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November 12 - December 2, 2020
Thanksgiving is only a few weeks away - I hope you are making safe plans to celebrate, perhaps just at home. If you are looking for some Thanksgiving-themed theatre, you are in luck - WAM Theatre is producing Larissa FastHorse's The Thanksgiving Play. You can watch it from November 19 through 22 online. Links are below for tickets and more information.
The next issue will include events through December 2. Submit upcoming events via the link below or by emailing me before Tuesday at midnight. Any questions, comments or feedback? Email me at pioneervalleytheatre@gmail.com
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YOUR EVENT HERE
$5 per week for your poster and ticket link in top billing!
Email me to reserve your dates.
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THIS WEEK IN THEATRE NEWS:
from Howlround
Can a Clown Be an Activist?
by Amrita Dahliwal and Nathanial Justiniano
From the article:
The Clown World Has a Racism Problem
There is a Facebook group called Clown Theory. Created by UK clown scholar, author, and teacher Jon Davison, its purpose is to encourage inquiry and debate on all things clown. On 30 May of this year a member posted to the group: “I’m wondering if there is a place for a clown amongst more serious gatherings like street riots and protests for social and racial justice.” It had been five days since George Floyd was murdered by police officers in Minneapolis and the protests demanding justice for him and all Black lives were underway across the country and internationally. These images and experiences were top of mind when clowns from around the world responded.
Have you read an interesting article about theatre recently? Send it to me! pioneervalleytheatre@gmail.com
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PERFORMANCES and COVID-19 RESOURCES
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Visionary Futures: Science Fiction Theater for Social Justice Movements
Performances (live on Zoom):
Play 1, by Phaedra Scott, on Nov. 12 at 7:30 p.m.
Play 2, by Jaymes Sanchez, on Nov. 15 at 7:30 p.m.
Play 3, by M. Sloth Levine, on Nov. 19 at 7:30 p.m.
Free
Visit the Fine Arts Center Box Office to register.
Building a better world: UMass Theater presents Visionary Futures
What kind of future are you hoping to see? Coming to UMass Theater in November, Visionary Futures: Science Fiction Theater for Social Justice Movements invites you to join us in envisioning the intersection of science fiction and activism. Creator Josh Glenn-Kayden, a third-year MFA directing candidate, encourages his audience's predictions of the future with this new form of collaboration.
Inspired by “Octavia’s Brood,” a short story anthology named for writer Octavia Butler that explores the connection between radical speculative fiction and movements for social change, this project sits at the intersection of theater and activism. Three professional playwrights — Phaedra Scott (Good Hair), M. Sloth Levine (whose Interrobangers was a popular Play Lab entry last spring), and Jaymes Sanchez (The Cucuy Will Find You), — have been commissioned to write a 30-minute play and will each be paired with activists (TreaAndrea Russworm, Finn Lefevre, and a third to be announced) whose work intersects with the content of the play. These teams will meet regularly throughout the writing process to create plays that speculate on how societies may reimagine concepts like gender, justice, and identity in the future.
“I think there's something inherently hopeful about Visionary Futures,” says Tatiana Godfrey, dramaturg for the project. “Both the activist and the playwright are asking the same question, 'What does a more just world look like?'”
Glenn-Kayden and Godfrey are also asking these questions, building a new, inclusive process of play creation. This integrative experience allows the activists to be involved in the writing process and trajectory of the play, rather than being brought in to consult afterward.
“We're creating a new model of collaboration that includes more voices in the generative process and are excited to develop plays that are imaginative and forward thinking while still having roots in the activism work of our present moment,” says Glenn-Kayden.
Each performance in November will consist of a virtual reading of an in-process draft of the play, along with a post-show discussion where the playwright and activist will talk about their collaborative process. Full digital productions of each play are planned for the spring.
Visionary Futures: Science Fiction Theater for Social Justice Movements will be performed over Zoom. Join us as we embark on this imaginative journey into envisioning a new world.
This event is free. Visit the Fine Arts Center Box Office to claim your spot in the virtual audience now.
