2008 Performances
A season on the theme of
“FOOD: appetites, attitudes and politics”
July 11 and 12 at 7 p.m.
Dark Dining Projects
Artist & Chef Collaborations | Sensory Feasts | Gourmet Meals Served to Blindfolded Guests
with participatory Art Events
Conceived and Directed by Dana Salisbury
Chef: Alan Harris of Noble Feast Catering
THE EVENT
Blindfolded guests enter the space and are seated at long tables. A splendid multi-course banquet of locally produced food and drink is set before them. Savoring the sensuous feast, diners tease out the mysteries of the menu. The room is an ever-changing olfactory, tactile and sonic landscape, an installation of wind, water, organic material, music, virtuosic performance and movement. At the evening’s close, diners are handed a sealed card in which the menu and performing artists are revealed.
For further information visit www.darkdiningprojects.com
DARK DINING PROJECTS
Enormously successful in New York City and elsewhere, Dark Dining Projects has won raves from diners and has appeared in such diverse media as ABC News, NY 1 News, Univision, Time Out, USA Today, New York Times, Village Voice, Metromix, Cool Hunting, Toxic Pop, Theatre Journal and Contact Quarterly Dance Journal.
NANABOZHO
SUNDAY, July 13 at 8 p.m.
performed by the Mettawee River Company under the direction of Ralph Lee
Our annual favorites with a piece drawn from Winnebago creation tales that describe how elements of the natural world emerged out of chaos and achieved their present form. Central to this process is Nanabozho, the trickster hare, whose fearless, sometimes dimwitted impulses have unexpected, frequently hilarious results and keep us guessing what will happen next. He emerges from the arms of his Grandmother Earth to confront amicable beavers, ferocious frog demons and a bevy of delectable spirit women. The world we have inherited appears to have been shaped by the combined efforts of wise benefactors, evil beings and a willful, capricious buffoon.
The production will be ASL Interpreted by Joan Wattman.
FRIDAY -SUNDAY , July 18 – 20 Fri., Sat. & Sun. at 8 p.m.
NOTE: AS THIS IS A VERY SPECIAL EVENT FOR US AT THE KO FESTIVAL, WE ARE PLEASED TO BE ABLE TO ADD ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCES ON Sat. & Sun. at 2:00!
MILK-N-HONEY
created by: LightBox
directed by Ellen Beckerman
with Aysan Celik,* Shawn Fagan*, Signe V. Harriday*, Adam Rihacek, Gerry Rodriguez*, and a “mystery guest”
*Member, Actors Equity Association
music written by Shawn Fagan and the cast of MILK-N-HONEY
with text by Madeline George
Both the Ko Festival and LightBox have the creation of opportunities for civic dialogue as key parts of their respective missions. We in invite you to stay for the AFTER SHOW CAFE that follows every performance of Milk-N-Honey. Local experts on the the issues raised in the production will make short presentations and then we will open the floor for general discussion.
MILK-N-HONEY is a play about the pleasures and politics of eating, based on interviews the company conducted with migrant workers, flavor chemists, waiters and executives, diabetics, dumpster divers, grocery clerks, people with eating disorders, hunters, politicians and farmers. MILK-N-HONEY is a large-scale multi-media play that looks at food and appetite in the 21st century: the play’s interweaving storylines follow a couple whose marriage is at stake as they differ about what food to put on the table, a grocery store clerk who forages through dumpsters, immigrant farm workers, a family that struggles with diabetes, a flavor chemist who attempts to capture the flavor of light, et.al. The production features an innovative, wrap-around video design that envelopes the space in lush video imagery, with live-feed video cameras that the actors control and video supertitles for scenes performed in Spanish. The cast of five actors play a variety of roles and a sixth, The Eater, sits meditatively at a table and eats a meal for the length of the play. The performance includes original songs composed by Bray Poor and Sean Hagerty, several dance numbers, and a pageant about the history of corn.
HEARTS AND TONGUES
SUNDAY, July 25 – 27 (Fri & Sat at 8 p.m., Sun. at 4.p.m.)
created and performed by WOOFNOVA
TEMPLE CROCKER & ANNIE KUNJAPPY
in collaboration with Daniel Allen Nelson
lighting by Sabrina Hamilton
As we live, we eat the world through our senses, our mouths ingesting the material of the natural world, our eyes, ears, nose and skin absorbing the colors, shapes, smells and vibrations. All meet in the blood stream, mingle with breath, tangle with the deepest intentions within the chambers of the heart and, thus transformed, are released as words, actions and other emanations of the heart and mind. Thus the inner landscape of our physical body, the subtle vibrations of our energetic body, and the unfolding of our being in time are shaped by the material of the external world.
Led by our hunger and passion, if we are what we eat, our digestive systems are conduits for an intimate communion with our environment, and our manifested beings are reincarnations of all that we have consumed.
In their latest theatrical exploration Temple Crocker and Annie Kunjappy attempt to sort through the chaos of information and experience to understand man’s sublime, contentious and ever evolving relationship with the natural world.
ABOUT THE COLLABORATION
Temple Crocker and Annie Kunjappy’s handcrafted performance work combines installation and objects, songs and gestures, original and appropriated texts. The research process that accompanies the making of a piece draws on a variety of sources including literature, philosophy, the natural and social sciences, alternative medicine, homespun recipes and visual art. Weaving together personal and universal mythologies the work explores the intersection of whimsy and insight addressing themes such as the curious nature of identity, and the phenomena of presence and memory.
