In 2013 we presented 5 weekends of performances on our season theme of

“COURAGE”

Each year the performances at Ko are curated on a theme that we think will entertain, provoke and inspire our audiences! In 2013 we’re investigating COURAGE. The shows are by a diverse group of artists who are coming to us from Iowa; NYC; Texas; upstate New York; Boston and Hartford. All are original works, created by the people who perform them & their teams of collaborators.

Many audience members enrich their experience at Ko by staying for the discussions that follow every performance. We use the show as a lens to help us discuss our season theme. The discussion is yes, artist/audience — but here in Amherst, famous for being the town “where only the ‘h’ is silent” — post-shows quickly become opportunities for community dialogue. There are other special events & ways for you to participate including an interactive visual art installation by KALI QUINN. Scroll down for all the info!

July 5-7, Fri. & Sat, at 8 p.m., Sun. at 4 p.m.

JUST KIDS

Sean Christopher Lewis (Iowa City)
Teaching a group of troubled kids in rural Kansas, Sean Lewis confronts the similarities in his own background as his father – abusive, estranged – and charming, enters the picture one last time.  A hysterically funny & moving performance described by one reviewer as a “one man NPR…” (read more)

July 12-14, Fri. & Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 4 p.m.

SPACEMAN

Loading Dock (NYC)
The depths of mankind’s last unknown frontiers – outer space and a grieving heart – are explored in this brave and funny new play about a woman’s solo journey to Mars. Radiation exposure, long term weightlessness, low light, extensive communication delays and poor hygiene are just a few of the challenges astronaut Molly Jennis must face as the first woman to head out to Mars… (read more)
Co-sponsored by The Harp Irish Pub & The Green Internet Group

July 14, Sun. at 8:00 SPECIAL EVENT – One night only!

TALIESIN

An all ages event by our annual favorites, the Mettawee River Theatre Company (NYC), on the Amherst College Observatory Lawn off of Snell Street. The story of Taliesin comes from a medieval Welsh tale of sorcery and court intrigue… (read more)
No reservations necessary.  Grounds open at 6:30 for folks wishing to picnic!

July 19-21, Fri. & Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 4 p.m.

fo n’ ale

The Performance Project’s FIRST GENERATION ENSEMBLE (Springfield, MA)
fo n’ ale (which means “we must go” in Haitian Creole) is a visual poem, a waking dreamscape in which past, present, and future are interchangeable. Seven young people, from Springfield, but originally from Nepal, Haiti, Burundi/Tanzania, Puerto Rico, Ethiopia and the U.S. are on a journey.  They’ve left their homelands but find themselves traveling the same path, all embodying the melancholy of leaving. Peak moments crystalize experience and become a source of power – carrying them, with courage, into the future. (read more)

This production is sponsored by

July 26-28 Fri. & Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 4 p.m.

CONVERSATIONS WITH MY MOLESTER: A Journey of Faith

Michael Mack (Cambridge, MA)
Like many Catholic boys in the 1960s, Michael Mack wanted to be a priest. That dream ended at age 11 when his pastor invited him to the rectory to “help with a project.” In the decades that followed, Mack wrestled with disturbing questions about sexuality and spirituality, and imagined one day meeting his abuser for a conversation. In 2008 he had that chance… One of only four playwrights to receive the 2013 Massachusetts Cultural Council’s Fellowship in Dramatic Writing. (read more)

July 28 at 8:00 VIDEO ARCHIVE NOW AVAILABLE HERE

KoFest STORY SLAM & PARTY

You’ve heard of poetry slams – competitive poetry events? Well we’ve got one for first person, true stories – told live & without notes. Stories will be 5 minutes or under & must somehow relate to our season themes of “COURAGE.” A huge hit in previous seasons and at Northampton’s A.P.E. Gallery this spring; this event might be your opportunity to take your place on the Ko Festival stage alongside KoFest artists & staff.  Cash bar. And prizes! All tickets $15. (read more)

August 2-4 Fri. & Sat, at 8 p.m., Sun. at 4 p.m.