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From the New England New Play Alliance:
Virtual Theatre and Podcasts
The Forge Theater Lab presents
an online reading of
Perfect Fifths
by Bret Bucci
November 7-22
directed by Rachael Miles
The moment young violinist Nicholas has been working for his whole life has arrived: his debut concert at Aviezar Hall. But when a woman arrives from Wyoming claiming to be his long-lost sister, a web of manipulation threatens to silence every truth he knows about himself. Tickets: Free, donations accepted.
Merrimack Repertory Theatre presents
a reading of
A New Play About Lowell
by Vichet Chum
November 12
MRT will present a new work-in-progress by playwright and actor Vichet Chum (KNYUM at MRT in 2018) as the final entry in MRT’s FIRST LOOK reading series. This brand new piece centers on a family living in Lowell and their both silent and spoken generational dreams for one another. The reading will include a one-hour portion of the new play. A video of the reading will be available on the MRT site for three days after the live reading. Tickets: Free, RSVP required.
Chase away those blues and join Vermont Actors’ Repertory Theatre for a virtual short play festival that also features talkbacks with playwrights, performers and directors following the performances. The theme is “Together in a Sudden Strangeness” and the festival will feature pieces from Vermont playwrights Jeanne Beckwith, Lesley Becker, Marisa Valent, and Shoshannah Boray. Their work is fresh and timely and some will be performed for the first time. Zoom links will be available through VART's facebook page or by emailing actorsrepvt.org@gmail.com. Tickets: Free.
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Silverthorne Theater Company
The Tattooed Man Tells All
November 13 at 7:30, and November 14, 2020 @ 7:30 p.m.
Silverthorne Theater is honored to once again bring to audiences an important piece of dramatic writing, The Tattooed Man Tells All - a vital voice in the telling of the stories of the Holocaust. Peter Wortsman's gripping solo piece, was woven from a series of interviews conducted, on a fellowship from the Thomas J. Watson Foundation, in Vienna in 1975 with witnesses to and survivors of the Holocaust, the scene of Western Civilization's worst excesses. By condensing these accounts into that of a survivor who is committed to a no-holds-barred retelling, Wortsman gives us a fully fleshed out dramatic character, the Old Man, warts and all, for the audience to come to know.
Silverthorne's filmed version of the play will be broadcast online on November 13-14, 2020 at 7:30 pm.
Tickets are available at https://stc.booktix.com/.
This production is a fundraiser for Silverthorne Theater Company. There will be a free live Zoom discussion with the playwright immediately following the viewing on Friday, November 13th. The Zoom link will be made available closer to the show.
Silverthorne’s original live world premiere performance of this play in 2018, starring Keith Langsdale, was directed by Ellen Kaplan. The play will be performed in Germany at the Deutsches Theater in Göttingen this coming December.
For questions and further information, please contact us at silverthornetheater@gmail.com, call 413-768-7514, or visit https://silverthornetheater.org/ .
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Journey down memory lane with us as we share filmed performances of all five past Naked I productions this fall, culminating with the world premiere virtual production of The Naked I: Revitalized!
TICKETS HERE
Screening Details
Register for a ticket for one or all six Naked I productions and you will have access to view the filmed performance on each weekend specified below for the entire weekend - from Friday night through Sunday! You can experience the show on your own schedule, any time you like, pausing as needed to refill the popcorn! We will also provide a link to a PDF playbill so that you can follow along and learn titles of the pieces and the artists involved.
Accessibility
Closed captions have been created by 20% Theatre are available and recommended for all to use. Additionally, our brand new production screening in mid-December, The Naked I: Revitalized, will offer ASL virtually as well.
Pay-What-You-Can
Registration for each production is pay-what-you-can, and no one will be turned away. Our plays & events have been $5-$25 Sliding Scale for many years, and we ask you to contribute what you can for yourself and any household viewers joining you.
Panel Discussions
Stay tuned for information about live panel discussions with some of the artists involved in these productions over the years - hosted by Artistic Director, Marcela Michelle.
Questions?
Email us anytime: info@tctwentypercent.org.
The Naked I
Insides Out
2014 Performance on Film
NOVEMBER 13-15, 2020
A world premiere production by 20% Theatre Company
Originally produced in February 2014 at Intermedia Arts, Minneapolis
Filmed by Ben McGinley
The 3rd in a series of Naked I plays, The Naked I: Insides Out explores queer and trans experiences through monologues, short scenes, and spoken word poems. This production features the work of nearly 100 LGBTQ artists and allies - including contributing writers, directors, performers, designers, technicians, and more!
