THE SOCIETY OF CIVIL DISCOURSE August 4 & 5 at 8pm; August 6 at 7pm (Note non-standard curtain time)
sally howland2017-06-22T18:54:41-04:00On Tuesday, May 3, we’ll be taking part in
sally howland2016-05-01T16:07:15-04:00On Tuesday, May 3, we’ll be taking part in
but you don’t have to wait, you can schedule your gift now
by clicking on the logo above to go directly to Ko’s Valley Gives page.
And in truly exciting news – due to a matching grant from our generous Board Member, Connie Congdon, your gift will now be doubled. But we need YOU to take advantage of this extraordinary show of support!
2010 Performances
sally howland2016-03-04T14:30:01-05:002010 PERFORMANCES
“In the great variety of summer theater in this region, Ko Theater Works’ five-week festival of performance art is unique. Here alone can we venture beyond the literal, lateral, plot-centered theater into worlds where the only certainty is surprise.” — The Valley Advocate
2015 Workshops
sally howland2018-02-08T11:50:19-05:002015 WORKSHOPS
July 20-25
FIRST PERSON:
Crafting Your Story for Performance
Gerard Stropnicky
Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble
Higher Ground, Swamp Gravy, Flood Stories, etc.
July 27 – August 1
ZEN & THE ART OF PERFORMANCE
Jubilith Moore
Theatre Nohgaku
August 3 – 8
IMAGE-OBJECT-PUPPET:
Creating a Poetic Theatre
John Farrell
Figures of Speech Theatre
2015 Performances
sally howland2016-02-26T09:23:29-05:00
2015 SHOWS
This season we looked at experiences of new homes, new lands, — and perhaps elicit a revision of what homeland means in a new America. What is the nature of the immigrant experience? How are newcomers received and perceived – as neighbors, as strangers, or even, as aliens? Thought-provoking and highly entertaining, the following shows were all created by the people who come to Ko to perform them, and their teams of collaborators.
July 10 – 12 Judith Sloan with CROSSING THE BLVD: strangers, neighbors, aliens in a new america
After her hit performances at Ko last summer with YO MISS!, Sloan returns with a kaleidoscopic performance about new immigrants and refugees in Queens, N.Y. A multimedia vision of the future based on 3 years of oral histories; this is a celebration of resilient, prismatic people — in search of home. (Read more…)
July 17 – 19 Nadia P. Manzoor/Paprika Productions with BURQ OFF!
An autobiographical one-woman show about growing up in modern London in a conservative Pakistani Muslim home — 21 characters punctuated by fierce Bollywood dance moves and a choice between a burqa and a bikini. (Read more…)
July 19th at 8 p.m. The Mettawee River Theater Company with OUT OF THE PAST: Celebrating 40 Years of the Mettawee Journey
Our annual favorites invite you to come see many of your favorite characters – out under the stars with live music, movement, masks and exquisite puppets, in an atmosphere full of magic and celebration. For all ages. (Read more…)
July 24 – 26 Sokeo Ros with FROM REFUGEE CAMP TO PROJECT
A solo show about a young man born to a Cambodian family in a Thai refugee camp in the aftermath of the Khmer Rouge. In America, he finds himself trapped in a ghetto, courted by gangs, surrounded by poverty, violence, and the explosive moods of his traumatized parents. Through hip-hop dance, traditional Khmer dance, storytelling and video, Sokeo shares how self-expression and art have helped him surmount his past and discover the beauty in life.” (Read more…)
July 26 at 8 p.m. KoFEST’S ANNUAL SUMMER STORY SLAM AND PARTY
You’ve heard of poetry slams – competitive poetry events. This is one is for first person, true stories – told live and without notes, 5 minutes or less — and on the theme of “Fish Out of Water.” We’ll have a couple of wild card slots available on the night, so if you’ve got a story to tell… (Read more…)
July 31 – August 2 Chinese Theater Works with DAY JOBS, OPERA DREAMS
With unrealistic views of life in the West, and in the face of shrinking audiences and funding cuts, many top Peking Opera performers have elected to leave China to try their luck in the U.S. On arriving in NYC, the truth they face is stark; it’s not possible to support themselves through their art, the only employment they had known. Told through a blend of Peking Opera, storytelling and contemporary theater techniques. (Read more…)
August 7 – 9 Onawumi Jean Moss with SERIOUSLY…WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?
