The Gun

"Theatre creates movement, it makes you angry, it provokes and asks unpleasant questions, while promoting freedom.”    

-Árpád Schilling

​

With support from CITD, The Imaginists are commissioning acclaimed Hungarian theater director Árpád Schilling to create The Gun, a new work that will bring his outsider’s eye to the role that guns and gun violence play in American society.

Building on a longstanding artistic collaboration between the Imaginists and Schilling, the new work will highlight a shared artistic sensibility that prizes risk - taking, experimentation, and theater as instigation and provocation. The Imaginists will continue their unwavering commitment to community engagement on The Gun, working with youth organizations and holding community conversations throughout the development and premiere of the play. The Gun will premiere at Z Space in San Francisco in 2020.

The project is made possible by the Hewlett 50 Arts Commissions, an initiative that supports the creation and premiere of 50 exceptional new works by world-class artists in partnership with Bay Area nonprofit organizations and the ongoing support of the Trust for Mutual Understanding and the Center for International Theatre Development.

The Gun will be produced in four distinct working periods, bringing the Hungarian and American artists together for four

3-week sessions over the next 10 months with the Imaginists, Bay Area colleagues and the Hungarian team: Árpád Schilling/director, Ildikó Ságodi/dramaturgy & production manager, and Peter Fancsikai/film & documentation.

The Imaginists perform Spin Off (2018)