12th ANNUAL KO FESTIVAL OF PERFORMANCE

PERFORMANCES 2002

SATURDAY, JULY 20th at 2:00

THE MIDSUMMER PARADE:
A Topsy-Turvy Celebration of the Ko Festival’s 11th Anniversary and of the Arts in Amherst

Midsummer’s Day has traditionally been celebrated as the triumph of the sun over the winter darkness. In many cultures, costumes are worn and dances performed to celebrate the spirit of light, life and love. Spirits are said to be abroad, making mischief and turning things upside down. It is in this spirit of the joy of summer light, the mystery of the world of the unseen, and the magic of the arts that the Ko Festival presents this parade of giant puppets and collaborations between local artists and community members. Downtown Amherst. FREE!

SATURDAY, JULY 20th at 8:00

THE MONKEY KING

Ralph Lee’s Mettawee River Company
Drawn from Chinese folklore, Ralph Lee’s production uses an array of puppets and live music to portray the adventures of the Monkey King. Outdoors on the Amherst College Observatory Lawn off Snell Street.
Adults $5.00, Children $3.00

FRIDAY-SUNDAY, JULY 26-28

RAGE WITHIN/WITHOUT

Kathy Randels
Through movement, personal narratives, historical facts and recent case histories, New Orleans artist Kathy Randels explores anger, aggression and violence in women. The piece tells the storie of why women, usually thought of as the more docile sex, become violent and sometimes kill. Through the Illinois Clemency Project for Battered Women, Randels interviewed two women incarcerated for killing their abusive partners. By weaving her conversations with these women with the testimony of a female gang member and text from Anne Jones’historical account of women who murder Women Who Kill, with original poetry and prose, Randals has created a performance that has been performed to great acclaim in Bulgaria, Romania, Yugoslavia, Denmark, New Zealand, Scotland, Slovenia and throughout the United States.

“…rising far above the simplistic and polarozing platitudes that usually characterize media discussions of topics like domestic abuse…Rage Within/Without refuses to provide easy answers to deeply disturbing questions…Rage is a thrill to watch thanks to her sophisticated acting style and penchant for finding humor in the most harrowing moments”
–Chicago Reader, Chicago, IL-

FRIDAY-SUNDAY, AUGUST 2-4

SECOND SKIN

Joan Schirle
Internationally renowned physical theatre performer Joan Schirle, co-Artistic Director of the Dell’Arte Company, presents her solo mask theatre performance, drawn in-part from her extensive studies in Bali. For over twenty years Schirle has intrigued and entertained audences all around the world. In Second Skin, Schirle’s virtuoso transformations shine through the world of theatrical masks, allowing the characters themselves to create a spirited world of obsession, desire and luminosity. With humor, movement, music, and a group of half and full masks, her stories of wildly disparate characters coalesce around the threshold of the afterlife, as Schirle weaves multiple character portraits into an all-souls’ journey full of passion and humor.

“…Joan Schirle has a way of combining beauty, poetry, laughter , and transformation in
performances that show her not only as a master of her craft, but as a poet of the stage.”
— Eureka Times Standard, Eureka, CA

FRIDAY-SUNDAY, AUGUST 9-11

IT’S A SMALL HOUSE AND WE’VE LIVED IN IT. ALWAYS

Split Britches/The Clod Ensemble
Fresh from their run at La MaMa in New York, the acclaimed lesbian theatre company, Split Britches in their new duet. Lois Weaver and Peggy Shaw return to the Valley with their production about long-term relationships. This piece was commissioned by the British Festival of Visual Theatre and premiered at the Purcell Room of the South Bank Arts Complex in London. Directed by SuzyWilson, it features original music by Paul Clark of Britain’s Clod Ensemble. Peggy Shaw explains: “Two explorers lay claim to the some territory. These people have known each other for a long time. They occupy a house the size of a small stage. A house that has been divided and subdivided by time and bad habits. They sit on a porch, watch the horizon, and wait for the weather to change. Their only hope is an audience.”

