Feast Your Famine: a watch-and-play is an interactive five-night performance-and-social-action hybrid event, re-envisioning the legacy of the "hero" in Western culture from medieval knights to today and seeking to practice new realities in community. With possibilities for multi-day game play or a single night's experience, audiences can join a diverse body of artists and activists in a journey of boundary crossing, soul-troubling, and action through both avant garde and traditional performances and social-action events -- set inside the framework of a re-imagined medieval feast. For details on the schedule and the presenters, please visit the Feast Your Famine website and follow the event on Instagram @feastyourfamine.
This event is a result of Wistaria Project's Re-Residency, in which we "re-gift" the Performing Artist Residency we received from The Center at West Park to an exciting diversity of performers and activists. Each Re-Resident will present their work on one night of the festival. The Re-Resident Cohort has worked together to devise First Night and Last Night -- the opening and closing of the feast -- with interactive, hybrid performance/events to bring us together to imagine, engage, and take action here and now.
Wednesday, November 13. FIRST NIGHT An interactive event inside a
re-invented, justice-oriented medieval “feast”, created by the Re-Residents. Songs. Poetry. Activities. Quests.
Re-Residents
Mz Aza Metric Eric Farber Dhira Rausch Hee Ran Lee
Jace Valentine (IntegrateNYC)
Kelsey Pyro Monica Carillo Timothy Craig Wistaria Project Zafi Dimitropoulou
Liquid Courage written by Kevin Green (Black Revolutionary Theater Workshop) Kevin Green is a Brooklyn-based actor/writer/producer. He co-founded the company with Heather Harvey.
Mei by Kazuo Fukishima played by Kay Soricelli
Thursday, November 14th
commoning
Text and Music / Performance by Eric Farber
Directed by Andrew Neisler Projection Design by Maya Sharpe Sound Design by Eamon Goodman Dramaturgy of History by Daniel Wortel-London Sound Board Operator: Tristan O'Shea
The Things We Conquer
Class of 2020 A series of short pieces exploring the themes of Colonialism, Americanism, and The Hero’s Journey Devised and Directed by the Ensemble Featuring: Sara Arce, Miguel Batista, Emma Burns, Jerdan De Guzman, Julia Dec, Isabella Friedman, Julia Grzyb, Grace Isaacs, Miranda Jackel, Grace Kilgallen, Bianca Koniuk, Alice Kris, Fiona Lopez, Mary- Kate Mahaney, Jessa Moverman, Victoria Muniz, Jasper Newell, Josi Oz, Jude Packer, Sadie Parker, Julia Petrova, Jude Rollinson, Rebecca Sullivan, Chris Sumpter, Sarah Tie, and Sarah Weitzman
About the Waterwell Drama Program: The Waterwell Drama Program is NYC’s premiere training ground for young artists, innovators and leaders.
Founded in 2002 by Arian Moayed and Tom Ridgely, Waterwell has been nominated for three IT Awards, a Drama Desk, a New York Magazine Culture Award and a Village Voice Best of NYC. Since 2003, Waterwell has offered structured classes in collaborative playmaking, or “devising”, the process by which the ensemble develops its material. This training addresses the student-artist holistically and demands you develop both as an interpreter and as a creator. Voice and movement work connects with scene study and theatre history; interpretation is exercised alongside original creation; and
Everything is designed to be in dialog with what’s going on outside the classroom – in your home, community and the world at large.
Waterwell has provided the Theater Arts and Drama programs at the Professional Performing Arts School since 2010. In partnership they deliver top-quality, year-round, in-school theater training to over 200 6-12th graders, absolutely free of charge. In addition to two-hours of class daily in Acting, Movement, Voice & Speech and Theater History/Literature, each grade also completes a rehearsal/performance project helmed by outside professional artists. This sequence culminates in the senior year with a new play commissioned for the class (New Works Lab) and an original Devising project that tours to area public schools and teen centers.
Our mission is to create an environment that fosters Excellence, Engagement and Empathy and prepares students to become world-class leaders and collaborators in whatever field they choose to pursue.
