Inaugural performance of our Upstairs Intimate Performance Venue
by Václav Havel
directed by Jeffrey Carpenter
starring Steven Schub & Robert Anthony Peters
The Fountain Theatre proudly 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. This bold and intimate production is directed by Bricolage Co-Artistic Director Jeffrey Carpenter.
Originally written in 1978, Protest is a searing confrontation set in Communist Czechoslovakia, where fear and betrayal are the daily currency of life. Staněk, a privileged, regime-friendly writer, summons Vaněk, 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.
$30/ea
Three Performances Only!
Friday, August 22 at 8:00 PM
Saturday, August 23 at 8:00 PM
Sunday, August 24 at 7:00 PM
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.
This production of the late Václav Havel’s seminal and urgently relevant play inaugurates The Fountain’s new upstairs alternative performance space.
Director Jeffrey Carpenter:
“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! 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.”
CAST & CREATIVE TEAM
Steven Schub (Staněk) 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 on 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 (Vaněk) earned his B.S. from the University of Arizona and trained at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute in New York. Peters 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 (Director) 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.
Václav Havel (Playwright, 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.