The Foundry Theatre invite
Jason Grote
free to use and/or alter for your own purposes
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Hey New York friends. I hope you are great. Please pass this on to
anyone you think might be interested.
I'm doing a project with The Foundry, Green Oasis Community Garden,
and the amazing Maureen Towey on May 14 and 15 (2pm both days) at
Green Oasis, East 8th St between Avenues C & D in Manhattan. It's
free, kid-friendly (but actually, you know, interesting experimental
theater), and part of a fantastic series the Foundry has put together,
pairing artists and social justice groups. Info on the whole series
(which I highly recommend) is here:
http://www.thefoundrytheatre.org/on-stage.html
There will be music and food, and it's an outdoor, ambulatory
installation in the garden, conceived by Maureen, text by me, and
executed by the gardeners themselves. What's not to like?
The official blurb follows:
As Luc Sante tells us, New York is a city that will be replaced by
another city. But what does that leave under our feet? EMERGENCE,
created by Maureen Towey, Jason Grote, and the Green Oasis Community
Garden, explores the palimpsest that is New York -- and explores the
other, utopian New York that is not only dreamt of, but right here.
Part theater event, part pageant, and part installation, EMERGENCE
uses music, dance, theater, and the organic and built environment to
explore the unlikely eden of the 21st-century community garden.
Green Oasis Community Garden was established in 1981 to celebrate the
arts and to provide a safe and peaceful refuge for local residents,
especially children. We’ve kept faith with that original mission ever
since, becoming a beloved landmark and a lovely surprise for visitors
to the area.
Maureen Towey is a Brooklyn based director. She is an associate
artist with Sojourn Theatre, a Princess Grace fellow, a former
Fulbright scholar in South Africa, a Soho Rep Writer-Director Lab
alum, a graduate of Northwestern University, and the creative director
for rock band Arcade Fire.
Jason Grote's plays include 1001, Civilization (All You Can Eat), and
Maria/Stuart. His writing has appeared on Comedy Central, and in
McSweeney’s and The Kenyon Review, and he was the screenwriter for
What We Got: DJ Spooky's Quest For The Commons. He is a member of New
Dramatists.
About the Foundry:
"The Foundry Theatre has quietly been responsible for some of the
most ambitious stage work seen in New York in recent
years." The New York Times
"The Foundry Theatre has excellent vision. Whether ceding the
stage to an early career artist or supporting a mid-career
one, the Foundry has championed remarkable theatremakers who
challenge and complicate what we consider a play."
-The Village Voice
11 OBIE Awards
4 DRAMA DESK Nominations
The Peter Zeisler Award
Maureen Towey
I know I talked through the event quickly on Sunday, so I just wanted to write out the plans. Also, to reiterate who signed up for what and where we could still need some help.
-Event will start with Pam storytelling by the koi pond. That text is being worked on by Pam and Jason.
-Then we'll proceed to have about a dozen different stations where people can visit, some mobile, some stationary.
These include:
1. Teepee building: Vinzenz will lead a group of the kids in building a teepee. We will provide some bamboo, yarn, netting and general art supplies for them to use. We could probably use an adult in this area to keep an eye on things.
2. Garden Station: We'll have a bunch of small plants and shovels so that people can take part in the gardening themselves. Jen and Nasima have offered to help with this. We will provide the plants and the shovels. We could probably use 1 or 2 more people to help with this as there are a few areas around the garden where the planting will take place.
3. Mari on the Camera: Mari will be taking pictures of every visitor that comes into the garden. We'll direct them to find the 15 year old whose lived in the neighborhood her whole life. She'll direct them to take some sort of 'wilderness' portrait amongst the trees (or something fun like that).
4. The naming of the Cats: Maryanne has drafted some great text and is taking pics of all the cats so we can set up a station in the cat area. At the end of the event, we'll pull names out of a hat to see who the winners are.
5. Bees: Susie has offered to run a honey tasting near the bee area. She can only be there on the 15th so we'll need someone there on the 14th.
6. Maps and Photos : We will have a projector that will show a bunch of shots of old photos and maps of the area. This will also include some of the maps that the kids started making with Larry on Sunday. Jan and Moe are helping to get this together.
7. Clotheslines: We'll hang some clotheslines, tenement style. Maybe this is where Asami's banner can go? Maybe also this is a place where people can leave messages or something special can be pinned amongst the clothes on the line? I have a friend in the neighborhood (who is also a potential new member) who will help me install the clotheslines this weekend.
8. New Member Booth: Speaking of new members, it seems like we should have some area where people can get information about joining. But, can we make it playful in some way? Like hang all the old keys from a tree? Or have people sign up on a big sheet of paper filled with kids drawings and old photos? Anyone interested in taking the lead on this?
9. Marta as pocket fairy: We will have Marta dancing around the garden in a dress with many pockets. She will have samples of the many herbs that are grown in the garden and people will have to seek her out to sample an herb. Dena is helping to find her costume.
10. Map of the future: Larry is inquiring with his building (368), if we can draw on the wall with charcoal to make a map of the garden as it might look in the future, incorporating audience suggestions. (If they don't let us draw directly, we can also hang some paper.)
11. Sun prints: We've ordered a bunch of sun print kits and Brigitte will be leading this activity, probably around the table or one of the shaded areas at the back. She can probably use 1 or 2 helpers.
12. Loam and the Balboans will be playing in the gazebo. Talking to Tim about how best to use other musicians. Most likely, music will be acoustic -- though if we can get Felice on the bee platform, then we'll likely need a mic and a small amp.
13. Sculpture Garden: We've got a nice little speaker we can use in the sculpture garden -- maybe get the sculptures to tell stories of the garden in the gardeners voices? Would love to have Jim tell one of these since he can't be with us that weekend. More on this soon.
Framing all this will be placards around the garden with some combination of true and invented history, as well as species information (part scientific, part invented). Jan and Jason are taking the lead on that.
After all this -- the event will culminate in some way. We're still figuring this out but, should have more information tomorrow. Ideally, this would be some singing from Felice on the platform, a cat-naming ceremony with much fanfare, some sort of processional (Ninette had some ideas for this), and a return to our original Fishman story from Pam but, with new information.
And then we will have food! And hopefully, the event will spin out into a more casual garden party. Dena is looking into some garden themed cookies. Corinna is looking into making the syrup from flowers that can be made into a drink (let us know what supplies or wine we should buy for this!). Jen, could you help with the lemon balm idea you suggested? Any other help on food is much appreciated. Little finger-foods and drinks, easy clean-up, is probably best. Bonus points if its related to something grown in the garden. And remember, its both Saturday and Sunday so we need food on both days.
Phew, lots of info but, this is going to be great.
Oh, and one other thing, if we've got a graphic designer (or something like that) amongst the group who wants to make up some beautiful flyers to go around the neighborhood, that would be great! We want to get lots of people out!
*Maureen
Jason Grote
[Attachment(s) from T. Murphy included below]
Pamela Pier
Maureen Towey
Maureen