Conversation with youth activists Jace Valentine and Dekalia Wilson of
IntegrateNYC and members of Teens Take Charge
Friday, November 15th, 4:15-6:15pm & 7:30pm -10:30pm
@4:14-6:15
Facilitated by Claire Moodey, Nicolas Noreña, Jonelle Robinson, Paul “P-Funk” Stallings, and Eva von Schweinitz Conceived in collaboration with Lanxing Fu, Jonah Rosenberg, and Violet Asmara Tafari
This workshop is led by a group of artists who have investigated the subject of literacy over the past two years. Originally, the project took the shape of a participatory performance which has been presented at the Public Theater’s Under the Radar Festival, HERE Arts Center, and JACK Brooklyn.
The workshop has grown out of the artists’ desire to engage in a more direct exchange with their audience. This fall, they have conducted workshops with adult students at Literacy Programs and Learning Centers in Brooklyn including BPL Learning Centers, Fifth Avenue Committee, YROADS, and in the Bronx at Lehman College.
@7:30pm
Somos Más / ﻣﺎﺑﯿﺸﺘﺮﻫﺴﺘﯿﻢ
a world premiere inspired by our stories
Devised and Performed by the PTP Company Sol Ensemble:
Carmen Barbosa, Sinny Feliz, Ursula Hellberg Kaid, Jiawen Hu, Chuk Obasi, Angie Regina, Yolanny Rodriguez, and Vida Tayebati Directed by Zafi Dimitropoulou Assistant Director: Stefania Bulbarella
In a dystopian nation where people are forced to assimilate, six immigrants unite in secret to spark a joyful revolution. This multilingual performance runs approximately one hour and will be followed by a twenty-minute facilitated dialogue. This project is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, City Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez, and the Howard Gilman Foundation.
Rooted in Upper Manhattan, People's Theatre Project (PTP) is an arts and social justice organization that creates ensemble-based theatre with and for immigrant communities to develop generations of diverse, socially-engaged artists and leaders.
Zafi Dimitropoulou (PTP Artistic Director) is a Mexican Greek performer and Director. Born in Mexico, her parents decided to move to Greece when she was two years old, she started taking ballet classes and since then she never quit dancing. She has studied Political Sciences and Public Administration at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and Acting at the Greek Art Theatre Karolos Koun. During her third year of studies, she did an internship at the Troubleyn/ Jan Fabre company for the reenactment of two historical shows of the company in Antwerp, Belgium. Moving back to Greece, she has been part of many productions and has worked with several directors and ensembles. In 2013, the audience of all4fun voted for her as the best female actress of the year for her part in the play 'Pitsibourgo in the Argo Theater, directed by Babis Klaliotis. In 2017, she graduated from the M.F.A program in Physical Theatre from Dell'Arte International in Blue Lake, California where she was awarded a scholarship for her research in physical theater and new forms of community theater making.
Mino Lora (PTP Executive Director): Born and raised in the Dominican Republic, Mino has been living and working as an artist, educator, activist and arts administrator in NYC since 2000. People’s Theatre Project is a true passion project for Mino and she takes a very hands-on approach to the work. Each of the programs the organization has developed began with her in the role of teaching artist. NBC Latino recognized Mino as one of 10 Latinos with Heart and she has been profiled by FoxNews Latino, NBC Latino, El Diario, Manhattan Times, Listin Diario, El Nacional and other newspaper and magazine publications in the US and abroad. Mino has participated as a panelist and guest speaker throughout New York City and was the international orator for the Women of Success 2014 conference in Santo Domingo, DR. Mino received her BA in English Literature and Theatre from Manhattanville College and her MA in Peace Studies and Conflict Transformation from the Graduate Institute.
Execute
By Kevin Green and Timothy Edward Craig
MAKADEWIIYAASIKWE
By Kelsey Pyro
Created in residency with The Shed Open Call, Makadewiiyaasikwe is sound poem of Kelsey Pyro's original music and personal stories. Meaning, "a Black woman; a woman of African descent,” in the Ojibwe language, Makadewiiyaasikwe connects the history and healing process of Native American and African American people. This work premiered, live at The Shed, in June 2019.
