Two men are imprisoned in a deep pit, attempting to make sense of their guilt, their fears, their chances, the looming threat of snakes. A third appears, offering to sell them his wares, as well as the potential for freedom. Will they capitalize on it? Written in 1988, this daring work pulses with urgency as it explores the dangers of fascism, groupthink, and the dehumanizing forces at play in today’s world. Vișniec, whose homeland of Romania has a rich history of resisting authoritarianism, brings a sharp, provocative voice to a story that resonates now more than ever.
Will you be a bystander? Or will you challenge the system? THE PIT awaits. Are you ready to confront it?
Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Language: English
Post show discussion with artists
By Matei Vișniec
Directed by Ana Margineanu
Cast: Owen Campbell, Vas Eli, Perri Yaniv
Movement director: Razvan Stoian
With the Romanian Cultural Institute & EUNIC
THE PIT is produced by BETTERFLY Productions and supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, as well as by 2nd Generation (2G).
ABOUT:
VAS ELI (Man 1) is an award-winning actor based in NYC. A multidisciplinary artist, he is also a director, writer, producer, dialect coach, educator and painter. He is the founder of BETTERFLY Productions (Zoom With Me, Far, Lemonking, The Sketchy Eastern European Show, When & Where).
Theater: The Sketchy Eastern European Show (The Players Theater) Tamburlaine (TFANA), Jericho (Attic Theatre), Unearthly Visitants (Triskelion Arts), Island of Dr. Moreau (Piper Theatre), Splitfoot (Edinburgh Fringe), Lincoln Dress (Albany NY, Bucharest)
TV: Night Agent, FBI: Most Wanted, The Endgame, For Life, WeCrashed, The Deuce, The Blacklist;
Film: Snakeeater, The Block, Varlet, Delenda, Hell House 2, Kidnapping of A Fish, The Naked Woman, Dominant Species, Far From Here.
www.Vaseli.org IG @vasileflutur
IAN EDLUND (Man 2) Ian Edlund is a Brooklyn-based actor. His credits include Kit Zauhar’s film, “This Closeness” as well as a number of award winning short films, including “Mixtape Marauders” “The Ref” and “Dream Creep.” Theatre credits include the recent premiere of Levon Hawke's "Picture Day" as well as collaborations with theatre artists such as Kedian Keohan, Ashley Tata and Taibi Magar.
PERRI YANIV (The Newcomer) is a New York native with over 40 theater production credits locally, regionally, and internationally. Recent Off-Broadway credits include the extension of Bedlam's revival of Tom Stoppard's Arcadia, spit&vigor's NYC-premiere production of Kelleen Conway's Blood Countess, and Marvell Repertory's revivals of The Dybbuk and Blood Wedding. He has performed in world premieres of works by John Patrick Shanley, Erik Ehn, Owen Panettieri, and most recently, Naren Weiss’ The Sketchy Eastern European Show with Vas Eli and Scott C Sickles’ Marianas Trench with Leviathan Lab. Film/TV credits include "The Blacklist" (NBC), "BEDLAM: The Series," "White Peacock," "Purity," "Delivery Hour" among others. www.perribazyaniv.com IG @perriyaniv
ANA MARGINEANU (Director) is a theater director who works both nationally and internationally. She graduated from The National University of Theatre and Film of Bucharest, Romania. Ana Margineanu is co-founder of PopUp Theatrics, a partnership creating immersive theatrical events around the world and in collaboration with international theater artists. She is a past resident of Women's Project Theater, LaGuardia Performing Arts Center and an alumnus of The Lincoln Center Directors Lab.
Ana’s work has been presented and/or developed at the The Kennedy Center, 3LD Art & Technology Center, Working Theater, Urban Stages, NYTW, The Lark, Ensemble Studio Theater, The Secret Theatre and in numerous theaters and festivals in Europe, most notably: New Plays from Europe Wiesbaden, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, National Theatre Festival Bucharest, Sibiu International Theatre Festival.
Called "one of the reigning queens of New York's highly intimate, one-shot-only, conceptual-based theater" by the NYC critic Randy Gener, Ana Margineanu is known for close cooperation with the local communities who are audiences for her work, highly metaphoric visual style, and ability to draw raw, visceral performances from her actors.
MATEI VISNIEC (Playwright) is a Romanian-French playwright, poet and journalist living in Paris, born in Romania in 1956. From an early age, he discovered literature as a space dedicated to freedom. He draws his strengths from Kafka, Dostoevsky, Poe, Lautréamont. He loves the Surrealists, the Dadaists, absurd and grotesque theater, surrealist poetry, fantastic literature, magical realism, even the realist Anglo-Saxon theater. He loves everything except Socialist Realism.
Visniec studied philosophy at Bucharest University and became an active member of the so-called Eighties Generation, who left a clear stamp on Romanian literature. He believes in cultural resistance, and in literature’s capacity to demolish totalitarianism. Above all, Matéi Visniec believes that theater and poetry can denounce manipulation through "great ideas", as well as brainwashing through ideology.
His plays have been staged in more than 20 countries. In Romania, after the fall of Communism, Matéi Visniec has become one of the most frequently performed authors.
In the US, his works have been produced in New York, Chicago, New Jersey and LA.
RAZVAN ALEXANDRU STOIAN (Movement Director) is a visionary choreographer and performer celebrated for his compelling work with Battery Dance Company, including Icarus and Iron Dove. His performances and original choreographies have captivated audiences worldwide, showcasing his unique storytelling through movement. Dedicated to cultural exchange, Razvan led workshops fostering community and creativity, bridging diverse experiences with his vibrant and expressive dance style.
CAROLINA DO (Co-Producer, co-founder of Betterfly Productions) is a theatre maker, community organizer, and proud descendant of Vietnamese freedom fighters and refugees. She's joyfully a downtown theater baby with a couple of Broadway and TV credits for health insurance and residuals. An alum of the Soho Rep Writer-Director Lab, JACKLabs, Fresh Ground Pepper Playground Playgroup, and Orchard Project Greenhouse Lab, Carolina’s work is a powerful blend of storytelling and advocacy. Carolina’s writing has been supported by residencies and fellowships at MACDOWELL, JACK, The Hearth, Fault Line Theatre, Piper Theater, and Naked Angels. Currently, she is a Ma-Yi Lab Playground member and part of the Episodic Theater Project Writers Cohort. Carolina’s works have also been finalists for the O’Neill, Sokhary Chau Fellowship, Leah Ryan Fund, BricLab, and Bushwick Starr; and semifinalists for Playwrights Realm, Space on Ryder, and Princess Grace. Co-Founding Producing Artistic Leader of The Sống Collective, Mai House Studio, and Betterfly Productions. In her role as Associate Director for Community Engagement at PlayCo, she bridges the gap between performance and social impact.
ABOUT THE 2025 REHEARSAL FOR TRUTH INTERNATIONAL THEATER FESTIVAL
Rehearsal for Truth International Theater Festival, honoring Václav Havel, is a showcase of contemporary European theater organized each year in New York City. Conceived in 2017 as a shared endeavor of the Václav Havel Center (VHC) and Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association (BBLA), the festival honors the legacy of Czech playwright, dissident and political thinker Vaclav Havel.
Each edition of Rehearsal for Truth Theater Festival addresses current sociopolitical trends in Central and Eastern Europe, offering New York audiences a unique opportunity to witness the region’s theatrical zeitgeist.
The program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. The festival is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.