Our Fall public work is complete! Thanks to all who participated- read below for details, and watch this page for upcoming War Project activities
Our Opening Symposium was October 1st, noon-5pm:
We had a great afternoon with some generous guests. Jefferson Smith (of Oregon's The Bus Project) spoke about leadership, and polarization. He challenged us to think about where and how decisions are made, and asked why the Peace movement is the only major national movement without lobbyists, and hence, without legislative power. Trevor Downen (an Air Force ROTC at U of P) spoke of service, and the military, and at one moment said " I know one day I could be one of those numbers you hear about from the war in Iraq - I will do my best to not be one of those numbers. But I choose to serve knowing that." Amanda Byron (of PSU's Graduate School of Conflict Resolution) spoke about enmification, and dealing with inner conflict as a part of looking at nation conflict. Johnny Stallings spoke about his experiences as a draft resistor and as a pacifist, staing " why should i have to explain to the government why i won't kill? They should explain to me why I should kill." And OPB's April Baer spoke about journalism from local to international, and the role of the journalist in a democracy. A great start to our Fall.
Our first Public Showing was Saturday October 8th at 8pm:
A packed house at Artist Repertory's Theater's Eastern Star Room, Sojourn's temporary digs. A cast of 16 artists comprised of company artists, guest performers, and community members. 1 hour of informal performance- scenes, movement pieces, monologues, audience interaction. A journey from room to room watching pieces thru doorways, on top of walls, in corners, and over shoulders. Artists had the chance to hear how audience members responded to material, and audience members had the opportunity to see work in its earliest stages, and engage in dialogue around it. The conversations before, during, and after left us feeling that it was a successful first Saturday evening. Thanks to everyone for coming out, players and watchers. Come back for the week starting next Monday- see above.
Our second set of Public Showings were Saturday October 22th at 8 & 9pm:
We performed twice at Artist Repertory's Theater's Eastern Star Room, to make certain we could keep houses below 35 people for each show. A cast of 14 artists comprised of company artists, guest performers, and community members moved audiences through all 4 rooms as they shared Olga Sanchez's exploration of a story by Tim O'Brien. Styles ranging from scenes to movement pieces, monologues to audience interaction offered a unique take on narrative and the evening's main theme - the allure of war. Artists had the chance to hear how audience members responded to sections of the piece (some sections specifically invited discomfort and reflection on the line between artist and spectator). Thanks to everyone for coming out, players and watchers. Come back for the week starting next Monday- see above.
Our third set of Fall Public Showings was in Vermont at Sandglass Theater on Saturday October 29th at 8 & 9:30pm:
Three Sojourn company members (Michael Rohd, Hannah Treuhaft & Kimberly Howard) spent the third week of this Fall's work on The War Project as guest artists at Sandglass Theater in Putney, Vermont. Sandglass artistic director Eric Bass saw Sojourn perform at last summer's Network of Ensemble Theater Festival in California, and was so excited about our blend of strong art and civic engagement, that he invited us to do research in his home community for this project, provided we end our week by theatricalizing the week's material, and working with local artists. We were thrilled to oblige, and had a wonderful time. We interviewed 50 people with diverse views, gave a seminar at the School for International Training, worked each evening with community participants/performers, and created a 40 minute piece that sold out two performances at Sandglass's lovely Barn Theater. The research and new voices were invaluable additions to our work this Fall, and the experience was a rich one for us as visiting artists. We hope to take the final production there next summer.
Our fourth Public Showing this Fall was Saturday November 5th at 8pm:
Our guests this week were Brad Krumholz and Tannis Kowalchuk from New York's North American Cultural Laboratory. Brad and Tannis alternated training sessions that investigate the potential of the performer's instrument with theatrical explorations investigating the issues of this project. Conflict, politics, identity, & the tension between talking about change and living change- these were some of the themes present in the material we shared at the densely layered, imagistic showing (which included three beautiful choral pieces sung by all 22 artists who had worked with NaCL during the week). A dynamic conversation with the audience followed- some of the questions raised included: How do we reconstruct personal and community truths in times of conflict before that conflict moves to aggression? What does accepting complicity without responsibility get you beyond an exercise in conscience? &, is democracy broken, or are we not understanding the role of those we elect...?
Our Final Public Showing was November 12th at ART's Laswell Room:
100 people showed up for our final showing, a rich evening of motion, ideas, music, and text. The night began proscenium style, with 80 people facing a transformed Lasswell space (lights, scenic elements, dressing- even ART's production manager could barely recognize it thanks to the work of engineering whiz Liam Kaas Lenz). A 17 minute piece devised with the cast of 26 under the leadership of guest artist Eric Rosen and Sojourn Artistic Director Michael Rohd combined narrative and idea with an evermoving canvas of bodies and words. It closed with Rosen reading a piece he had written about a family still reeling from the effects of the Vietnam war. After a brief break (involving the audience reconfiguring into the round, and 20 more people coming in), the evening continued with the world premiere of a piece created by Rody Ortega for Piano, Voice, and Violin. It was gorgeous, a mix of melody, atmosphere, and words from great writers expressing questions, and opinions, on humankind's consistent tendency to kill and die in the name of...something(s). This chamber piece, quieter and more rehearsed than much of our Saturday showing work, was a fine way to end a busy fall.
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