A new comedy from Eve Ensler, the author of The Vagina Monologues, O.P.C. is an exploration of consumption and politics that asks, “How are we to survive as a species if we insist on destroying the world we love?” A dumpster-diving freegan is doing just fine squatting in an abandoned apartment, but when her mother, a candidate running for the Senate, tries to make her toe the party line, radicalism comes into collision with mainstream liberalism. Mother and daughter wrestle with the inconvenient truths at the heart of consumer culture, tossed between political compromise and “obsessive political correctness.”
Click here to read the full O.P.C. program.
Click here to learn about Freeganism and the themes discussed in O.P.C. in our fall Guide.
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Really, Really, Free Events
In exploration and celebration of the issues explored in O.P.C., the A.R.T. welcomed audiences to a series of free events, including skillshares, post-show discussions, and an interactive lobby experience featuring artists from our community. Click here to learn more.
Lobby Exhibits
We pulled together an interactive exhibition of work from our community partners, local artists, and students in our neighborhood.
For the duration of the production, we displayed photographs, trashion, and eco-friendly furniture from local artists:
- An O.P.C.-inspired photography project by students at CRLS
- High trashion dresses by Jackie Olivia
- An eco-friendly living room made by teens from Artists for Humanity
Notable dates
ASL Dates
12/30, 7:30PM1/4, 2:00PM
Audio Described Dates
12/30, 7:30PM*1/3, 2:00PM* *Touch tour 1 hour prior
Age Appropriateness
O.P.C. is recommended for grades 10 and up due to mature language and sexual content.
Discussions
Post-performance discussions took place after the following matinee performances:
12/6, 12/10, 12/13, 12/17, 12/20
Click here to learn about some of the special talkbacks and O.P.C. Community Events we hosted.
This work was supported, in part, by The Robert Brustein Endowment for New Work.
Press
Credits
Creative team
Cast

Mrs. M and others
Nancy Linehan Charles

Mrs. M and others
Nancy Linehan Charles
A.R.T. Debut. Regional: Wit, Geffen Playhouse, Alliance Theatre; Toys in the Attic (L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award, Ovation Award), Colony Theatre; The Visit (L.A.D.C.C Award), Mrs. Warren’s Profession (L.A.D.C.C. Award), Pacific Resident Theatre; The Tempest, Merchant of Venice, L.A. Women’s Shakespeare Company. Artistic Director: Salty Shakespeare (flash-mob, L.A. Weekly’s “The Best of L.A.”). Film/TV: Lords of Salem, Minority Report, Charlie Wilson’s War, The Stepfather, “Getting On,” “Growing Up and Down,” “Longmire,” “NCIS: L.A.,” “West Wing,” “Seinfeld.”

Kansas
Nicole Lowrance

Kansas
Nicole Lowrance
A.R.T.: Debut. Broadway: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (u/s), Dividing the Estate. International: The Merchant of Venice, RSC. Off-Broadway: Middle of the Night, Keen Company; Peter and the Starcatcher, New World Stages; The Merchant of Venice, All’s Well That Ends Well, Don Juan, Theatre for a New Audience; Columbinus, NYTW. Regional: Oleanna / Speed the Plow (in rep), Actors Theatre Company; Beyond Therapy, Westport Playhouse; Curse of the Starving Class, ACT; The Learned Ladies of Park Avenue, Hartford Stage; Romeo and Juliet, Folger Theatre; Hamlet, The Little Foxes, Shakespeare Theatre Company. She is a graduate of The Juilliard School.

Sister Ro and others
Liz Mikel

Sister Ro and others
Liz Mikel
(she/her) A.R.T.: O.P.C. Broadway: Lysistrata Jones (Hetaira). Off-Broadway: Lysistrata Jones, Transport Group; Fruit Trilogy, Abingdon Theatre. Regional: V to the Tenth (The Vagina Monologues), Louisiana Superdome; Spring Awakening, Theatre Under The Stars; Seussical, Hairspray, All Shook Up!, MUNY Theatre; Little Women (Marmie), Old Globe Theatre. International: Blind Lemon Blues, Forum Meyrin (Switzerland), Maison des Cultures du Monde (Paris, France). Resident Company Member, Dallas Theater Center. TV/Film: “Friday Night Lights” (Corrina Williams), Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins, Get On Up!, Miss Juneteenth. Ten Chimneys Lunt Fontanne Fellow.

