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  •

    KOFEST STORY SLAM 2022

    $11.00 – $28.00

    Sunday, July 24 at 8pm - one night only! We are currently sold out. We are trying to re-arrange the seating to see if we can accommodate more people. If you would like to get on the waiting list to be notified if  we can find a place for you - please email kofestboxoffice@gmail.com and give us your name, your email, your phone number and the number of tickets you are looking for.

    You’ve heard of poetry slams – competitive poetry events. This is one is for first person, true stories – told live and without notes. Stories must be under 5 minutes long and will be on the theme of  "Stepping Up/Stepping Back."  Stay tuned to our Ko Festival emails and social media for updates! There will be some pre-selected ringers, but this might be your opportunity to take your place on the Ko Festival stage alongside KoFest artists & staff. We’ll have a few slots reserved for last minute sign-ups — our very first grand prize winner was someone who decided at the last minute to share a hilarious story about her experiences being fitted for a Playboy Bunny costume at the Playboy Club in NYC. If we have too many sign-ups, we’ll audition the first lines of stories – and audience members will get to vote on which ones should be told in their entirety! Know a great raconteur? – tell them about the event! Everyone should come prepared to listen, but you may want to come prepared to tell! We'll be saving a few slots to be given away on the night - but we're currently accepting pitches for pre-slotting. To be considered for pre-slotting please email info@kofest.com about your story after July 1, and give us a little biographical background. Or you can call (413) 427-6147. You may also wish to hone your story by taking Gerard Stropnicky's FIRST PERSON: Crafting your Story for Performance Workshop which runs from July 18-23, with housing available on the Hampshire College campus for those coming from out of town.
    MASK POLICY: So that we may protect the most vulnerable among us, all audience members must be masked with an N95 or KN95 or equivilent, mask, worn so it covers both the nose and mouth. All members of the Artistic Team and Ko Staff have been vaxed, boosted and are tested before performances. We suggest that you test before attending the event, as well. TICKETING: We have a new policy of letting audience members choose the ticket price right for them. But of course, additional donations are most gratefully accepted. Funds raised will go towards the costs of presenting the Ko Festival in our new location at Hampshire College, as well as fair compensation for all KoFest artists, interns, and production and marketing staff.
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  • (dis)Place[d]

    $10.00 – $24.00

    Fri. & Sat. July 26-27 at 8pm, Sunday July 28 at 4pm

    fool'sFURY

    Written and performed by DEBÓRAH ELIEZER Directed by BEN YALOM Video Design: KEDAR LAWRENCE Lighting Design: SABRINA HAMILTON

    In (dis)Place[d], foolsFURY Co-Artistic Director Debórah Eliezer cracks open the assumptions of her own identity through the story of her father, Edward Ben-Eliezer, an Iraqi Jew born in 1930, a member of the Zionist underground, refugee, Israeli spy, and immigrant to America. Eliezer brings twenty years’ experience as an acclaimed physical performer to create a dozen different characters, including her father at three different ages, her great grandmother, their Iraqi neighbors, an ethereal embodiment of the Tigris Euphrates valley itself, refugees, immigrants, and more. First generation immigrants have often hidden the stories of their past, sometimes to keep painful memories from their children, sometimes to enthusiastically embrace their new countries. The children are caught between cultures, with no way of acknowledging a multi-national, multi-ethnic identity. It was not until Eliezer’s father had begun his descent into dementia that she began to glimpse his past. “We kept cyanide in our socks,” he said out of the blue one day. And she learned that her peace-loving father had been a spy for the Israeli Defense Forces. Other stories trickled out:
    • as a child he hid for days on a rooftop as Baghdadi Jews were slaughtered during the Farhoud, a Nazi-inspired “pogrom”;
    • at 11 he joined the Zionist underground, smuggling weapons;
    • at 19 he was targeted for assassination, fled Baghdad, crossed the desert on foot, and lived in a refugee camp on the Iraq/Iran border for two years;
    • he managed to bring 8 of his 9 siblings to Israel, unable to save the eldest, who stayed behind and was killed.
    Bit by bit Debórah uncovered her roots, and the remarkable history of the Iraqi Jewish Diaspora. Remarkable because Jews had been deeply integrated into Iraqi life for over 2500 years, and made up a third of Baghdad’s population in 1940. And because, within a decade, all 130,000 were gone, expelled, escaped, or killed. Today fewer than 10 Jews remain in Iraq. (DIS)PLACE[D] follows her exploration of these stories, and asks hard questions: Who has the right to tell the story of a people? What is the significance of borders versus land and culture? What is the relationship of nationality to identity? The work aims to open a space for community dialogue around these issues in general, and specifically within the diaspora of Mizrahi Jews. Through this journey, the artist also finds a missing part of herself, “a song sung in a language I can’t understand” as she puts it. “A dream I can’t remember.”