Saturday, November 16th
Mosh-Pit Daisies — a realm of lost birds, a tree that got cut down, and Ronald’s horse who went awry.
With Jeremy Goren, Jenna Kirk, Sarah Bitar, and Kay Soricelli
a collage of ancient sacred texts, modern academic writing, “found” popular elements, and original material exploding the mythology of myths, dominant traditions’ suppression of elemental (often woman-centered) streams, U.S. living-history exhibitions, and contemporary gender/power dynamics.
The Mountaintop
By Katori Hall
Antigone Assata Shakur
Written and Directed by Jacqueline Wade
Assistant Director: Eman Priscilla Portillo
Ensemble: Khadim Diop, Travis Schweiger, Eman Priscilla Portillo, Rikia Evans, Hampton M. Holmes Naslie Jacqueline Wade
Priscilla Portillo is a featured actress born in New York City who is Classically trained and has played roles from Shakespeare to Tennesee Williams, working in major American repertory theaters, on
Off-Broadway productions such as Machinal, A Streetcar Named Desire, Dead Man's Cell Phone, and in
dozens of roles for daytime and primetime TV such as Killer Closer, London and My Love . She has trained in the Stella Adler Conservatory of acting, developing skills in improvisation, and screen acting while Finishing her BA in Theatre. She speaks English, Spanish, and Guarani and is eager to continue growing in the industry.
Rikia Evans also known as Kia Rush on stage was born and raised in the Bronx, NY. This actress on the rise graduated from The City College of New York with her Bachelor's in the arts. She appeared in two festival plays called "blue eye black boy" and "I want you back" and she recently did a off-Broadway play called "Imani". Kia Rush has trained in HB Studios with David Deblinger and at the New federal theater with Woodie King Jr., Arthur French and Alice Spivak. Kia Rush looks forward to working on more projects, blossoming her career. We will use the space on Thursday, from 12pm till 5pm. We will start our tech at 3pm.
TRAVIS SCHWEIGER Born and raised in da boogie-down Bronx, NY. Travis is a recent graduate of the Maggie Flanigan Acting Conservatory. He has performed in off-broadway plays such as A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Maximilista, The Great Debate, and Life and Death on Wall Street, as well as a few indie films. He is currently in the production of The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, playing El-Fayoumi. He is currently writing his first one-man show and feature film. He loves traveling, theatre, film, video games and cookie dough. He would like to thank his soon-to-be wife, Kathryn, his family, community and his coach John for their support. Connect with him on Instagram: @travisschweiger
A drag queen doing a cabaret set
Sunday, November 17th, 6:30 PM
Lecture: Afro-Peruvian's poetics of reparation
By Monica Carillo
50 Bulbs
By Hee Ran Lee
Dominicans Love Haitians Movement
Dominicans Love Haitians Movement is an arts-based non-profit celebrating our commonalities, honour our differences and dismantling racialization to forge a future free from tyranny.
Our program, Black Doll Project, is an act of affirmation, we send Black Dolls that have been donated and hand made to Kiskeya Ayiti (Hispaniola) to assert the love and power of our Blackness, our Negritud(e). As people of the colour, we have been stigmatized by racialization and antiblackness. By sending a Black Doll to a child in Haiti and the Dominican Republic we are reaffirming our existence and empowering our children to love, see and imagine their future selves. Our message is a reminder that they are valued and that they matter.
Included with each doll is a love letter written by you, affirming our young children. Our workshop will involve collaging and writing love letters, one to your self and for a child overseas.
Kevin Green & Black Revolutionary Theater Workshop
Kevin Green is a Brooklyn-based actor/writer/producer. He co-founded the company with Heather Harvey.
The Next Chapter: Student Voices Against Gun Violence The Next Chapter is a teen led
activist organization based in New York City centered around using art and expression to combat the epidemic of gun violence in America.