SONGS OF HUNGER & SATISFACTION
SUNDAY, August 1 – 3 (Fri & Sat at 8 p.m., Sun. at 4 p.m.)
a new cabaret created and performed by: BELLE LINDA HALPERN
musical director/accompanist Ron Roy
directed by Sabrina Hamilton
A Ko Theater Works production
A funny, intriguing and profound look at constant cravings—hunger for food, sex, acceptance and fame — and for true nourishment. Songs that range from Tin Pan Alley classics by Gershwin, Berlin and Bernstein to pop anthems are interspersed with personal narrative reflecting Halpern’s Jewish-American experience.
The Boston Globe has called called Belle Linda Halpern’s work “stunning, both as music and theater” as she connects the music and lyrics of American and European cabaret songs with clarity, warmth and style. With her incredible dynamic range, she sensuously croons ballads, powerfully belts out the blues, and, with lightning speed and hilarity, whips out a patter song, the Boston Herald hails her as, “Boston’s best singing actor.”
Halpern was last seen at the Ko Festival two summers ago as the Empress Josephine in the Pilgrim Theatre production of (N) Bonaparte. Earlier that season, she garnered riotous applause in the Ko Kabaret with her selections from Moon Over Dark Street, a Bertolt Brecht/Kurt Weill revue.
Special Additional Event
SUNDAY, August 8 – 10 (Fri & Sat at 8 p.m., Sun. at 4 p.m..)
2/3 two short plays for three actors
ME AND BOBBY McGEE and LUGNUTS OF THE SOUL
Writteen by by PETER LOBDELL
Me and Bobby McGee:
In the first scene Bobby and McGee find themselves in a kind of limbo. They attempt to orient themselves, but the environment affects them in strange ways. In the second scene Me, an old woman in a wheel chair, speaks directly to the audience who learn that Bobby and McGee exist within her mind. For Bobby and McGee she might be God? For Me might they be memories, fantasies, or something more creative?
Lugnuts of the Soul:
An ordinary evening for Denise and Dave is interrupted by a telephone call. The telephone call segues into a visit by Angel. Angel claims to be Dave’s cousin, but there is something other worldly about her — including her ability to shift her personality into the other characters’ bodies.
CAST
The roles will be played by Bernard Bygott, Honora Talbott, and Teresa Spencer — all recent graduates of Amherst College.
2008 Workshops
THE ART OF COLLABORATION: devised theatre & ensemble practice
Temple Crocker and Barbara Lanciers
July 7 – 12
Discover the art of building an ensemble and utilizing the various interests and talents of a group to create original theater. This workshop explores the intimacies and intricacies of the collaborative process while engaging in various strategies for generating material for the stage. Theatre artists and educators Temple Crocker and Barbara Lanciers guide students through a unique actor training process allowing them to develop their own distinctive presence and style while engaging in the dynamics of ensemble performance.
The training – both highly physical and deeply contemplative – draws on the principles of various actor training methods and physical disciplines including Viewpoints, Suzuki, Yoga and The Alexander Technique. Throughout the week the group will create theatrical compositions utilizing elements provided and generated by the participants, including original and appropriated texts, songs and movement, objects and installations. The mornings will be devoted to ensemble training and the afternoons will be dedicated to the creation of theatrical compositions.
FINDING THE THEATRICAL SOUNDSCORE: with voice and non-traditional instruments
July 14 – 19
This workshop is open to theatre professionals and enthusiasts simply interested in our relationship to and with sound. The soundscore in a theatrical context can be as present as any character in a play or as a sonic support to the trajectory of the story. Sound comes from many different sources and how sound is created, manipulated and used in theatre will be explored through improvisational vocal and instrumental explorations as well as recording and mixing techniques. Sound walks will take place daily with the use of portable recording devices and open discussions about sound design, “sound-scapes” and composition will be fodder for collaborative creations and a final presentation at the end of the week.
PHYSICAL & EXPERIMENTAL APPROACHES TO CLASSICAL TEXTS
July 21 – 26
Bridge the divide between language and physicality in this intensive, on-your-feet workshop, focusing on scenes from Macbeth. Learn the basics of the LightBox Approach, which integrates movement techniques from around the world, including Butoh, Suzuki, Viewpoints, and Commedia dell’Arte, into one unified approach to physical theatre-making. Each class begins with meditation and ensemble-building before moving into a rigorous exploration of Shakespeare’s classic play using experimental staging techniques. Explore character through Butoh movement. Discover character relationships and generate staging through physical improvisation. The LightBox Approach is applicable to any performance style, and can help directors and actors uncover the contemporary resonances in classic plays. The Approach teaches the art of collaboration, ensemble-building, and whole-body listening skills that are as important in life as they are in art-making. This course is open to all theatre artists, including actors, directors, writers, dramaturgs, designers, and technicians.
CREATING CABARET: styles, stories and songs
July 28 – August 2
Many cabaret performers have backgrounds in music and singing, but lack equal training in the theatricality that goes into making a successful cabaret act. In this workshop, our work on the art and craft of cabaret performance will include work on developing a persona for performance, choosing music, singing, creating spoken material relating to the audience, and on structuring an act. We will work with a variety of performance styles, thinking about the optimal way to engage audiences and convey meaning. There will be opportunities to share work in an environment that is safe for risk-taking and for growth. This workshop is suitable for first-timers, as well as professionals who want a chance to either hone or shake-up their work.
FUNDAMENTALS OF PUPPET PERFORMANCE: performer, instrument & score
August 4 – 9
This class will use a variety of techniques and games to develop an awareness of the three fundamentals of puppet performance: the performer, the instrument and the score. The class will use LeCoq mime technique and other theatre exercises to develop performance skills; found objects to create hand-puppets and Japanese-style bunraku puppets for instruments; and simple improvisational exercises to open the exploration of developing works for puppets. Participants will work solo and in pairs and will learn how to create their own work through exercises designed to increase control of the elements of theatre.