    “Luminous…So beautifully written, performed and directed that you might wish it were longer.” (SF Examiner)

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  • LESSONS OF HUMANITY

    $11.00 – $24.00

    Fri. & Sat. August 2 & 3 at 8pm, Sunday August 4 at 4pm

    An original performance by SAMITE

    Lighting Design by Sabrina Hamilton

    A performance tailor-made by Samite to fit KoFest's 2019 season theme of "HABITAT: (human)" using a rich a blend of traditional African music and personal stories that draw on his own experience of war in Idi Amin’s Uganda, and his life as a refugee who finds his new home in rural upstate New York to be a place from which he can reach out globally to help remind others of their strength, so that they may find peace. Funded in part by the Expeditions program of the New England Foundation for the Arts, made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts Regional Touring Program and the six New England state arts agencies.
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  • OK, OK

    $11.00 – $24.00

    Fri. & Sat. July 12-13 at 8pm, Sunday July 14 at 4pm

    Writer/Performer: KATIE PEARL Additional Performers: LAURIE McCANTS, CARRIE  J. COLE,  SHEILA SIRAGUSA Scenic Design: SUSANNE HOUSTLE Lighting Design: SABRINA HAMILTON
    OK, OK is a performance reckoning with the racism of today through the lens of what Katie Pearl learned—and didn't learn—about Oklahoma history while growing up in Tulsa, OK. Performed by Pearl with a local ensemble of four, OK, OK weaves together personal biography and civic narrative to crack open closed surfaces and get at what’s underneath. Hilarious, heartbreaking and informative, it reveals the truths and untruths we as a country tell ourselves about who we are, where we came from, and where we're going.
    OK, OK was developed, in part, during a 2018 Ko Festival Rehearsal Residency.
    Running time: Approx. 85 minutes. Suitable for ages 12 and up.
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  • THE RINGDOVE

    $8.00 – $10.00

    BECAUSE OF THE HEAT WE ARE MOVING THE SHOW TO THE AIR-CONDITIONED HOLDEN THEATER ON THE AMHERST COLLEGE CAMPUS. Sunday July 21 at 8pm Because of the more limited seating reservations are suggested!

      Performed by the METTAWEE RIVER THEATRE COMPANY Directed by RALPH LEE The Mettawee River Theatre Company has spent two years preparing a new version of THE RING DOVE, which they first performed  in 1988. An allegorical tale about friendship, it is drawn from THE PANCHATANTRA, a collection of stories whose origins reach back over 2,000 years, to ancient India.  The central characters are a crow, a rat, a turtle and a gazelle, whose behavior and relationships reflect many aspects of human nature. The production tells the story of the creatures’ growth in friendship with each other, as they achieve strength and harmony through cooperation and understanding. The production will incorporate an array of giant figures, puppets, and masks and will be performed out under the stars in a landscape permeated with live music, song and a spirit of celebration. NOW IN AMHERST COLLEGE'S HOLDEN THEATER! Tickets: $9 Adults / $7 Children (12 & under). Cash or check only. Supported, in part, by the Amherst Cultural Council, a local agency supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency
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  • THE LAST RAT OF THERESIENSTADT

    $11.00 – $24.00

    Fri. & Sat. July 5-6 at 8pm, Sunday July 7 at 4pm

    Lead Writer/Performer/Deviser: HILARY CHAPLAIN Director/Deviser NANCY SMITHNER Puppeteeers/Makers/Devisers: ARIEL LAURYN & MINDY ESCOBAR-LEANSE Composer/Musician: SERGEI DREZNIN Lighting Design: SABRINA HAMILTON Scenic Design: JUDY GAILEN Dramaturg: STEPHEN RINGOLD
    Our 2019 season opens with THE LAST RAT OF THERESIENSTADT, a show about Sofia Brünn, a Weimar cabaret star from 1930's Berlin who finds herself transplanted to Theresienstadt, a concentration camp in Czechoslovakia. In this completely foreign habitat, she forges an unlikely friendship with Pavel, a rat (played by a puppet), who despite the lack of food that has driven away the rest of his kind, remains out of love for her and her art. THE LAST RAT is show about resistance and hope, and the need to fill the soul as well as the body. A black comedy, it's a low tech, multi-media play with music, rod/bunraku style puppetry (our titular Rat), shadow puppetry,  overhead projections (artwork from the camp used to set the scene and illustrate a landscape for our story) — and three performers. Developed at Ko during a 2017 rehearsal residency, the piece was performed in New York at The Tank and to sold-out houses at two theater/puppet festivals in Poland.  It won the Jury Grand Prize, Student Jury Prize, Audience Prize, A Moment of Beauty in Puppetry  awards at the  Lalka Tez Cztowiek Puppet Fest, Warsaw, Poland. It will be touring to Israel in the fall. For adults, but appropriate for mature 10-11 year olds and up. Running time: Approx 75 mins.
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  • Out of stock

    KOFEST STORY SLAM 2019

    We are currently very close to selling out. Please call the Box Office regarding limited availability. (413) 542-3750.

    Saturday, July 20 at 8pm - one night only!

