The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity
By Kristoffer Diaz
Directed by Eddie Torres
Originally produced at Victory Gardens Theater, Chicago, IL.
September 25,2009 through November 1, 2009
About the Premiere Production: Macedonio Guerra is a middle-rank pro wrestler who may have discovered his ticket to the big time: an impossibly charismatic, hip-hop-influenced Indian kid from Brooklyn. Their boss has the perfect concept: team them in the ring as terrorists. Diaz’ smart, comic look at pro wrestling, geopolitics, and refrigerator crispers is a theatrical smackdown of dazzling hip-hop language, presented with a fresh, funny, high-octane flair. Set in the world of professional wrestling, Chad also raises pertinent questions about racial identity and pop culture in our society.
Artistic Statement: There are always many reasons not to produce a play. That could have been the case with The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity; the script relies very heavily on first person narrative…and it’s about professional wrestling. However, from the first read of the script, one of 120 submissions for Victory Gardens’ inaugural Ignition Festival for emerging writers of color under 40, Diaz’s delicious language, political point of view, and insightful humor moved his play to the top of the proverbial pile. Through the summer Ignition Festival reading, subsequent workshop and presentation, and well into the rehearsal process, it has become clear that this unique, wildly funny, audaciously physical production is not your typical evening in the theater. It promises to be able to bring people to VG who are not regular theatergoers; its hip-hop vocabulary will appeal to the young but, as proven at an open rehearsal, our more mature subscribers were intrigued and excited. Diaz has a lot to say about stereotypes and America’s fears. And he says it passionately, humorously, even outrageously.
This is the very first Mainstage professional production that Kris Diaz will have. But it will certainly not be the last. Once Victory Gardens selected The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, several other theaters committed to production. The support of the Edgerton Foundation has made additional and essential rehearsal time a reality for our artists. The design and technical challenges as well as the physical demands on the actors necessitated more work in the rehearsal room or, in this case, on the mat than we had budgeted.
All of us at Victory Gardens hope that, in satirizing the ideals of our nation, The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity will “Pick ‘em up—Powerbomb ‘em—Pin ‘em”. We are ecstatic to be able to give Kris the stage for this world premiere. - From Associate Artistic Director Sandy Shinner
Director: Eddie Torres
Set Design:Brian Sidney Bembridge
Lighting Design:Jesse Klug
Sound Design:Mikhail Fiksel
Costume Design:Christine Pascual
Projections: John Boesche
Props: D.J. Reed
Fight Director: David Woolley, SAFD
Stage manager: Tina M. Jach
Cast: Vigneshwar Padujar, aka VP: Usman Ally
Chad Deity: Kamal Angelo Bolden
Macedonio Guerra, aka The Mace: Desmin Borges
Everett K. Olsen, aka EKO, Ring Announcer: James Krag
Joe Jabroni: Christian Litke
Additional Funders: The Chicago Community Trust
Pulitzer Prize, 2010 Finalist
Subsequent Productions:
Firehouse Theatre Project in Richmond, VA February 16, 2014 - March 8, 2014
ion theatre company in San Diego, CA October 12, 2013 - November 9, 2013
Dallas Theater Center in Dallas, TX October 19, 2012 - November 25, 2012
THEATREWORKS in Colorado Springs, CO October 18, 2012 - November 11, 2012
PURE Theatre in Charleston, SC September 14, 2012 - October 6, 2012
Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington, DC September 3, 2012 - September 30, 2012
Curious Theatre Company in Denver, CO August 30, 2012 - October 13, 2012
Aurora Theatre Company in Berkeley, CA August 24, 2012 - September 30, 2012
Company One in Boston, MA July 27, 2012 - August 25, 2012
Actors Theatre of Louisville in Louisville, KY January 3, 2012 - February 4, 2012
Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles, CA August 30, 2011 - October 9, 2011
Second Stage Theatre in New York, NY April 27, 2010 - June 20, 2010
InterAct Theatre Company in Philadelphia, PA October 23, 2009 - November 22, 2009
Perseverance Theatre in Douglas, AK September 12, 2017 - October 8, 2017, November 9, 2017 - November 19, 2017
Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota, FL April 4, 2017 - April 30, 2017
Stageworks Theatre in Tampa, FL June 1, 2017 - June 18, 2017
Mixed Blood Theatre Co in Minneapolis, MN April 9, 2010 - May 9, 2010