Subversive Theatre

    Kurt is just your average flat-footed commie atheist Jew whose love affair with political theatre began at the age of fourteen when he first read Clifford Odets' WAITING FOR LEFTY. In the years since, he has worked for Studio Arena, Shakespeare in the Park, New Phoenix, Kavinoky, Lightsedge, the Buffalo Ensemble Theatre, Theater of Youth, and Indigo Productions as everything from director, lighting designer, stage manager and even stage-building grunt.
    A refugee of the University at Buffalo's Theatre Department, Kurt is first and foremost a playwright who has also been known to pimp himself out as a dramatic critic for Outcome, Buffalo Beat, Blue Dog, Nightlife, and -- most recently -- the Buffalo Jewish Review Magazine.
    As an educator, Kurt has taught the craft of playwriting at Canisius and Empire State Colleges as well as the Just Buffalo Literary Center. As a lighting designer, he has crafted lighting-scapes for over twenty different productions and won the 2007 Artie Award for Outstanding Lighting Design for the New Phoenix Theatre's production of METAMORPHOSIS.
    Subversive Theatre has produced five of Kurt's original plays. The first, MANIFEST DESTINY BLUES (performed 2003), was nominated for Outstanding New Play at the 2004 Artie Awards. The second, A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON MY WAY TO SHOOT THE CZAR, was one of the eight plays chosen to make up the international component of the 2004 Toronto Fringe Festival. The third, MOTHER DIS-COURAGE, enjoyed an international world-debut tour spanning from Montreal to New York City in the summer of 2005. His original work FOUNDATIONS made its debut in January of 2007 to rave reviews and was recently performed at Chicago's Stage Left Theatre (2008). Most recently, his all TOO topical work WATERBOARDING BLUES made its world debut at our Manny Fried Playhouse in April of 2009.
    But above all, Kurt is an activist and a revolutionary. He has always wanted to find a way to bring together his theatrical talents and his political beliefs. As the Founder of Subversive Theatre he is excited to play a small part in the revival of the august tradition of American Protest Theatre.
    Kurt has directed the lion's share of Subversive Theatre's productions including THE ACCIDENTAL DEATH OF AN ANARCHIST (2002), BURY THE DEAD (2003), PAUL ROBESON SPEAKS OUT (2004, Artie-nominated), PATRIOT ACT (2005), SINCERITY FOREVER (2006), and THE EXCEPTION AND THE RULE (2007), DROP HAMMER (2008), HAIRY APE (2009), and -- most recetnly -- WIDOWS (2009) to name only a few.
     We were even able to get Kurt to make his first stage appearance in March of 2006 in our presentation of WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ to mark the third anniversary of the U.S. Invasion of Iraq.
    In 2008, Kurt at long last got the chance to direct his all time favorite "subversive" play WAITING FOR LEFTY as a collaboration between Subversive Theatre and the New Phoenix Theatre in Jan-Feb of 2008. This production was an extraordinary success that would later win the Award for "Outstanding Production" at the 2008 Buffalo Artie Awards.
     Up next, Kurt will be directing our version of Langston Hughes' HARVEST in February-March of 2010.

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