Cast: Venice Averyheart, Emily Lotspeich, David Lovejoy, Keith Surney, Gus Thomas, and Nicole Wiesner.
Understudies: Dan Cobbler, Juliet Kang Huneke, Mitchell Jackson, and Gracie Wallace.
Director
Nicole Wiesner (Director) (she/her) joined the Trap ensemble in 1999, and currently serves as the Managing Director. Directing credits for the company: Minna, The Fairytale Lives of Russian Girls, Phedre, Monsieur D’eon is a Woman, The Old Woman Broods, The White Plague, Decomposed Theatre Episode 5, The Martyrdom of Peter Ohey and Joan and the Fire. Some of her favorite Trap acting credits include First Ladies (dir. Zeljko Djukic, Joseph Jefferson Citation: Outstanding Actress); OVERWEIGHT, unimportant: MISSHAPE (dir. Yasen Peyankov); and the title roles in The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant; Nana (dir. Beata Pilch) and Alice in Bed. (Director Dado). Regionally, she has appeared at the Goodman Theatre in 2666, directed by Robert Falls and Seth Bockley; Shining City directed by Robert Falls; and Passion Play, directed by Mark Wing-Davy (After Dark Award, Outstanding Performance). Other credits include Shining City at the Huntington Theatre in Boston; Passion Play at Yale Repertory Theatre and Epic Theatre NYC; The Book Thief (dir. Hallie Gordon), South of Settling (dir. Adam Goldstein) and Dublin Carol (Dir. Amy Morton) at Steppenwolf Theatre; Dying City (dir. Jason Loewith) at Next Theatre, Great Men of Science (dir. Tracy Letts) at Lookingglass Theatre; and Phedre (dir. JoAnn Akalitis) at The Court Theater.
Stage Manager: Kasia Olechno / Assistant Director: Dan Cobbler / Scenic Design: Merje Veski / Lighting Design: Richard Norwood / Costume Design: Rachel Sypniewski / Sound Design: Danny Rockett / Make Up Design: Zsófia Ötvös / Dramaturg: Milan Pribisic / Graphic Design: Michal Janicki
The Cuttlefish, or the Hyrcanian Worldview
Written by Stanisław I. Witkiewicz
Translated by Daniel Gerould
Directed by Nicole Wiesner
March 19–April 25, 2026
Part philosophical farce, part surreal fever dream—Witkiewicz’s The Cuttlefish, or the Hyrcanian Worldview is a razor-sharp satire of art under pressure. In a world where creativity is consumed by control and individuality is crushed beneath the weight of conformity, an artist spirals into crisis—torn between integrity and survival, freedom and obedience. Witkiewicz exposes the seductive dance between artist and authority, where every act of creation risks becoming an act of submission. Decades ahead of its time, this anarchic comedy lays bare the modern artist’s impossible choice: stay true to your vision, or surrender it for comfort and applause.
Without a doubt, The Cuttlefish, or The Hyrcanian Worldview is a masterclass in Trap Door’s artistic strengths. This is a production worth seeing more than once to catch every detail. Audiences will leave with wide smiles—and a renewed appreciation for artistic expression without restraint. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Emily Werner, Werner’s Theatre Reviews
Seeing the play live, especially when performed by the brilliant cast at Trap Door Theatre, the genius and humor of the work shines, and one owes a big thanks to the storefront company for turning this challenging piece into one of the best productions of the new year – HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Adam Kaz, Third Coast Review
Wiesner, pulling double duty as director and lead, confidently shapes Witkiewicz’s themes of artistry and anarchy. The production cleverly layers in contemporary commentary and fourth-wall breaks that resonate with current U.S. events and Chicago life.
Emily Werner, Werner’s Theatre Reviews
Under the direction of Nicole Wiesner, what might have been an inscrutable drama instead is intuitively understandable. – RECOMMENDED
Bill Esler, Buzz Center Stage
People searching for weirdness once again find their home at Trap Door Theatre.
Adam Kaz, Third Coast Review
the madcap energy is delightful.
Croydon Fernandez, Stage and Cinema
Wiesner proves perfection in her role as our guide through the wild inner workings of her character. Her ability to pull action out of esoteric dialogue draws us further into the wacky absurdities we encounter.
Kyle Thomas, Chicago Onstage
What makes it work is the cast’s complete commitment. They lean fully into the absurdity without ever winking at it, which gives the production its weight….This is the kind of theater that stays with you long after you leave your seat. – Highly Recommended
Barbara Belcore, ChilL Live Shows
Weisner deftly handles the script navigating the theories and philosophical questioning from Rockoffer while also delivering Rockoffer’s dry and cutting remarks for a multi-faceted, moody, and funny artist – Recommended
Allie, Allie and the Afterparty
Averyheart delivers both grounded warmth and comedic punch, enhanced by her grand accompaniment of Danny Rockett’s original music.
Emily Werner, Werner’s Theatre Reviews
Special attention should be paid to Emily Lotspeich as Pope Julius II. Speaking with magnanimous detachment, she delivers some of show’s cleverest lines.
Adam Kaz, Third Coast Review
Gus Thomas as Ella, Rockoffer’s fiancé, is revelatory. at any time during the production, if I wanted a laugh, I turned to Gus Thomas and found him moping or mugging with delightful melodrama.
Adam Kaz,Third Coast Review
Lovejoy is a malevolent force of nature, snapping and snarling at each of the other characters in turn and giving no quarter.
Croydon Fernandez, Stage and Cinema
Playwright
Stanislaw I. Witkiewicz (1885-1939) is one the most brilliant figures of the European avant-garde. Witkiewicz was a poet, painter, playwright, an expert on drugs, an early spokesman for a radically non-realistic theatre and an original philosopher and social critic of mass culture, post-industrial society, and the rise of totalitarianism. He was also a pioneer in serious experimentation with narcotics and prophetically recognized the growing importance that they would have on Western civilization. Politics, revolution, and even art were similar “drugs.” Witkiewicz committed suicide shortly after the outbreak of War in September of 1939. He is best known for his plays The Madman and the Nun, The Mother, The Water Hen, The Anonymous Work, and The Shoemakers.