Noted storyteller and Pioneer Valley resident Onawumi Jean Moss, familiar to many KoFest audience members for her insightful comments in our post-show discussions, brings the season home with her first autobiographical solo, a piece that chronicles her resilient migration through the Jim Crow South, the Civil Rights Movement, the ubiquitous war on poverty and her private struggles of BEING/BECOMING an empowered African American Woman who lifts her voice for justice at home and abroad. (Read more…)
In addition, Cuban-American, multi-disciplinary artist Miguel Romero has created an installation “The World Dances to an Afro-Cuban Rhythm,” that audience members will experience as they arrive at the Holden Theater. He’s collaborating, across the generations, with Marc Friedmun, a PVPA student, who has created the accompanying soundscape. (Read more…)
2014 Performances
sally howland2018-04-11T20:07:12-04:002014 SEASON LINEUP
2 SPECIAL EVENTS + 4 WEEKS ON OUR SEASON THEME
WORK | JOB | CAREER | CALLING
SPECIAL EVENT: Saturday July 5 at 5 p.m.
CARPETBAG BRIGADE with
CALLINGS
a stilt spectacular on Nature’s siren call performed on the Amherst College Observatory lawn off Snell Street.
We’ll have a few, but best to bring blankets and chairs to sit on.
Read more…
July 11-13, Fri. & Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 4 p.m.
BEAU JEST MOVING THEATER with
APT 4D
It’s about a librarian, a filmmaker and a laid-off executive who are all at a crossroads, unemployed or unable to define themselves by what they do for a living. They all reside in a pre-war apartment building that has seen better days.And then, a mysterious stranger arrives in Apt. 4D and kicks off a series of adventures told in a film noir style – kind of romantic, a little lurid, a little Hitchcock . . . Physical Theater at its very best!
Read more…
July 18-20, Fri & Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 4 p.m.
JUDITH SLOAN (Earsay) with
YO MISS!: Teaching Inside the Cultural Divide
art, life & a passion for teaching collide in a funny, moving musical performance.
Read more…
SPECIAL EVENT: Sunday July 20 @ 8 p.m.
THE METTAWEE RIVER THEATRE COMPANY with
THE DANCING FOX
based on wisdom tales from the Middle East, an all-ages event with masks, puppets, and live music on the Amherst College Observatory lawn off Snell Street. We’ll have a few, but best to bring blankets and chairs to sit on.
Read more…
July 25-27, Fri. & Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 4 p.m.
The INDEPENDENT EYE with
CO-CREATION: 50 Years in the Making
a true story of play-making, parenting, successes & failures, polyamory, spiritual quests, and dancing naked around bonfires
Read more..
July 27 at 8 p.m.
KOFEST STORY SLAM & PARTY
true stories on our season theme of Work|Job|Career|Calling – told, perhaps, by you! Interested in being one of our storytellers – email a brief bio, description of your story and your phone number to info@ko-6-5.mystagingwebsite.com.
CASH BAR & PRIZES! Click here for a taste of what it was like last year.
Read more…
Aug. 1-3, Fri. & Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 4 p.m.
ALICE EVE COHEN with
WHAT I THOUGHT I KNEW
a riveting odyssey through doubt, a broken medical system, motherhood and parenting, based on Cohen’s memoir, an Oprah Magazine “best book” pick.
Read more…
2013 Workshops
sally howland2018-02-08T11:50:20-05:002013 WORKSHOPS
July 15 – 20
SHADOW PUPPETRY: Exploring the Theater of Shadow & Light
Stephen Kaplin
Chinese Theatre Works & Great Small Works
(read more…)
July 22-27
GENERATING NEW MATERIAL
Daniel Stein
Master Teacher, Brown University/Trinity Rep
July 29 – Aug. 3
THEATER OF PLACE: Community Sourced Work from Documentary Materials, Story Circles & Other Listening Techniques
Gerard Stropnicky
Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble
Higher Ground, Swamp Gravy, Flood Stories, etc.
July 28 – A 1-day intensive
WEB-STREAMING LIVE PERFORMANCE: amplify your community & create national dialogue
Facilitated by the staff of
HowlRound: The Center for the Theater Commons