Fountain Theatre hosts Bricolage Production
Company’s bold revival of Havel’s ‘Protest’
Three performances only Aug. 22–24
LOS ANGELES (July 30, 2025) — The Fountain Theatre presents Bricolage Production Company’s staging of Protest, a two-person, one-act play by world-renowned dissident playwright and former Czech President Václav Havel. Directed by Jeffrey Carpenter and starring Steven Schub and Robert Anthony Peters, this bold, intimate production of Havel’s seminal and urgently relevant play will inaugurate the new, upstairs, alternative performance space at the Fountain with three performances on Friday, Aug. 22; Saturday, Aug. 23; and Sunday, Aug. 24,.
Originally written in 1978, Protest is a searing confrontation set in Communist Czechoslovakia, where fear and betrayal are the daily currency of life. Staněk (Schub), a privileged, regime-friendly writer, summons Vaněk (Peters), a blacklisted dissident, to plead for help—only to hesitate when his own safety is at stake. Their tense, and often wickedly funny, conversation becomes a battle for the soul, exposing the corrosive power of fear and the high cost of integrity.
Performed with minimalist design and a laser focus on text and performance, this staging offers a rare theatrical experience: a live event that feels like a personal confrontation, challenging audiences to examine their own values and roles in civic life. Each performance will be followed by a conversation with the director and cast.
“We have a bold and unconventional vision for this production: to perform it in living rooms, at dinner parties, in backyards, classrooms, universities, bars—even behind bars,” says Carpenter. “Why such a guerrilla approach? Because that’s how Protest was originally staged. Havel wrote it while under intense political persecution, and it was first performed secretly in private homes and underground venues, defying the regime’s efforts to silence dissent. In that spirit, we’re taking this production underground across the country—and we are honored to have the Fountain’s alternative space as our launchpad.”
Václav Havel (1936–2011) was a Czech playwright, essayist, dissident and statesman whose life embodied the struggle for truth and freedom. His plays remain enduring testaments to the resilience of the human spirit.
Steven Schub is a Lifetime Member of The Actors Studio and a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. He has starred in or guest-starred in more than 25 films and television shows, portraying punk legend Dee Dee Ramone in CBGB and protest singer Phil Ochs in The Chicago 8, with guest appearances on series ranging from 24 to Sesame Street. Schub was also the lead singer and lyricist for two touring and recording ska bands: the New York-based The Fenwicks and the Los Angeles-based HaSkaLA.
Robert Anthony Peters earned his B.S. from the University of Arizona and trained at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute in New York. He has worked professionally for over a decade in theater, film, voiceover and more. His acting credits include The Pursuit of Happyness and Steve Jobs. His short film, Tank Man (2019), which he wrote, directed and produced, has screened at festivals and events around the world, including in Hong Kong.
Jeffrey Carpenter is the founder and co-artistic director of Bricolage Production Company, established in 2001 in Pittsburgh. His innovative approach centers on immersive and site-specific experiences, placing audiences at the heart of the action. His immersive works with Bricolage include Project Amelia (2019), The Clearing (2018), DODO (2017), The Ascendants (2016), Enter the Imaginarium (2016), OjO (2015) and STRATA (2012). He has directed and performed in numerous productions across the U.S. and abroad. In 2024, he directed Hamlet at a former steel mill site in Braddock, Pennsylvania.
Three performances of Protest take place on Friday, Aug. 22 at 8 p.m.; Saturday, Aug. 23 at 8 p.m.; and Sunday, Aug. 24 at 7 p.m. All tickets are $30. The Fountain Theatre is located at 5060 Fountain Avenue (at Normandie) in Los Angeles.
For press inquiries, including requests for interviews, high-resolution images, or review tickets, contact Tami Dixon: tami@bricolagepgh.org.
For more information and to purchase tickets, go to bricolagepgh.org.
Details for Calendar Listings
‘Protest’
WHAT:
Inaugurating its new, upstairs, alternative performance space, The Fountain Theatre hosts three performances of Bricolage Production Company’s staging of Protest, a two-person, one-act play by world-renowned dissident playwright and former Czech President Václav Havel. Originally written in 1978, Protest is a searing confrontation set in Communist Czechoslovakia, where fear and betrayal are the daily currency of life. Performed with minimalist design and a laser focus on text and performance, this staging offers a rare theatrical experience: a live event that feels like a personal confrontation, challenging audiences to examine their own values and roles in civic life. Each performance will be followed by a conversation with the director and cast.
WHO:
• Written by Václav Havel
• Directed by Jeffrey Carpenter
• Starring Steven Schub and Robert Anthony Peters
• Presented by Bricolage Production Company, Jeffrey Carpenter co-artistic director
• Hosted by The Fountain Theatre, Raymond O. Caldwell artistic director
WHEN:
• Friday, Aug. 22 at 8 p.m.
• Saturday, Aug. 23 at 8 p.m.
• Sunday, Aug. 24 at 7 p.m.
WHERE:
The Fountain Theatre
5060 Fountain Ave.
Los Angeles CA 90029
(Fountain at Normandie)
ADMISSION:
$30
PARKING:
• Secure, on-site parking: $5
• Street parking available in the neighborhood north of Fountain Ave.
• No parking after 6 p.m. on Mariposa or Alexandria Avenues south of Fountain Ave.
• Allow extra time to find street parking; make sure to read all parking signs
HOW:
bricolagepgh.org
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