Original 2014 production postcard artwork by Archie Bongiovanni.
The Naked I
Self-Defined
2016 Performance on Film
NOVEMBER 20-22, 2020
A world premiere production by 20% Theatre Company
Originally produced in February 2016 at Intermedia Arts, Minneapolis
Filmed by Ben McGinley
Building community both locally and nationally, The Naked I: Self-Defined aims to highlight the voices and experiences of trans/queer/otherwise non-cisgender and/or non-heterosexual people through the production of brand new, never before seen monologues, short scenes, movement pieces, spoken word poems, short film, and more - featuring the contributions of over 50 artists.
Original 2016 production postcard artwork designed by an amazing artist in the Mpls trans community who wishes to remain anonymous.
The Naked I
Recognize/d
2018 Performance on Film
DECEMBER 4-6, 2020
A world premiere production by 20% Theatre Company
Originally produced in February 2018 at Minnsky Theatre, Minneapolis
Filmed by Ben McGinley
The Naked I: Recognize/d is the 5th in a series of Naked I plays produced by 20% Theatre Company. Building community both locally and nationally, this production aims to highlight the voices and experiences of trans/queer/otherwise non-cisgender and/or non-heterosexual folks. Written, performed, and directed by LGBTQIAP+ people, this is a show for us, by us, and about us. The Naked I: Recognize/d features 20 brand new staged pieces including monologues, scenes, movement/performance pieces, music performance, and more, and includes the contributions of over 60 LGBTQIAP+ artists.
Original 2018 production postcard artwork by Joy Spika.
The Naked I
Revitalized
2020 World Premiere Production
DECEMBER 11-13, 2020
An original, virtual production by 20% Theatre Company
The Naked I: Revitalized explores queer and trans experience through brand new monologues, scenes, song, dance and movement, featuring the contributions of over a dozen local and national artists on topics including gender identity/ies, relationships, transgender/gender non-conforming experiences and all-around self-defined queerness.
This production was originally intended to be performed live back in April 2020 with many more actors and directors involved. Due to Covid-19, we postponed once, and then again, and then decided to go virtual, which meant shifting gears a bit. Some artists created and filmed their own solo work, and some were able to safely involve other artists. We took what was given to us and edited it all together to create this incredible virtual world premiere performance.
Featured writers/creators include Connie Chang, Sami Pfeffer, Forrest Mainville, Tobias K. Davis, Sea Thomas, Ayesha Adu, Hannah Stein, Rubin Hardin, Kitty Sipple, Nick Malakhow, and Johanna Keller Flores.
The Naked I: Revitalized is the 6th and final Naked I production to be produced by 20% Theatre Company.
Original production postcard artwork by Ethan O'Brien.
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Smith College Department of Theatre
New Play Reading Series: THE TREACLE OF LIFE by James Barry MFA
Thursday, November 19 at 7:30 PM
Registration Link.
The Smith College Department of Theatre New Play Reading Series presents, The Treacle of Life (A Western Lila in One Act) by James Barry. Set in a dive bar outside time where the jukebox plays itself, Charlie and Chip examine the dynamics of their relationship over a bottomless bottle of whiskey. Then Chuck shows up. A woo-woo rock 'n' roll romp in which the temporal and the infinite dance together until the crows come home. Or is it cows? Hallelujah!
Free and open to all.
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WAM Theatre presents a digital production of:
THE THANKSGIVING PLAY
by Larissa FastHorse (Sicangu Lakota Nation)
Directed by Talya Kingston
November 19-22, (online)
In this fast-paced satire, good intentions collide with absurd assumptions, as a troupe of white Liberal teaching artists scramble to devise a grade school theatre performance that somehow manages to celebrate Turkey Day, while also honoring Native American Heritage Month. Playwright Larissa FastHorse underlines the importance of comedy in self realization and activism saying: “Laughter gives us energy. Laughter gives us more time. It actually adds time to your life, so I’m giving you information AND I’m giving you more time to change the world.”
Tickets & information: www.wamtheatre.com/showsandevents/the-thanksgiving-play/
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