Stupid Fucking Bird

Aaron Posner has a large collection of adaptations of classical works in his repertoire. While directing another production at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, a friend of Posner remarked that the actors cast in the show would be ideal for a Chekhov play. This sparked the initial idea for Stupid Fucking Bird in Posner, who began work on the idea. His first draft loosely followed the plot of The Seagull—although he cut and combined the original group of characters to create a cast of seven. The draft was put to the test when Posner, the director and the actors were invited to Lake George Theatre Lab in Upstate New York. There, Posner and his team worked on final edits. Throughout the week, they workshopped the script: the team held cold readings, blocked, rehearsed; and to close the week, performed in front of an audience. James Suggs supplied the musical score for the show, which—like the show itself—was influenced by contemporary music, but drew inspiration from Russian opera and dance. Finally, the show premiered at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington DC on May 31, 2013. The show received positive reviews, and is noted as a successful adaptation of Chekhov, containing the intensity, tragedy, humor, and thought-provoking content for which Chekhov is known.[1]

• Con – (based on Konstantin Gavrilovich Treplev) The protagonist, a struggling playwright. Cynical.
• Nina – (based on Nina Mikhailovna Zarechnaya) Con's love interest. Wants to become a famous actress. Flighty.
• Emma – (based on Irina Nikolayevna Arkadina) Con's mother. A famous actress. Jaded, jealous, and overbearing.
• Trig – (based on Boris Alexeyevich Trigorin) Emma's lover. A narcissistic, selfish, hedonistic and famous novelist.
• Dev – (based on Semyon Semyonovich Medvedenko) Con's best friend. In love with Mash.
• Mash – (based on Masha) A musician In love with Conrad. Manipulative.
• Sorn – (based on Sorin and Dorn) A doctor and Emma's brother.[2][3]

Stupid Fucking Bird has been produced several times:

• Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company (developed in 2013; first premiered May 31, 2013)
• DC Theatre Company in Washington, D.C. (2014)
• The Arden Theatre Company in Philadelphia (2014)[4]
• The San Francisco Playhouse (2015)[5][6]
• Off-Broadway at the Pearl Theatre (2016)[7]
• The Bard's Town Theatre in Louisville (2016)[8]
• Florida School of the Arts (2017)[9]
• Columbus State Community College (2017)[10]
• The Ugala theatre in Estonia (2017)
• 12 Peers Theater Company at the Richard E. Rauh Theatre at the Cathedral of Learning in Pittsburgh (2018)[11][12]
• Gonzaga University (2017)[13]
• The Celebration Company at The Station Theatre (2019)[14]
• Dobama Theatre, Cleveland Heights, Ohio (Sept. 2019)[15]
• Occidental College (November 2019)[16]
• Wheaton College (Massachusetts) (November 2019)[17]
• Central Washington University (November 2019)[18]
• Wellesley College (November 2019)[19]
• Hubbard Hall Center for the Arts and Education, Cambridge, New York (January 2020)[20]
• Texas State University (February 2020)[21]
• Bates College, Lewiston, Maine (March 2020)
• Harvard College, Cambridge, Massachusetts (April 2020)[22]
• New Repertory Theatre, Watertown, Massachusetts (February 2021)

The Economist published their review on August 9, 2014: "The script is new and crackling, at once incisive, poignant and darkly funny. Like the original, it affords plenty of opportunities to chuckle with recognition. And like the original, it delivers an ending that is destined to make its audience weep." The review also celebrates the fact that the play was able to be revamped for the present-day, while still maintaining the essence of Chekhov's iconic story.[23]

This is the original cast and crew that performed the premiere of the show at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in 2013.