MEDITATIONS FROM A GARDEN SEAT

Judy Dworin Performance Project (Hartford, CT)
A stunning dance/theater hybrid on the healing power of gardens, stemming from an essay by emancipationist and social critic Harriet Beecher Stowe + material by contemporary women in or just out of prison.  (read more)

POST-SHOW DISCUSSION LINEUP: Friday – Kermit Dunkelberg will host the postshow and Jane Wald of the Emily Dickinson Museum will join us because Emily too experienced and wrote about confinement and the healing power of gardens, and knew Stowe. Saturday – Sabrina Hamilton (Ko’s Artistic Director) will host, and Jane Wald will again join the artists. Sunday  – Cathy McNally, Executive Director of Voices from Inside (and Spring Story Slam Winner with her cross-generational make-out story) will be with us.

ALL SEASON

FINDING COURAGE: A Community-Based Art Installation

Kali Quinn is back again this summer to create an interactive piece around our season theme of COURAGE – where all are invited to participate.
Click here to see more about what was created last summer.

2012 SEASON:
“An Irreverent & Intergenerational Look at AGE & AGEING”

Each year the performances at Ko are curated on a theme that we think will entertain, provoke and inspire our audiences! In 2012 we’re investigating aging, a process that evokes a gamut of feelings – from trepidation to celebration. The shows are by a diverse group of artists who are coming to us from San Francisco; NYC; New Jersey; Portland, OR; Putney, VT/El Salvador – & right here in Amherst. All original works, created by the people who perform them & their teams of collaborators.

Many audience members enrich their experience at Ko by staying for the discussions that follow every performance. We use the show as a lens to help us discuss our season theme. The discussion is yes, artist/audience — but here in Amherst, famous for being the town “where only the ‘h’ is silent” — post-shows quickly become opportunities for community dialogue.

July 6-8 Fri. & Sat, at 8 p.m., Sun. at 4 p.m.

IS SEX POSSIBLE?

Constance Congdon (Amherst, MA)
Nationally-known playwright, and Amherst resident in her outrageously irreverent solo about the trials and tribulations of sex and dating after you reach 50, 60, … (read more…)

July 8 at 7:30 Special lecture/forum

STAYING VERTICAL: Age, Aging & Ageism in America

led by Ashton Applewhite (NYC)
Author/journalist Ashton Applewhite is interested in why we’re so ambivalent about the prospect of much longer lives. She was too, until she learned more. Her proposition?  Fight ageism, not aging.  (read more…)

July 13-15 Fri. & Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 4 p.m.

A QUEER DIVINE

Sara Felder (San Francisco, CA)
Back at Ko by popular demand, America’s favorite queer juggler & solo performance artist returns with her new solo comedy. It’s a reflection on the facts of her existence:  She can’t dance.  She likes art.  And people she loves are going to die. (read more…)

July 15,  Sun. at 8:00 SPECIAL EVENT – One night only!

COMMUNICATIONS FROM A COCKROACH: Archy and the Under Side

An all ages event by the Mettawee River Theatre Company (NYC) on the Amherst College Observatory Lawn off of Snell Street. Based on the Don Marquis cartoons with live music, live performers and exquisite puppets, performed out under the stars in an atmosphere of magic and celebration. (read more…)

July 20-22 Fri. & Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 4 p.m.

“Good Morning Anita Hill It’s Ginni Thomas I Just Wanted To Reach Across the Airwaves and the Years and Ask You To Consider Something I Would Love You To Consider an Apology Sometime and Some Full Explanation of Why You Did What You Did With My Husband So Give It Some Thought and Certainly Pray About This and Come To Understand Why You Did What You Did Okay Have a Good Day.”

Deb Margolin (NJ)
Yes, it is the longest play title ever – it’s the full text of a voicemail Clarence Thomas’ wife recently left for Anita Hill. The show is what happens when a middle-aged Jewish woman confronts her road rage at the 20-year-old intersection of young motherhood and the Anita Hill/Clarence Thomas hearings. With a fair amount of Bristol Palin tossed in.  Deb Margolin’s long awaited return to solo performance – and to Ko. (read more…)

July 22 at 8:00 ONE NIGHT ONLY!

