Medieval theatre was similar to American community theatre, with home-made sets, costumes created by town craftspeople, and locals gathered to watch family and friends’ performances. They worked with townsfolk’s talents to tell Biblical tales, complete with anachronistic jokes and references that resonated with audiences. Some became local stars, with people clamoring every year to see them play a favorite role, and the guilds that produced the plays used sets and props to showcase their skills.
The plays that medieval Britons produced brought about the warm, fuzzy feelings we associate with modern community theatre. We imagine our friends and family performing, with everyone watching and clapping. We think of the solidarity and camaraderie it brings, reminding us of why we love our communities. Underneath the medieval fun of putting on a show, though, were scripts that asked difficult questions about values and morality. Of course, in such a top-down society, only so much could be challenged, but subtle moments addressed poverty, greed, and other problems affecting townsfolk’s lives. Community theatre can easily just be the former, presenting fluff that makes us feel good without actually benefitting people in the long run. Of course, it should be a fun experience, but to truly benefit the community, it needs to also incorporate the latter. It needs to address concerns of local people and voice ugly truths that we might suppress as we go about our daily lives. Last summer, Artists From Suburbia found a balance between entertainment and challenge with our Evening of Original One Act Plays. We asked Massachusetts-based playwrights to submit their writing, leading to staged readings of plays confronting classism, fascism, and loss. Rehearsals weren't all doom and gloom, nor was the final performance. We had our laughs and so did the audience, but with those moments of joy and humor came explorations of societal issues. This summer, we’re once again giving local artists the opportunity to explore problems affecting the personal and public spheres. We want artists to enjoy coming to rehearsal, whether they're old pros or first-timers, while also bringing new and marginalized voices to the stage (or, in our case, an available public space). Our goal is similar to medieval thespians - entertain audiences while challenging them. With every production, we strive to fulfill the need for fun and introspection on Boston's south shore. Gavin Damore oversees all publicity and press for AfS. His expertise in social media and public outreach have ensured packed houses for all of AfS' projects thus far.
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It is time for us to begin to heal. As a community, as a nation, and as a world, we have recently experienced turbulences that have shaken our cores and unearthed hidden knots of ugliness and hatred which had previously laid buried for decades (at least buried from the eyes of the mass media). Recently, it has seemed that every day, something new has stirred up questions which reveal fundamental disparities between our own belief systems and those of our friends and neighbors. Whether we subscribe to it or not, we are surrounded by a lifestyle that perpetuates fear and insecurity based upon those beliefs which contradict our own.
It is time for us to begin to heal. As artists, it is our job to present the world through a lens that is informed by our pasts. Our ethnicities, sexualities, gender identities, religious beliefs, abilities, family backgrounds, and economic standings affect who we are as people, and therefore determine the way in which we register and reflect the world. As theatre artists, we are often tasked with presenting the world through the lens of another worldview. We take on the personas of different characters, given speech by playwrights who may have lived hundreds of years ago or may live down the street from us today. We are tasked with the impossible job of viewing the world through someone else’s eyes. While the adopting of worldviews requires extreme amounts of imagination, it also relies heavily upon an artist’s capacity for empathy. It is time for us to begin to heal, and we need to begin the process by challenging our own senses of empathy. This summer, Artists from Suburbia is thrilled to announce “The Suburban Summer Theatre Surge”, where we plan to flood the local area with new theatrical works which stretch the boundaries of conventional theatre and allow our community to engage in the theatre as a pastime instead of a costly event. All of the works we present this summer will reflect upon the theme, “Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard are sweeter”, a line from John Keats’ poem “Ode on a Grecian Urn”. Our first project will be our Second Evening of Original One Act Plays, where we will present staged readings of new plays written by playwrights from Massachusetts. We have asked all playwrights who are submitting their works to us to consider how they can use their plays to give voice to an ‘unheard melody’ or a perspective belonging to a group marginalized by our society. We hope to build off of the success of last summer’s event and continue to provide a space for local playwrights to share their works. Our second project will be a workshop of a brand new, full-length play which (without revealing too much information) promises to challenge the way we view an important era of turmoil in world history. This work will be presented in a series of readings, allowing the audience to interact directly with actors, playwright, and director, and see their feedback taken into consideration as the work is reshaped over time. Our third project is one that I am thrilled to be helming, as it is one I think will be personally restorative and productive. Frances Hodgson Burnett’s A Little Princess, or What Happened at Miss Minchin’s encapsulates messages that are vital for us to examine. We see a girl whose treatment is solely based upon her economic standings and whose story is interwoven with anecdotes of mysticism and mystery from the distant land of India. How do these awe-inspiring images of foreign lands shape us when we are young and at what point do they begin to lend to our xenophobic tendencies? We at Artists from Suburbia have been busy at work for many months now planning for this upcoming season. We want to start back at square one, not assuming or accepting anything. What conventions of the theatre experience innately exclude members of our community from attending events? What conventions exclude members of our community from partaking in theatrical endeavors? We hope many of you will join us as artists, volunteers, and audience members this summer. Keep an eye out in the coming weeks for announcements of further details about each of these events and, of course, please continue reaching out to us and allowing Artists from Suburbia to be an integral part of the community. We, as artists and as human beings, have much work to do in the world right now. We hope you will allow us to continue to do this work right now. Andrew Child serves as artistic director for AfS. This summer, in addition to curating the Second Evening of Original One Act Plays, he will serve as director for A Little Princess, or What Happened at Miss Minchin's. |
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AuthorBlog posts are written by various members of Artists from Suburbia's productions and staff. Archives
July 2017
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