With its endearing cast of characters all played by carrot-topped Russian immigrant Elison Zasko, The Sputniks appears at first to be a simple comedy set among a Jewish family in the Soviet Union, but as this deceptive puzzle-box play unfolds, we're shown the horrors of a totalitarian regime that drives the Sputnik family to plot a dangerous and ultimately soul-crushing course of escape to the West. Bound to homeless travel, they play chess, eat soup, and bravely carry their tragedies deep inside their suitcases.
Elison Zasko is a true chameleon of a performer who can fully embody a middle-aged man as easily as she'll convince you that she's a six-year-old girl. Her foreigner characters, comical and heartfelt, take us through a tale of tremendous life and wispy fragility. The Sputniks family represents many immigrants. Their journey is a comedy of our transient and homeless world. This is Elison's first solo piece in English.
Created by and Starring: Elison Zasko
Directed by: Jonno Katz
Awards for The Sputniks:
Best New Text (nominee) -- Montreal English Critics Circle Awards
Best Female Performer (nominee) -- Victoria Fringe
Official Selection -- Centaur Theatre's WildSide Festival 2009
Official Selection -- Chutzpah! Festival 2009
The Critics Say:
5 Stars -- "This is a thing of true beauty, a bare-bones one-woman show that tells a rich and detailed story with little more than accents and mannerisms...There are performers and then there are performers, and the magnificent Elison Zasko proves that she's that second one." -- The Hour, Montreal
4 Stars -- "Flawless, superb...intelligent, insightful, and intriguing...a fine example of how one lone woman can create a complete world on a small, sparse stage." -- CBC, Winnipeg
4.5 Stars -- "Poignant and heart-wrenching" -- Monday Magazine
"Elison inhabits each character from the pores on her face to the tips of her toe nails." -- Saskatoon Star Pheonix
"Charming...funny...compelling... Zasko's command of the stage and her characters are impressive." -- Montreal Mirror
Elison Zasko -- creator/performer
Born and raised in Moscow, Elison received her theatrical training at the Moscow Gaidar Theatre where as well as training and performing she produced her own unique work. At the age of 17, Elison came to Canada on a dance scholarship. Later she moved to Montreal and earned a BA in Sociology and Social Anthropology. She stayed busy working in contact improv and theatre and hitting the Fringe circuit with her self-written shows This Playland is In Your Head and The Sputniks. Elison is presently living in Toronto, working with teachers of mime and clown as well as creating new solo works.
Jonno Katz -- director
Jonno found his passion and life's work at the John Bolton Theatre School where he was trained in the LeCoq style of physically devised theatre. He has made four solo shows (Uber Alice, Cactus, Jolly Roger, and The Spy) that have toured throughout Canada and Australia. He has directed four full-length solo shows, Bye Bye Bombay, In God's Bedroom, Manners for Men and The Sputniks which have played in Australia, Canada and Israel. At the end of 2007 he won the Best Director award at the Short and Sweet Festival in Melbourne for the piece Bury Your Goldfish. Jonno has made five short films and acted in around 40 shorts, and is currently making two music videos for the band Die Roten Punkte.
Raylene Campbell -- composer
Raylene is an accordionist, improviser, composer, performance artist, audio/video artist, sound designer, and Deep Listening instructor. Raylene is currently based out of Montreal where she teaches at Concordia University, and has a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts, Bard College, NY. The focus of Raylene's creative process involves explorations of acoustic ecology, psychogeography, architecture (acoustic and social spaces), computer interactive technology, and audience interactivity in both performance and installation environments. Raylene often collaborates with other musicians, composers, performers, and artists of multitudinous disciplines.
