Sunday, July 23 at 8pm - One Show Only! Special All-Ages Event Performed by the METTAWEE RIVER THEATRE COMPANY Directed by RALPH LEE The Mettawee River Theatre Company has spent two years preparing this new piece, BEFORE THE SUN AND MOON, which is drawn from an ancient Korean folktale. It is a magical story, in which a husband and wife discover the power of love and devotion through many unexpected challenges and wild adventures. 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. On the Amherst College Observatory Lawn off of Snell Street in Amherst. Bring blankets, lawn chairs and insect repellent, but leave the dogs at home! Tickets: $9 Adults / $7 Children (12 & under). Cash or check only, No credit cards at the door. No reservations necessary! (Unless the weather looks iffy on the day of the performance, in which case the rain space is the Holden  Theatre) Running Time: Approx. 1 hour. Mettawee's performance at Ko is supported, in part, by the Amherst Cultural Council, a local agency supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency

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)

Fri. & Sat. August 4 & 5 at 8pm.  Sun. August 6 at 7pm. (Note non-standard curtain time) Created by TEAM SUNSHINE PERFORMANCE CORPORATION and THE PHILLY PIGEON/JACOB WINTERSTEIN Directed at Ko by Alex Torra (Team Sunshine) With participation by KoFest artists, a secret lineup of local performers, and members of the Detroit ensemble A HOST OF PEOPLE In an era where facts don't seem to matter, in an area where fractious town meetings are the rule, and in a time when we have lost all sense of the humanity of those who disagree with us — we invite you to an evening of utter nonsense. What is it? The Society of Civil Discourse is an interactive night of debate, appreciation, hating and rhetorical excess. It’s  all about style, not substance. The event gives people a chance to have fun in community, with art at the center. Its an event where the line between performer and audience member gets blurred. You can come and quietly watch the entire night, or you might take us up on this opportunity to show off your best rhetorical skills. You might even be might tapped for the Great Debate that concludes the evening. But most of all, you'll have the opportunity to learn to love the people you argue passionately with. SO WHAT HAPPENS? The best way to understand is to watch this brief video: As you can see, the evening’s events will happen in several phases. Attendees get name tags and there is a brief period for mingling, beverages, after which all present are called to order and invited to become members of the fictitious SOCIETY OF CIVIL DISCOURSE.  After a brief and fun induction ceremony, audience members are invited to circulate between three or four different talking stations at their own pace.  At these stations your trained facilitators will guide you into a debate, gripe session, appreciation. You might defend an opinion: Pick a card with silly opposing views on it. Defend one.  You listen to others make noises of appreciation 0r disagreement. And at any time you can take a break to get a drink or a snack. THE FINAL PHASE IS THE GREAT DEBATE: Professional Argument Teams and a few outstanding audience members selected from Phase 1 engage in a 5 round debate over a secret topic. After choosing a team name there will be 5 debate rounds: Round 1: Opening Statements Round 2: Personal testimony Round 3: Fake statistics Round 4: Mime Round 5: Closing statements We invite you to watch, heckle, applaud and vote for the winners. The meeting of the Society of Civil Discourse is formally adjourned but you are invited to stay and hang with all the cool people you've just met — and argued passionately with.