Fiction that Matters

Monday, December 17, 6:30 PM
Elebash Recital Hall, CUNY Graduate Center
365 Fifth Avenue (at 34th St), NYC

Free, no reservations, first come, first seated.

Join us for a reading of excerpts from The Brother, a new play by John Hancock and Dorothy Tristan, directed by Ian Strasfogel, and based on the book of the same name by New York Times editor, Sam Roberts. It follows the espionage trial that led to the execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, focusing on the memories of the man whose testimony almost single-handedly convicted them, Ethel’s brother David Greenglass. Greenglass, a former machinist at Los Alamos, was in fact a Soviet spy. 

Emblazoned in popular memory, this polarizing case still reverberates in American culture and politics. The reading will be followed by a discussion with the playwrights, Strasfogel, Roberts, physicist Brian Schwartz and Ben Bederson, Los Alamos veteran*.

Amnesty International today announced the winner of its prestigious Freedom of Expression Award at the Edinburgh Fringe: Bravo 22 Company’s The Two Worlds of Charlie F, written by Owen Sheers and directed by Stephen Rayne.

The award, given to an outstanding Fringe production carrying a human rights message, in association with FEST magazine, was presented by Amnesty International’s Programme Director in Scotland, Shabnum Mustapha, and FEST’s Editor, Ben Judge. This year saw a record-breaking number of entries, with 112 productions nominated…

…Speaking on behalf of the judges, Neil Cooper said:

“The importance of The Two Worlds of Charlie F can’t be understated, both as a work of art, and for the things it deals with.

“The issue of what happens to soldiers who have returned from tours of duty in war-zones damaged in some way, only to be thrown onto the scrap-heap by the very people they’ve served, is an all too familiar one.

“By bringing together real people’s stories, performed by former soldiers who know first-hand how a lack of support can damage individuals Owen Sheers, Stephen Rayne and the performers of Bravo 22 Company, have made a theatrically inventive compendium of real-life experience crafted into a very special piece of work.

“Arriving at a time when malevolent forces are attempting to hi-jack the plight of veteran squaddies for their own nefarious ends, The Two Worlds of Charlie F gives voice to a neglected sector of society that brings home their plight in a fearless, brave and thoroughly life-affirming manner that makes it a worthy winner on a very strong short list.”

Writer of The Two Worlds of Charlie F, Owen Sheers, said:

“I’m incredibly grateful the play has won the Amnesty award. Not only is it testament to the commitment of the cast and production team, but it is also an award that goes to the heart of the play’s motivation - to give voice to those whose stories are unheard by heightening and lending resonance to those stories through the medium of theatre.

photo by â„“αurα suαrez

Posted: 21 August 2012

Save the date for the 10th anniversary ofBroadway Stands Up for Freedom, our annual star-studded concert to support the youth programs of the New York Civil Liberties Union.

(via NYC: Broadway Stands Up for Freedom | New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) - American Civil Liberties Union of New York State)

U.S. Department of State: “Center Stage” Brings International Artists to Main Street, U.S.A.

statedept:

About the Author: Ann Stock serves as Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

Earlier this month, the Washington Post profiled Center Stage, one of the newest and most dynamic programs run by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural…

The Life and Times of playwright Athol Fugard.

A new documentary charts the struggle of playwright Athol Fugard against the violence of apartheid.

(via Athol Fugard: A man of obstinacy and courage - Mail & Guardian Online)

Photo © David Harrison / Mail & Guardian

Stop Search, a play about police detentions in the UK. Co-Sponsored by the Open Society Institute.

(via Stop Search at the Broadway Theatre, Catford, London)

penlive:

If someone asked me what this week’s festival was about, my answer would be fairly simple: “it was a celebration of the arts for social change.” Kronos Quartet: celebrating music as a way to connect across borders, as a way to define oneself and one’s nation, as a way to express oneself when words are censored. Tony Kushner, Politics as Story: celebrating theatre’s ability to transform peoples’ thoughts, beliefs and actions. Salman Rushdie, Freedom to Write: celebrating our (relative) freedom of expression, and rallying for those who are without. All of these events recognized and celebrated the arts as activism.  

As he was talking about the power of theatre, Tony Kushner explained that theatre could impact the audience in a way that a well-written novel, or essay, could not. Theatre has the ability to change the world—slowly—it is not a tidal wave; it changes people’s thoughts through their feelings and emotions, to help them understand the world they live in. As he put it: “any true representation is going to show that justice is a desirable thing, that injustice is a terrible thing, that inequality is a problematic thing,” and so on.

Read More

Sri Lanka opens a new performing arts theatre. Donated by China, the Nelum Pokuna performing arts theatre will feature national and international acts. What is the subtext here? One regime that crushes freedom of expression giving a gift to the next. What acts will be permitted on stage? What won’t be said? What value is a stage when expression isn’t free?