THE HIGH CAPTAIN COMES TO HOLLYWOOD FRINGE

THE HIGH CAPTAIN

Joe Jatcko’s uniquely bizarre theatrical experience examines American democracy through the lens of shipwrecked workers trying to form a government…while high on gas fumes.

LOS ANGELES – When playwright and documentary filmmaker Joe Jatcko watched the insanity of the 2016 U.S. presidential elections unfold––from the schoolyard madness of the Republican primaries all the way through the made-for-reality debates to the shocking results that split a nation––he knew it was time to re-examine the current state of American democracy.

As such, Jatcko is thrilled to present his original, disturbing and poignant dark comedy The High Captain, making its L.A. debut at The Hobgoblin Playhouse this June as part of the Hollywood Fringe Festival.

In The High Captain, a crew of shipwrecked barge workers attempts to set up a government on their desert island home, a task complicated by the fact they are high on their vessel’s petroleum cargo. Faced with the challenges of forming a new nation, sides are taken, and an election is held to determine the new “captain” of the island. Holding a mirror to our own surreal political reality, The High Captain examines a society trying to withstand its own battles with jingoism, racism, and isolationism––but also shows the villagers’ love of country and the extreme measures they would take to defend its independence.

“It was sometime during the 2016 Republican primary, right around the time candidates ‘hand sizes’ were coming into question that made me wonder what could be more absurd than this,” Jatcko recalled. “So I wrote the most absurd thing I could think of, which turned out to be extremely cathartic. This satire poses a simple question: Is our current political climate any less surreal than one whose leaders are high on gas fumes?”

Based in Portland, Jatcko got to work on the script, also drawing inspiration from his work as a documentary filmmaker. The High Captain is actually informed by two recent projects he’s worked on: Friends of Momance and Built by Zidell.

The show had its world premiere in Jatcko’s home state earlier this year at The Fertile Ground Festival of New Works in Portland. With the success of that run, Jatcko decided to bring the show to Hollywood Fringe, this time helmed by Fringe veteran Eric Cire. Jatcko hopes the next stop is then a production coinciding with the 2018 midterm elections. As for Fringe, he’s excited to see how audiences react.

“Its concept––people setting up a desert island government while high on gas––immediately disarms the audience regardless of political stripe, and takes them on an surreal tropical vacation they didn’t know they needed,” Jatcko said. “ I truly hope The High Captain is an opportunity for us all to forget about today’s cynical political climate and to come laugh together, cry together, gain some perspective, and maybe even a little hope.”