Regional Premiere
Russian Troll Farm: A Workplace Comedy
April 21 - May 8, 2022
WRITTEN BY Sarah Gancher
DIRECTED BY Jen Uphoff Gray
“A trenchant workplace comedy about the folks who tried to promote Pizzagate, confuse Wisconsin and, ultimately, elect Donald J. Trump.”
– The New York Times
Time to go for a troll…
At the infamous (real-life!) Internet Research Agency, professional internet trolls work for days at a time, creating tweets and posts to sow discord and doubt among Americans approaching the polls with high emotion and low information.
Russian Troll Farm imagines the daily lives of these workers as they invent characters, stage conflicts, and create conspiracies. What happens to your grasp on the truth when your whole job is lying? How does your identity shift when you impersonate Americans for a living?
Content Advisory: Russian Troll Farm contains adult themes and a significant amount of mature language.
Overture Center for the Arts
201 State St,
Madison, WI 53703
Sponsored By:
Sybil & Maurice Better
Stafford Rosenbaum
Wipfli
The Cap Times
About the show
Runtime:
N/A
Performance Dates:
April 21 – May 8, 2022
Age Recommendations:
N/A
Accessibility
We strive to make our performances available to the entire community. This guiding principle captures the theater we aim to be.
We’re proud to be a resident company at Overture Center, which provides practical accessibility for a variety of needs.
Filmed Version: Available now
*The filmed version will be available to watch via Overture.org from 4/28 through 5/8. Use the link above to purchase tickets and stream.
ASL Performance: Saturday, May 7th at 2pm
*To purchase tickets for an unobstructed view of the interpreters, please call Overture’s Access Line at 608-258-4452.
YOUR GUIDE TO RUSSIAN TROLLS
WHAT IS THE INTERNET RESEARCH AGENCY?
The Internet Research Agency (IRA) is a company based in St. Petersburg, Russia whose goal is to use “trolls” to influence online engagement in favor of Russian political and economic interests. The organization was owned and run by Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, also known as “Putin’s chef,” the man who serves him his meals.
WHAT DO RUSSIAN TROLLS DO?
While employed at the IRA, Russian trolls work in three ways:
1. Team members create fake organizations or pages, both left and right-wing, for activist organizations or community groups that don’t actually exist.
2. They create fake people, fake members of these organizations, or fans of the fake pages to like, comment, and share things.
3. They create social media accounts for fake local news organizations that write articles that the aforementioned fake organizations and people can share online.
CAN YOU SPOT THE TROLL?
The Spot-The-Troll quiz is an educational tool to help the public learn to spot the markers of inauthenticity in social media accounts. Can you spot an internet troll?
GO DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE
Infamous Russian Troll Farm Appears to Be Source of Anti-Ukraine Propaganda – by Craig Silverman and Jeff Kao | ProPublica
Cast
Casem AbuLughod
EgorCassandra Bissell
MashaSarah Day
LjubaScott Haden
NikolaiAndrew Rathgeber
SteveBill Bolz
UnderstudyLiz Cassarino
UnderstudyMatt Korda
UnderstudyMarcy Weiland
UnderstudyCreative Team
Christopher Dunham
Scenic DesignerNoele Stollmack
Lighting DesignerRen LaDassor
Costume DesignerJoe Cerqua
Sound Designer and ComposerKathy Wittman
Projection DesignerPam Miles
Props DesignerSarah Deming-Henes
Stage ManagerAbbi Hess
ASMWhitney Derendinger
Fight ChoreographerBrian Cowing
ChoreographerKevin Zimmer
Technical DirectorPreview: Opinion | Russian troll farmers planted seeds of disinformation and disruption in Wisconsin
– By John Nichols | The Cap Times
Preview/Interview with playwright: ‘Russian Troll Farm’ is a comedy of confusion (and killing democracy)
– By Lindsay Christians | The Cap Times
Review: ‘Russian Troll Farm’ tickles and unsettles (and that’s not fake news)
– By Rob Thomas | The Cap Times
Review: Office politics: Forward Theater’s ‘Russian Troll Farm’ is a smart play about how gullible we are
– By Gwendolyn Rice | Isthmus
Review: ‘Russian Troll Farm’ Filmed Version Review
– By Mary Boyle | Ozaukee Living Local
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