Event
The Living Newspapers Festival
THE DEATH OF PRINT by Andrew Burden Swanson, Directed by Brea Hayes
NIGHT OF THE GATORS by Matt Welton, Directed by Rose Kruger
TROUBLE SHOOT by Paul Amandes, Co-Directed by Michael Wise & Kaiser Ahmed
WASHINGTON IN WINTER by Cassandra Rose, Directed by Gus Menary
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SLICE OF AMERICANA by The Silent Theatre Co.
Chicago, IL, December 28, 2009
In homage to the 1930s Living Newspapers of the Federal Theatre Project, Jackalope has assembled an exciting group of young & established playwrights, directors, and actors to dramatize current news stories from the country. Presented for a One-Weekend limited engagement at the Artistic Home Theatre, 3914 N. Clark St, the show will run January 28th 31st on Thursday, Friday & Saturday at 8pm, and on Sunday at 3pm. Tickets are $15 ($10 for Students & Industry).
Jackalope's Andrew Burden Swanson adapts an article about the dying printed word of a newspaper.
Artistic Home's Matt Welton adapts an article on the alligator farming industry.
Columbia College Artist in Residence Paul Amandes adapts an article dealing with the current Army Suicide epidemic.
Emerging playwright Cassandra Rose adapts a news story of struggling Revolutionary War re-enactors.
And the Silent Theatre Company adapts an article about the current American coal mining industry.
To schedule an evening to review the show, an interview with the Jackalope Theatre members, or any other media request associated with the program, please email Kaiser at jackalope@jackalopetheatere.org or call at 810-429-7636.
Early Definition:
The Living Newspapers was originally a theatrical production consisting of dramatizations of current social problems and events, and controversial issues, with appropriate suggestions for improvement, all based on articles from Americas booming newspaper industry. The technique was used for propaganda in the USSR from the time of the Revolution in 1917. It became part of the Epic theatre tradition initiated by Erwin Piscator and Bertolt Brecht in Germany in the 1920s. The Living Newspaper was initiated in the United States in 1935 as part of the Federal Theatre Project. One of its major supporters was Elmer Rice, a dramatist and producer who believed in the value of drama as an instrument of social change. It became the most effective new theatre form developed by the Project, vividly dealing with the realities of agriculture, housing, and economics.
A Bit of History of the Federal Theatre Project:
As a program of the Works Progress Administration, the Federal Theater Project was the first federally sponsored theater in the United States to reach out to the entire nation. It was created to provide employment to professional theater artists in socially useful jobs during a time of severe economic depression. Committed to theater that serves as a dynamic artistic and social force for people, its founders sought to make the Federal Theater Project a regionally rooted, popular, educational art theater that reached the entire nation.
At its peak the Federal Theater employed over 10,000 people; operated theaters in 40 states; published a nationally distributed theater magazine; conducted a play and research bureau that served not only its own theaters but 20,000 schools, churches, and community theaters throughout the country; charged admission for less than 35 percent of its performances; and played to audiences totaling in the millions.
A Contemporary Perspective:
We, the Jackalope Theatre Company seek to reignite the creative ideals of this project with an entirely fresh point of view. By uniting theatre artists from Americas heartland, we hope to produce five new original one act plays based on news articles found in papers from one coast of our great nation to the other, all in one evening of theatre.
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LocationThe Artistic Home
3914 n Clark St
Chicago, IL 60613
United States
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Categories
| Kid Friendly: No |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: No |
| Wheelchair Accessible: No |
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