A very nice thing happened on the way to the forum (did I mention you have to be a gladiator to survive Atlanta traffic?). A local DG member wrote to ask that I mention a recent event (March 17) in this column, one, he said, “…that many felt was the premier single theatre and literary event in the country…” He was talking about Fundamental Sounds: The Early Letters of Samuel Beckett, a performance reading hosted by Emory University, that was a capstone to the Beckett Project which began in 1990. The performance script was adapted, arranged, and directed by Atlanta Actor-Director Brenda Bynum, who joined luminaries Edward Albee and Salman Rushdie on stage along with Irish actor and local teacher Robert Shaw-Smith. The presentation received a standing ovation from the 1000+ audience members, and was colored by comments from Albee and Rushdie, among others, that Beckett had greatly influenced their work. My lovely DG “deep throat” also reminded me that “Atlanta is one of very few cities in the western hemisphere to have produced the entire Beckett canon of plays…over about 25 years…” Bynum has been a major player in this effort, directing or appearing in many of them, and both Push-Push Theatre and 7 Stages Theatre have also been instrumental in making Atlanta a Becket-friendly town. I have to confess that after reveling in the fact that “he reads me”, my initial response to his request was to say that I focused on new plays and emerging playwrights because (my quote) “they (we) struggle mightily for even one small acknowledgment of their work.” Then I realized that we have to celebrate the ones who gave us legs right along with those still at the climbing stage. And if one of my regional members cares enough to ask, well, that’s what I’m here for. Following on the heels of this event, another one also using real-life material is shaping up. Synchronicity Performance Group is updating their exciting collaborative piece Woman + War, and after an in-house run next winter, will be touring the show in two versions, one of which provides a demonstration of how to create such a piece. The play is based on stories collected from “nearly 50 women soldiers, refugees, defense contractors, missionaries, and activists”, and through a “tapestry of text, movement, and striking visuals” explores the unique experiences of women who are touched by war. The project began in 2004, led by Synchronicity Artistic Director Rachel May and choreographer Celeste Miller. 24 multidisciplinary female artists collaborated on the project, including a team of writers who wrote a script out of the interviews and generated performance materials. Commended by former President Jimmy Carter among many others, this project serves as testimony along with the Beckett reading that playwrights and their friends are more powerful than even a hoard of gladiators.
Atlanta
By Pamela Turner
A very nice thing happened on the way to the forum (did I mention you have to be a gladiator to survive Atlanta traffic?). A local DG member wrote to ask that I mention a recent event (March 17) in this column, one, he said, “…that many felt was the premier single theatre and literary event in the country…” He was talking about Fundamental Sounds: The Early Letters of Samuel Beckett, a performance reading hosted by Emory University, that was a capstone to the Beckett Project which began in 1990. The performance script was adapted, arranged, and directed by Atlanta Actor-Director Brenda Bynum, who joined luminaries Edward Albee and Salman Rushdie on stage along with Irish actor and local teacher Robert Shaw-Smith. The presentation received a standing ovation from the 1000+ audience members, and was colored by comments from Albee and Rushdie, among others, that Beckett had greatly influenced their work. My lovely DG “deep throat” also reminded me that “Atlanta is one of very few cities in the western hemisphere to have produced the entire Beckett canon of plays…over about 25 years…” Bynum has been a major player in this effort, directing or appearing in many of them, and both Push-Push Theatre and 7 Stages Theatre have also been instrumental in making Atlanta a Becket-friendly town. I have to confess that after reveling in the fact that “he reads me”, my initial response to his request was to say that I focused on new plays and emerging playwrights because (my quote) “they (we) struggle mightily for even one small acknowledgment of their work.” Then I realized that we have to celebrate the ones who gave us legs right along with those still at the climbing stage. And if one of my regional members cares enough to ask, well, that’s what I’m here for. Following on the heels of this event, another one also using real-life material is shaping up. Synchronicity Performance Group is updating their exciting collaborative piece Woman + War, and after an in-house run next winter, will be touring the show in two versions, one of which provides a demonstration of how to create such a piece. The play is based on stories collected from “nearly 50 women soldiers, refugees, defense contractors, missionaries, and activists”, and through a “tapestry of text, movement, and striking visuals” explores the unique experiences of women who are touched by war. The project began in 2004, led by Synchronicity Artistic Director Rachel May and choreographer Celeste Miller. 24 multidisciplinary female artists collaborated on the project, including a team of writers who wrote a script out of the interviews and generated performance materials. Commended by former President Jimmy Carter among many others, this project serves as testimony along with the Beckett reading that playwrights and their friends are more powerful than even a hoard of gladiators.
pturner@dramatistsguild.com