We will be doing post card writing, blackout poetry, along with other activities to provoke conversations around gun violence. We will also be advertising for our email list!
“A Gun” by Lily Krug
Excerpts from: Substitute Teacher Chronicles
Yasmine Lancaster’s new book will be for sale at the Sunday event. All proceeds will go to Dred Scott Bird Sanctuary, Rooted Theater Company, and Grass Roots Artists Movement. You can read more
HERE.
Facilitated by Nadegi Alexis
Visions for our Collective Future: Growing a New World Inside and Out
With Liz Moyer, Marceau Guerin, PhD, and Merecedes Gorosciaga Liz Moyer is a longtime change maker & norm shaker. Facilitating healing at the personal and collective levels. Weaving science and spirituality to offer innovative programming for true sustainable and equitable development. MPA-DP Bio + Portfolio
Marceau Guerin, PhD is a tree scientist passionate about human systems. Marceau uses the vegetal world as a canvas for people to reconnect with themselves. He also explores new ways of reclaiming nature expressions and teachings in housing and cities.
We Heal for All helps people come into a fuller relationship with world change by privileging the emotional, psychological and spiritual dimensions. It is humbly offered as a space for us to connect and commune about the changes going on in our world, whether that be changes to our planet and politics or changes to our internal worlds and consciousness. Through coaching, education and consulting, We Heal for All pulls from the fields of psychology, experiential learning and sustainable development to offer a whole-systems approach for engaging with world issues that welcomes the co-creation of new paradigms and the sustainable, holistic development of ourselves as change agents.
OTHER CONTRIBUTING ARITSTS
Ally McQuade Dhira Rausch
Luca Martinelli Noah Chartrand
Wistaria Project -- the artistic collaboration of Jeremy Goren and Jenna Kirk -- grows strange works for the stage, communal performing events, and ritual-based plays in homes and odd places. Our work utilizes a deep research on the practices (including performance) that human beings have developed across millennia and across cultures to create real communitas and the possibility for extra-ordinary experience. We work from a shared desire to create performance events that are alive and innovative (even while engaging the past) and that bring performers and spectators to really do something together — with an eye towards nothing less than justice and equity and the mysteries of human existence -- cultural and political tricksterism and poetic sublimation.
Feast Your Famine: a watch-and-play was created while in the 2018-2019 LEIMAY Fellowship at CAVE, Brooklyn, NY
This production is part of The Center at West Park’s Performing Artist Residency Program. The Center’s artist residencies nurture exemplary and boundary-pushing theater, dance, puppetry, opera, multi-, and inter-disciplinary performance artists and companies by providing free rehearsal and performance space and a 50% split of ticket sales. We support the creation of new works and the performance of classic texts in contemporary contexts in order to diversify and enrich the performing arts community of New York and to attract and challenge enthusiastic and adventurous audiences.
This program is made possible by the generous support of audience members like you. To make a donation to support future residencies, go to www.centeratwestpark.org/donate.
The Center at West Park is a community performing arts center based in the historic West Park Presbyterian Church, a New York City Landmark. Since 2017, the Center has presented engaging and boundary-pushing early-career and established artists through our artist residency programs, provided affordable rental space for artists to develop their work in our Community House, and stewarded the restoration of our historic home’s landmark exterior. The Center at West Park is a secular 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization. Learn more at www.centeratwestpark.org.
STAFF
Artistic Director: Zachary Tomlinson Interim Executive Director: J. Pat O’Connell Operations Manager: Karly Fischer
Consulting Technical Director: David Shocket
Special Events Coordinator: Emily Yowell Bookkeeper: Kate Mott Morrow Building Superintendent: Roman Gjelaj Porters: Mercedes Marrero-Alvarado, David Smythe, Dion Thompson
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President: Marian M. Warden Vice President: Marsha Flowers Treasurer: Theodore S. Berger Secretary: J. Pat O’Connell Robert L. Brashear Jennifer Rogers Carlock Derrick McQueen Mitchell Schamroth Olga Statz Susan E. Sullivan
