weaker and found that he could no longer function as well, or think as clearly, we went to the doctor and discovered that he was in the final stages of cancer. . The play will be a part of the Capital Fringe Festival in July in Washington DC.
THESTORY
About the Macomb Theater Company
Robert Epstein, director of the Macomb Theater Company, is a film and theatre director and DC area acting teacher, now celebrating 30 years of his long-term training program, "The Complete Meisner-Based Actors' Training for Stage, Film and TV." With his original play "The Big A," Robert is inaugurating the Macomb Theatre Company, with a cast taken from graduates of the program. The program and company combines truthful acting and a strong sense of reality with a special emphasis on character work, for a complete detailed creation of each role. As playwright, Robert's work embraces an absurd view of the extremities of life, hoping to honestly explore the nature of the darkest and most illuminating moments we experience as human beings.
About Capital Fringe
Capital Fringe is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization founded in 2005 with the purpose of connecting exploratory artists with adventurous audiences by creating outlets and spaces for creative, cutting-edge, and contemporary performance in the District. Capital Fringe’s vital programs ensure the growth and continued health of the local and regional performing arts community by helping artists become independent producers while stimulating the vibrant cultural landscape in our city.
THE INSPIRATION
