Underground
Adapted from Dostoyevsky's Notes from Underground
Co-produced with Lawrence Theatre Company
Co-created by Damien J. Wallace and Dane Eissler
Sponsored by Dr. Joel and Bobbie Porter
Starring Damien J. Wallace and Niya Colbert
Directed by Dane Eissler
December 2-6, 2020 at 8pm
Und3rgr0undM4n is emerging and he wants to talk to you...
UndergroundMan has been hiding in the shadows for over 30 years. He emerges from his isolation to speak to you. Are you friend or foe? Is it safe for him to re-emerge? Has the system changed? He tests the waters, uploading secret messages to you through your computer, Facebook, email, video, and blogs. Then one evening you receive an anonymous invitation to fully enter his digital -- and mental – world. He comes to visit you on your computer. The further you delve, the closer you come to understanding his life as a black man in America. In this world premiere adaptation, EgoPo transports Dostoyevsky's 19th century existential masterpiece to contemporary Philadelphia with the city's own controversial racial history as its new setting.
$20 per household
Und3rgr0undM4n is now back in hiding.
If you are interested in a contacting him for a private viewing,
please email us at
If you'd like to make Underground a part of your
Fall 2020 high school or university curriculum,
please contact producer@egopo.org.
Production Team
Technical Director and Designer................Chris Sannino
Web Designer and Video Editor.................Taj Rauch
Production Designer...................................Marie Laster
About the original author of Notes from Underground
Fyodor Dostoyevsky (b. 1821, d. 1881) was a Russian novelist and short-story writer whose psychological penetration into the darkest recesses of the human heart, together with his unsurpassed moments of illumination, had an immense influence on 20th century fiction.
Dostoyevsky is best known for his novella Notes from the Underground and for four long novels, Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, The Possessed (also and more accurately known as The Demons and The Devils), and The Brothers Karamazov. Each of these works is famous for its psychological profundity, and, indeed, Dostoyevsky is commonly regarded as one of the greatest psychologists in the history of literature.
More information on Dostoyevsky can be found on Britannica.com
"Portrait of Fedor Dostoyevsky" by Vasily Perov
This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer.
COVID Safety Information
For Our Audiences
Underground is a virtual event that is experienced entirely from the comfort of your home.
As a household event, you may include any friends and family in the viewing with which you have established safe contact.
When purchasing, you will provide your chosen date selection and we will email you with a password to access the virtual performance.
For Our Artists
The creation of Underground requires a team of both actors and designers.
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All rehearsals will take place remotely.
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Set-up for recordings will be scheduled to eliminate person-to-person contact.
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Our actor(s) will not engage with anyone in-person and will self-record the experience.
For more information and FAQ's, please visit our Covid Safety page.