Courtesy of Kate Ortiz

“Stupid Fucking Bird,” written by Aaron Posner, is a sharp and humorous adaption of Anton Chekhov’s 1896 “The Seagull.” Blending modern wit with classic themes and featuring original songs by James Sugg, Posner’s script follows a struggling playwright, his girlfriend, his mother and four other characters as they wrestle with the age-old question: what does it mean to create art? 

The Yale Dramatic Association is set to premiere its own rendition of the satirical play for its Fall Ex show on Oct. 10 to a sold-out audience at the Iseman Theater. The Dramat puts on “experimental” student directed, produced and performed productions. 

“The actors and the characters are not so separated. There’s a lot of intermingling. There’s times when you don’t know which is which. There’s times when they break the fourth wall and they talk straight at the audience,” said Millie Liao ’27, co-director of the play. “There’s so much to look forward to, it’s unconventional and breaks theater traditions.” 

Evie Kissinger ’27, who also directs the play, and Liao both took a course on Chekhov’s plays last year. They discovered a shared appreciation for Posner’s adaptation — Liao had read it in high school and Kissinger in another theater course. 

They pitched it to the Dramat board, and the play was approved as the Fall Ex production. Over the summer, the two, both first time directors from Los Angeles, collaborated and pre-blocked the show. 

The play’s style, described as “meta” by the production team, inspired Kissinger and Liao to set the stage in the round, with the audience seated in a circle and no defined front or back.

“We wanted to set it in a sort of open space so that it didn’t feel super grounded in a specific reality, because it breaks in and out of the story so much,” Kissinger said. 

According to lighting designer Allison Calkins ’27, she experimented with lights of different visibilities to reflect shifts in reality throughout the play. Calkins used white sheet fabric and Chroma-Q LED lights to emphasize moments of “theatricality” or intimate monologues. 

Setting the stage in the round posed a unique challenge for not only direction and acting, but also for stage design, according to Calkins. 

“[Setting ‘Stupid Fucking Bird’ in the round] really was rather difficult, because every single side is a front light for someone,” Calkins said. “It is a struggle between trying to maintain visibility, but also the traditional tenants that you’re taught in lighting.” 

The production team was in a race against time and faced scheduling conflicts — difficulties not unknown to student productions at Yale. Yet, the Fall Ex show is known to give shows a shorter rehearsal period before showtime. 

Actors are casted in the early fall, giving them five to six weeks to prepare for their roles. According to stage manager Alex Shadman ’27, this puts the Fall Ex show team into a time crunch. 

While scheduling was an immediate concern, said Shadman, the production remained on track due to the engagement and enthusiasm of the cast. 

“It’s been really beautiful to see how many people have really committed themselves and their time to this project,” Kissinger said, “I think the best thing about the whole project, though, has been seeing the cast become friends. They are all best friends now, and it’s really adorable.” 

Liao and Kissinger shared that while they have very different directing styles, it has proven to be complementary to one another. Griffin Santopietro ’28, who plays the role of Con — a struggling playwright — shared that he has found the rehearsal process to be very collaborative.

According to Santopietro, even though he felt like his plate was full with this production, he enjoyed the creative and exploratory process of working with the co-directors. 

While the cast might be small, the production team is composed of a large number of people who helped make the show possible, such as assistant directors, assistant producers, and set and costume designers. 

“I am most excited for [audience members to see] just how beautiful the show looks. I think all of the designers have done such an amazing job with their departments, lighting sets, props, costumes, sound, everything,” said Dhruv Bhalla ’27, who is the producer of the show. “And I think that same energy in the rehearsal room really does translate on stage to the actors.” 

The cast and crew hope that audience members continue to think about the themes and questions posed by the production even after the show ends. 

“Stupid Fucking Bird” is a play that discusses how theater is created and perceived, said Liao. She hopes that this introspective piece will encourage artists to think about their own creative processes, especially “at a place like Yale, where so much art is being made.” 

Santopietro also encouraged viewers to leave the show thinking about new forms and meanings of theater. 

“Talking about art, why we create it, what it’s supposed to do and its significance in the world and being a part of change, is something that this play talks about endlessly,” Liao said, “So we hope that people leave thinking about the process of creation and how we occupy the artistic space of Yale more.” 

“Stupid Fucking Bird” will run from Oct. 10 to 12 at 8 p.m., with an additional matinee show at 2 p.m. on Oct. 12.

SASHA HUROWITZ