Elizabeth Dinkova Discusses Staging 'Mr. Burns' at UMD's Clarice
Elizabeth Dinkova, artistic director of Spooky Action Theater, is directing Anne Washburn's Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play at the University of Maryland's Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. In an interview, she discusses her interest in how artists respond to crisis and how stories change over time. The play traces a Simpsons episode as it is retold and transformed after an apocalyptic event.
Elizabeth Dinkova, artistic director of Spooky Action Theater, directs the University of Maryland School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies' staging of Anne Washburn's Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play at The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. UMD approached her with two possible productions; she had not previously read or seen Washburn's play.
The work follows a Simpsons episode, "Cape Feare," across three time periods. It begins as entertainment after electricity fails and ends as a cultural testament after apocalypse. Dinkova, who is Bulgarian and first came to the U.S. for college, had not watched a full Simpsons episode before directing and deliberately maintained that distance during early design.
This production may invite audiences—especially students, theatergoers, and Simpsons fans—to consider how stories survive upheaval and bind communities. By centering artists responding to crisis, it could prompt reflection on cultural memory, adaptation, and the value of shared narratives after disaster. Its university setting may also give emerging theater artists a chance to engage with a challenging contemporary work, potentially shaping how they approach storytelling and resilience.