Inspired by the writings and lives of Vladimir Mayakovsky and Tommaso Marinetti

Directed by Lisa Channer and Vladimir Rovinsky

M2 begins when the life of Russian poet and playwright Vladimir Mayakovsky ends: his suicide in 1930. From there, a non-linear narrative flashbacks through his relationships with Lili Brik, his lifelong lover, and with Filippo Marinetti, author of the Futurist Manifesto: the aesthetic principles of the early 20th century art movement which scorned the romanticism of classical art and embraced the new industrial culture of mass production and machinery. As the movement grows wildly extreme and Russia slowly concedes to Soviet tyranny, Mayakovsky discovers his passion to live the Futurist standard cannot overcome certain political realities.
With his love life directly at odds with his ideologies, his professional life betrayed by the very people who helped build it, and his country scrutinizing his every move, Mayakovsky finally arrives at his final, tragic resolution.

Through an unforeseen scientific breakthrough, however, these historical characters are given the chance to meet after death, look back on their lives, and finish unfinished arguments. M2 is an original script, based on actual historical texts from Mayakovsky and Marinetti, and features live music and multimedia.

Press

M2: Mayakovsky & Marinetti
Cake in 15, 5/22/10