    You’ve heard of poetry slams – competitive poetry events. This is one is for first person, true stories – told live and without notes – just like most of the shows you see on the lineup this season. Cash Bar & Prizes! Tickets are $16, which goes to support the Ko Festival of Performance. Additional donations gratefully accepted.
    Stories must be true and told without notes, and under 5 minutes long, and related to our season theme of "HABITAT."And this year we're interested in stories that have to do with human habitats - particularly changes in human habitats. For example we might have a story that looks back at where someone grew up, or about move to a new locale or culture.  It could be a story about you, or a story about someone or something you've personally observed, but somehow it must be have that first-person element. Lots of room for lots of kinds of stories. There will be some pre-selected ringers, but this might be your opportunity to take your place on the Ko Festival stage alongside KoFest artists & staff. We’ll have a few slots reserved for last minute sign-ups —our very first grand prize winner was someone who decided at the last minute to share a hilarious story about her experiences being fitted for a Playboy Bunny costume at the Playboy Club in NYC. If we have too many sign-ups, we’ll audition the first lines of stories – and audience members will get to vote on which ones should be told in their entirety! Know a great raconteur? – tell them about the event! Everyone should come prepared to listen, but you may want to come prepared to tell! Club style lighting will be by Holly Gettings. And to help you wet your whistle we’ll have a cash bar. And prizes! We'll be saving a few slots to be given away on the night - but we're currently accepting pitches for pre-slotting. To be considered for pre-slotting please email info@kofest.com about your story after July 1, and give us a little biographical background. Or you can call (413) 427-6147. You may also wish to hone your story by taking Gerard Stropnicky's FIRST PERSON: Crafting your Story for Performance Workshop which runs from July 15-20.
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  • LIKE A MOTHER BEAR

    $11.00 – $24.00
    Fri. & Sat. July 27-28 at 8pm, Sunday July 29 at 4pm BLACK SWAN ARTS & MEDIA Writer/Performer: HELEN STOLTZFUS Director/Dramaturg: ALBERT GREENBERG Original Director/Dramaturg Martha Boesing Lighting Design: SABRINA HAMILTON What happens when the last grizzly bear dies? What happens to a sleep that is no longer slept by a bear? LIKE A MOTHER BEAR follows one woman’s extraordinary journey to healing in which she encounters the Great Bear Mother of the imagination and the very real endangered bear of the wilderness.  Based on the playwright’s personal story, this life-changing experience propels her on an odyssey that moves from the bear den of dreams to the office of an Elvis-impersonating acupuncturist to the Alaska wilderness. She relives her past illness and infertility, grappling with the “womb-knowledge” that insists that life continue even in the face of environmental devastation. In the wilds she comes to understand the connection between her own endangered health and that of the threatened grizzly bear – as well as the painful and exhilarating secret of what it means to become like a mother bear. In this groundbreaking call to action, personal healing and the welfare of future generations are inextricably entwined with the survival of the natural world. A compelling quest for birth of spirit… San Francisco Examiner This is a deeply significant personal journey that has great meaning for individual women and for the planet... Jean Shinoda Bolen, author of Goddesses in Every Woman and Close to the Bone
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  • KOFEST STORY SLAM 2018

    $11.00 – $17.00
    Saturday, July 21 2018 at 8pm - one night only!
    WE ARE VERY CLOSE TO SELLING OUT AND ARE NO LONGER SELLING TICKETS ONLINE! PLEASE CALL THE BOX OFFICE AT (413) 542-3750 TO CHECK FOR AVAILABILITY OR TO GET ON THE WAITING LIST. You’ve heard of poetry slams – competitive poetry events. This is one is for first person, true stories – told live and without notes – just like most of the shows you see on the lineup this season. Cash Bar & Prizes! Tickets are $16, which goes to support the Ko Festival of Performance. Additional donations gratefully accepted.
    Stories must be true and told without notes, and under 5 minutes long, and related to our season theme of "RADICAL ACTS." It could be a story about you, or a story about someone or something you've personally observed, but somehow it must be have that first-person element. Lots of room for lots of kinds of stories. There will be some pre-selected ringers, but this might be your opportunity to take your place on the Ko Festival stage alongside KoFest artists & staff. We’ll have a few slots reserved for last minute sign-ups —our very first grand prize winner was someone who decided at the last minute to share a hilarious story about her experiences being fitted for a Playboy Bunny costume at the Playboy Club in NYC. If we have too many sign-ups, we’ll audition the 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 a limited number private storytelling coaching sessions from Ko Festival artists! Call 413.427.6147 to sign-up for one of these slots or for more information. Price for this coaching is a donation to the Ko Festival. Whatever you can afford. Know a great raconteur? – tell them about the event! Everyone should come prepared to listen, but you may want to come prepared to tell! Club style lighting will be by Holly Gettings. And to help you wet your whistle we’ll have a cash bar. And prizes! We'll be saving a few slots to be given away on the night - but we're currently accepting pitches for pre-slotting. To be considered for pre-slotting please email info@kofest.com about your story, and give us a little biographical background. Or you can call (413) 427-6147. You may also wish to hone your story by taking Gerard Stropnicky's FIRST PERSON: Crafting your Story for Performance Workshop which runs from July 16-21.
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