ELIZABETH DINKOVA
Director & Writer
"Iconoclastic but never obscure,
Visionary, but never opaque,
Moving, but never maudlin,
Hers [Dinkova's] is a talent and an agency
That I find compellingly brilliant,
Breathtakingly audacious,
Appealing more to head than heart,
Yet still leaving heart shattered
And forever changed."
-Brad Rudy, Atlanta Theatre Buzz
TIT, by Elizabeth Dinkova and Jesse Rasmussen, inspired by Titus Andronicus:
In breathless style, rhythms synched with music, filled with imagery and composition that remains reminiscent of Super-8 Film Classes of 1974, TiT brings us a Lavinia, voicelessly screaming her “I am”: to an unhearing Patriarchy, to an autocratic post-apocalypse, to an uncaring ethos that would rather bow to power."
TiT is a film filled with ideas and poetry, written by Ms. Dinkova collaborating with Jesse Rasmussen and her remarkable cast of actors; and especially collaborating with the remarkable Barrett Doyle, Designer, Photographer, Editor. TiT is the vision of them all. And merits a place of honor in the pantheon of Covid-Necessitated on-screen artistry.
-Brad Rudy, Atlanta Theatre Buzz
"In Tit, Dinkova and Rasmussen establish Lavinia as not only a person with a voice of her own, but the person who embodies the voice of Rome itself.Complementing melodies, repeated rhythms, and echoed lyrics draw ties between Lavinia's conflicted heart and the divided political state of Rome, and between the deterioration of Rome and Lavinia's own sufferings. These analogies lead the audience to understand that Lavinia is meant to be a parallel to Rome itself; in other words, Lavinia is the voice of Rome. Thanks to the directors change of course, Lavinia's character is no longer merely a pawn to be passed around by the major players of the story, but rather the main character who embodies the values and the ideas that are being examined within the context of the story, while her newfound voice amid her suffering acts as a conduit that affords the audience a glimpse into a character that formerly went unheard."
"Far too often, the suffering of women within literature and classic texts is glossed over or used merely as motivation for other characters deemed more important. Tit masterfully defies this trope by putting Lavinia in a central position on stage and in the story. The decision to give Lavinia a voice and an outlet for her internal conflict and external sufferings transforms the play and puts a heartrending perspective on a character who had otherwise been used as a prop for others' motivations. Thanks to said decision, the play is transformed from one of senseless violence to one that contemplates the internal mindscape of those caught up in such violence. Lavinia's role change transforms the entire play, and this transformation is only more stirring when compared to the original play."
-Leigh Pirch, Odyssey
RAGE, book, lyrics, and direction by Elizabeth Dinkova, music and additional lyrics by Frederick Kennedy
adapted from "Rage" and "Guns" by Stephen King
"Quinnipiac Students Unleash Suppressed 'Rage'", American Theatre Magazine
"A Coming of 'Rage' Story", Quinnipiac Chronicle
THE SEAGULL, by Elizabeth Dinkova, inspired by Chekhov, directed by Elizabeth Dinkova:
"Absolutely breathtaking."
-Georgia Theatre Guide
"Dinkova's staging is a sensory delight."
"There is a moment in the play where a horned monster dances behind a shimmery curtain while light bounces off of it, illuminating the faces of the spectators in the first several rows as they gape at the spectacle. It's a moment that I could watch over and over for its horrifying beauty."
-Amy Zippeper from BWW
"An uncomfortable sense of recognition is for me the ultimate test of whether a Chekhov performance has landed well. The occasional urge to huddle under my chair with my fingers in my ears during the second act must, in the end, be taken as a measure of the show’s success.
-Andrew Alexander from ArtsATL
"A sly avant-garde piece dripping with gender politics, an immersive lyrical experience of pure theatricality that uses Chekhov's play as a guide and outline rather than as a blueprint to be followed religiously."
"So, will you like The Seagull? I really can't say - I know a lot of folks have little patience with avant-garde stagings that resist casual consumption. On the other hand, as motifs and echoes of Chekhov's themes pingpong through the events, and, as these stylistic flourishes take over the story, they actually become more desired. So much so that, after the climax, I truly wanted to join the rest of the cast ripping out the guts of that stupid f*cking bird."
-Brad Rudy, Atlanta Theatre Buzz
BULGARIA! REVOLT!, co-created by Miranda Rose Hall and Elizabeth Dinkova, music by Michael Costagliola:
"Dinkova and Hall, with their composer and sound designer, Michael Costagliola, have concocted a musical that sustains its dramatic intentions while keeping its ironies in play. And that makes for a rather mercurial evening of theater, full of surprising turns and tones. The show incorporates the political history of Bulgaria, a deal with the devil, and the shameful working conditions in the Chicago meat-packing district in the 1920s. Ambitious? Yes, but that’s just another word for having a lot on its mind."
"A harrowing situation in Act 2 almost strips aside all the comic burlesque in favor of the most abject horror, and it’s a great tribute to Dinkova’s resources as a director that the show can shift toward the bathetic and recover its humor. In fact, the situation Dinkova and Hall create is a sharp commentary on the dehumanization of capitalist production at its most callous."
Review by Donald Brown, New Haven Review
ADAM GEIST by Dea Loher, directed by Elizabeth Dinkova:
"Adam Geist is not a feel-good play, but it is a powerful play that mirrors a time when criminality and heroism, predators and protectors, are as tellingly intertwined in our weekly news reports as ever. Without distorting the original text, Elizabeth Dinkova makes Adam Geist a tale for our times."
"In casting Martinez, a non-white actor, as a product of the Austrian underclass, the Cab’s show adds an allegorical level that’s important, it seems to me, in this first U.S. production of the play. When, in his final speech, Adam makes a selfie video addressed to “Mr. President” most viewers aren’t going to be thinking about the president of Austria; they’re going to see a young African-American male trying to put his case before our president, another African-American male, so that when Adam says “perhaps I’m no longer your concern” those lines resonate beyond Loher’s initial setting to take in the current atmosphere of blacklivesmatter."
Review by Donald Brown, New Haven Review
ANTARCTICA! Which Is To Say Nowhere by Miranda Rose Hall, directed by Elizabeth Dinkova:
Review by Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant
Review by Donald Brown, New Haven Review
Preview by Donald Brown, New Haven Review
BORIS YELTSIN by Mickael de Oliveira, directed by Elizabeth Dinkova:
Review by Christopher Arnott, New Haven Theater Jerk
Review by Donald Brown, New Haven Review