The animals at the zoo are very busy; experimenting with meditation, processing their relationships, honing their wilderness survival skills. No one is talking about the cages. The cages are not important.
A three act meditation on capitalism and the radical left, with some dances.
PRODUCTION HISTORY:
Der Vorfuhreffeckt, Philadelphia, PA, July 2014. Directed by Donna Oblongata.
Anam Cara Theater, Asheville, NC, October 2015. Directed by Erinn Hartley.
Community College of Aurora, CO, March 2017. Directed by Stacy D’Angelo.
Available Light Theater, Columbus, OH, May 2017. Directed by Eleni Papaleonardos.
Nominated for The Kilroys list in 2014.
REVIEWS:
Quite unusual in both structure and substance, this is imaginative storytelling, using theater to send a message, but avoiding the temptation to scold or lecture.
–“Paradise Park Zoo” Unique Theatrical Experience, Jim Cavener, Asheville Citizen Times
Theatre, with its enforced awareness of the performers as people and its fusion of metaphor to physicality, is uniquely suited as a tool of empathy. There’s no better example of bodies on stage fulfilling that mission right now than Available Light’s production of Savannah Reich’s Paradise Park Zoo directed by Eleni Papaleonardos.
–Available Light;s “Paradise Park Zoo” A Dazzling Cry of Love, Richard Sanford, Columbus Underground
Savannah Reich 