KoFest STORY SLAM & PARTY

You’ve heard of poetry slams – competitive poetry events? Now, we’ve got one for first person, true stories – told live & without notes. Stories will be 5 minutes or under & must somehow relate to our season themes of “Age, Aging or Ageism.” A huge hit last summer; this event might be your opportunity to take your place on the Ko Festival stage alongside KoFest artists & staff. Feeling a bit unsure? We’re offering private storytelling coaching sessions from Ko Festival artists! Everyone should come prepared to listen, but you may want to come prepared to tell! And to help you whet your whistle we’ll have a cash bar. And prizes! All tickets $12. (read more…)

July 27-29 Fri. & Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 4 p.m.

MY MIND IS LIKE AN OPEN MEADOW

Hand2Mouth Ensemble (Portland, OR)
Based on the recorded memoirs of ensemble member Erin Leddy’s grandmother, this meditation on consciousness, memory & things passed down through generations has toured the west coast extensively, and comes to Ko right before its New York premiere. A younger point of view on our season theme.  Click HERE to view their latest video trailer! (read more…)

August 3-5 Fri. & Sat, at 8 p.m., Sun. at 4 p.m.

D-GENERATION: An Exaltation of Larks

Sandglass Theater (Putney, VT)
The world premiere of the ensemble’s collaboration with Salvadoran director Roberto Salomon. With text gathered from nursing home residents using a collective creation process called “Timeslips,” the production is performed with live actors, puppets, video and music.  It is a piece about dementia.  It is also a piece about play, joy, and communication. (read more…)

2011 marked the 20th season of the
KO FESTIVAL OF PERFORMANCE!

5 weeks of 6-day intensive workshops and performances which were open to the public – plus our rehearsal residency lab where artists came from all over the country to cook up new work.

Performances were selected from throughout the US. Some of them were developed, in part, during rehearsal residencies at Ko. All of them were original works, created by the people who performed them. The 2011 season was curated around the theme of “SECRETS.” Where does the desire to tell intersect with the desire to hide? Join us as we peek into a diverse set of secret sorrows, secret joys, and just plain secrets!

Many of our audience members enriched their experience of the shows by staying for the discussion of the season’s theme that followed every performance. For first time, this year, you could deepen your experience of this season of “SECRETS” even further by taking the festival as a UMASS course led by post-show discussion facilitator, Kermit Dunkelberg! (Read more…)

SHOWS & SPECIAL EVENTS

SPECIAL EVENT: July 8, Friday at 6:30 p.m.

Gala Opening Night/20th Anniversary Cocktail Party

Live entertainment, delicious refreshments, and an opportunity to meet some of the 2011 Ko Festival artists. Come celebrate!

July 8 – 10, Friday & Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 4 p.m.

INDUSTRIOUS ANGELS

is a solo hand-crafted-story-spinning-shadow-puppet-memory-play-with-music evoking the secret creative lives of women, mother/daughter bloodlines, and the ghost of Emily Dickinson.

written & performed by Laurie McCants (Bloomsburg, PA; music by Guy Klucevsek (NYC); directed by Ko Artistic Director, Sabrina Hamilton (Amherst, MA); scenography by F. Elaine Williams (Lewisburg, PA) (Read more…)

July 15 – 17, Friday & Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 4 p.m.

ME, MISS KRAUSE AND JOAN

is about a lifelong fascination with Joan of Arc. a difficult but often hilarious relationship with an acting guru and a traumatic assault— powerfully forged into a spiritually insightful play about passion and perseverance.

written & performed by Martha Kemper (Philadelphia, PA) (Read more…)

SPECIAL EVENT: July 17, ONE NIGHT ONLY! Sunday at 8 p.m.

THE OLD BOAT GODDESS: Songs of the Ainu

tales from Northern Japan of interactions between humans, gods and the natural world – told out under the stars with masks, puppets, giant figures and live music by our annual favorites, The Mettawee River Theater Company. (NYC/Salem, NY) (Read more…)

July 22 – 24, Friday & Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 4 p.m.