Smith
Kate Mulligan

Smith
Kate Mulligan
A.R.T.: Debut. Oregon Shakespeare Festival: The Cocoanuts; A Streetcar Named Desire; Animal Crackers; August: Osage County; Cat on a Hot Tin Roof; All’s Well That Ends Well; Welcome Home, Jenny Sutter, Lincoln Center. Other credits: Embedded, Public Theater; The Further Adventures of Hedda Gabler, Habeas Corpus, South Coast Repertory; Living Out, Mark Taper Forum; Medea/Macbeth/Cinderella, Yale Rep. TV: "It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia," "Desperate Housewives," "Judging Amy," "ER," "NYPD Blue," "The Practice," "Seinfeld."

Damien
Peter Porte

Damien
Peter Porte
A.R.T.: Debut. National Tour: Mamma Mia! (Sky). Regional: A Pretty Filthy Evening, Kirk Douglas Theatre; For the Record, DBA; Scituate, Odyssey; Troilus and Cressida, Soho Rep; Titanic, Forestburgh Playhouse. TV: "MOM," "NCIS: Los Angeles," "Baby Daddy," "Devious Maids," "The New Normal," "Parks and Recreation," "The Young & The Restless," "Cold Case," "CSI: Miami," "Medium," "Funny or Die." Training: NYU Tisch, Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Prakash and others
Babak Tafti

Prakash and others
Babak Tafti
A.R.T.: Debut. Off-Broadway: The North Pool, Vineyard Theatre; The In-Between, Noor Theatre. Regional: Scorched, A.C.T.; Blood and Gifts, La Jolla Playhouse; The North Pool, Much Ado About Nothing, Barrington Stage Company. TV: “Blue Bloods,” “Nurse Jackie,” “Orange Is the New Black.” M.F.A. from the Yale School of Drama.

Romi
Olivia Thirlby

Romi
Olivia Thirlby
A.R.T.: Debut. Off-Broadway: Farragut North, Atlantic, Geffen Playhouse; Lonely, I'm Not, Second Stage. TV/Film includes: Juno; Dredd; Being Flynn; Snow Angels; Red Knot; United 93; The Wackness; Margaret; 5 to 7; Just Before I Go; "Bored to Death"; "Good Vibes." Training: American Globe Theatre, Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Bruce
Michael T. Weiss

Bruce
Michael T. Weiss
A.R.T.: Debut. Broadway: Impressionism. Off-Broadway: The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity (OBIE Award Best Play, Lucille Lortel Award Best Play), Second Stage; Scarcity (Drama Desk nomination), Atlantic; A Perfect Future, Cherry Lane. Regional: Burn This (Pale), Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Valmont), Huntington Theatre Company; Of Equal Measure, Center Theatre Group. Film/TV: Sex and the City 2; Jeffrey; Freeway (Sundance Film Festival); Freeway 2; Bones; Iowa (Tribeca Film Festival, Best Actor Award, Midwest Film Festival); Disney's Tarzan and Jane; Until the Night; Marmalade; "The Pretender" (Jarod); and numerous series leads and guest star roles.
Additional staff
Ms. Mulligan’s wig by Jared J. Janas
Additional Lighting Equipment provided by Christie Lites
Television Equipment provided by Robert Massey, Pulse Media
Additional Sound Support: Sound Associates, d&b audiotechnik
Understudies
For Romi: Natalie Battistone; For Smith: Ingrid Werner; For Bruce: Corey Sullivan; For Kansas: Kristen Wetherington; For Damien: Kevin Wade; For Mrs. M, Sister Ro, Prakash, and others: Ahmad Maksoud
Special Thanks
David Binder; Carole Black; Jennifer Buffett; Myunghee Cho; Liz Perlman and Costume Works; Global Green USA; Johann Hari; Rachael Kadish and Maximus Thaler; Naomi Klein; George Lane; James Lecesne; Joe Machota; Pat Mitchell; New York Stage and Film; Nancy Rose; Scott Seydel; David Stone; Steven Stone; UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television; Susan Celia Swan, Cecile Lipworth, and the V-DAY team; Monique Wilson.