10^th ANNUAL KO FESTIVAL OF PERFORMANCE

2001 Performances

SATURDAY, JUNE 30th at 2:00

THE MIDSUMMER PARADE:

A Topsy-Turvy Celebration of the Ko Festival’s 10th Anniversary and of the Arts in Amherst Midsummer’s Day has traditionally been celebrated as the triumph of the sun over the winter darkness. In many cultures, costumes are worn and dances performed to celebrate the spirit of light, life and love. Spirits are said to be abroad, making mischief and turning things upside down. It is in this spirit of the joy of summer light, the mystery of the world of the unseen, and the magic of the arts that the Ko Festival presents this parade of giant puppets and collaborations between local artists and community members. Downtown Amherst. FREE

JULY 6-8

KEEPING A BREAST

Written and performed by BJ Goodwin

Directed by Janna Goodwin

BJ Goodwin, one of the Valley’s favorite performing artists, was diagnosed in 1996 with breast cancer. This piece is a richly resonant, humorous and deeply moving story based on her experiences seeking help and information and discovering resources. From diagnosis, through a plethora of treatments, to the transformation of a life, this is one woman’s journey of healing body and soul.

JULY 15

COMMUNICATIONS FROM A COCKROACH: Archy and the Under Side

Mettawee River Company/The Shakespeare Project

Ralph Lee’s production uses an array of puppets to show the adventures of Archy and Mehitabel, two characters who first appeared in Don Marquis’ column in the New York Evening Sun in 1916. Archy, a cockroach who possesses the reincarnated spirit of a poet and Mehitabel, an alley cat with the soul of Cleopatra, and their eccentric acquaintances face the modern world with humor and a sturdy spirit of determination. Glimpse the urban life from the lowly perspective of this little bug-poet. Outdoors on the Amherst College Observatory Lawn off Snell Street.

Adults $5.00, Children $3.00

JULY 27-29

PEACHES

Progress Theatre

A look at the archetype of black womanhood found in the famous Nina Simone song “Peaches,” examined through the lens of history. This talented company of dynamic, young New York performers is directed by Cristal Chanelle Truscott. A co-presentation of the Ko Festival of Performance, NewWorld Theater, and P.S. 122

AUGUST 3-5

I WILL BEAR WITNESS: The Diaries of Victor Klemperer

Theatre Three Collaborative

Co-Adapted and Performed by George Bartenieff

Co-Adapted and Directed by Karen Malpede

“To see I Will Bear Witness is to experience something central to the life of the past century. You may feel stronger, more knowledgeable and emotionally richer. At least I did.”

-Michael Feingold, Village Voice

For all twelve years of the Third Reich, Victor Klemperer, a German Jew who was never deported, kept a secret diary. He recorded in meticulous detail the humiliations and insults, absurdities and brutalities of a civilized society sliding into barbarism. Published in English to universal acclaim only last year, the deeply personal and stunningly vivid diaries are transformed into a riveting solo performance.

2001 WORKSHOPS

JUNE 25-30

GIANT PUPPETS & OTHER PARADE CREATURES

Alison Heimsted

The making and performing of large puppets can empower communities to come together and create their own images for celebration or protest. This workshop we will look at variety of large puppet forms including backpack puppets, three-pole puppets and dragons. Led by Alison Heimstead, (Bread & Puppet and Heart of the Beast Puppet & Mask Theatre’s Mayday Parade in Minneapolis), students will design puppets, build them, and choreograph a sequence for the Midsummer Parade.

JULY 2-7

VIDEOTAPING LIVE PERFORMANCE: For directors, choreographers & performers

Michael Billingsley

Tired of poor quality video documentation of live performances? This workshop with Michael Billingsley, video artist, audio engineer and Executive Director of ACT will cover single and multi-camera shoots, camera techniques, technical and aesthetic considerations in working with theatrical sound and lighting, postproduction and presentation. Participants will gain practical experience working in TV studio situations and in the theater capturing live performance on video. No previous experience necessary.

JULY 23-28

INTERACTIVE THEATER & SOCIAL DIALOGUE

Michael Rohd

Explore performance process and issue-based dialogue with groups; work on facilitation, improvisation, movement, ensemble, and generating performance material. Make art while learning tools to take back to your group. Michael Rohd, author of Theatre for Community, Conflict, and Dialogue, will share his work as founder of Hope Is Vital, an international theatre and community dialogue resource. These tools can be used in a variety of professional and community contexts, including public health, educational, and theatre settings. Limited enrollment, so register soon!