OVERTURE TO A THURSDAY MORNING

is about Lila, a girl who smokes, listens to Talking Heads and wants to be a violin rock star, but unwanted discoveries shove her toward the truth about her own birth. A suspenseful and inspiring journey that questions the will to go on and who to take with you.

written & performed by Kali Quinn (Buffalo, NY/Arezzo, Italy) (Read more…)

SPECIAL EVENT: July 24 at 8 p.m.

KoFest STORY SLAM & PARTY

You’ve heard of poetry slams – competitive poetry events. Now, we’ve got one for first person, true stories – told live and without notes. Stories will be 5 minutes or under and on our season theme of “SECRETS!” There will be some pre-selected ringers, you may be able to participate! We’ll have some sign-up slots, and as we’re thinking now, we’ll audition some first lines of stories – and audience members will get to vote on which ones should be told in their entirety. Feeling a bit unsure? We’re offering private storytelling coaching sessions from Ko Festival artists! Call 413.427.6147 to sign-up for one of these slots or for more information.

Know a great racconteur – tell them about the event! Everyone should come prepared to listen, but you may want to come prepared to tell! And to help you whet your whistle we’ll have a cash bar. And prizes! All tickets $12.

July 29 – 31, Friday & Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 4 p.m.

RIPPLE EFFECT

RIPPLE EFFECT transports audiences from Springfield, MA to a U.S. army base, a Nepali family and their struggle for recognition, and a refugee camp in Tanzania. While local and global news media report political events and economic statistics, The FIRST GENERATION ensemble brings to light the stories of the individuals experiencing those events that are so often left untold.

FIRST GENERATION ensemble members may be the first in their family to grow up in the United States, the first to speak English, to graduate high school, go to college, to be incarcerated, not be incarcerated, be drug free, be openly GLBT, to break the silence, to be an artist, or many other firsts. RIPPLE EFFECT is a powerfully crafted work that examines the effects of racism, economic oppression, and violence – as well as our humanity, our strengths, and our possibilities.

Spanning four languages and three continents, RIPPLE EFFECT shares the strengths and struggles of the ensemble’s journeys, of family and community, as well as fantasy worlds – carrying us from Beyonce to Bollywood to a “Secret Recipe for Warriors Only,” and dreams for the future.

Created and performed by FIRST GENERATION Springfield-based ensemble of the Performance Project. Co-directed by Julie Lichtenberg, Julissa Rodriguez, Carla Wojczuk, and Lesley Farlow (Read more…)

SPECIAL EVENT, Sunday July 31 at 7 p.m.

PING CHONG: All Islands Connect Under Water

We are incredibly fortunate to have one of the stars of the international multidisciplinary arts world with us at Ko this summer. Ping Chong is in Amherst to initiate a new summer theater institute that has attracted students from all over the globe. In order for us to share that presence with more of the Ko audience, he has agreed to do a public presentation about his work, in which he will discuss the evolution of his approach to theatre in relationship to changes in contemporary arts and culture over the past 40 years. A question and answer period follows a slide presentation that will show his visually astonishing and socially compelling body of work in some of the most illustrious venues around the globe.

Admission is by donation.

August 5 – 7, Friday & Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 4 p.m.

STRANGER THINGS

is a new play, inspired existential philosopher Albert Camus, that examines identity within the context of a broken rural family trying to make a living in the bitterly cold North. A black comedy, perfect for survivors of our recent, western Mass winter….

by the The Ghost Road Company (Los Angeles, CA) (Read more…)

2011 Workshops

July 11 – 16

MASK, MOVEMENT & MAYHEM

Kali Quinn

Accademia dell ‘ Arte; (Arezzo, Italy)

(read more…)

July 25 -30

FROM THE LITERARY TO THE DRAMATIC:

Devising New Work From Extant Text

Katharine Noon

The Ghost Road Company (Los Angeles)

(read more…)

July 31 – August 6

PING CHONG & COMPANY SUMMER THEATRE INSTITUTE

Ping Chong, Talvin Wilks, & Sara Zatz

Innovative community-based performance and documentary theatre practices behind Ping Chong’s award-winning “Undesirable Elements” series. For Performers, Directors, Scholars and Activists.

(read more…)