Artists Repertory Theatre has just announced that they will be partnering with dancer-writer Susan Banyas to premire her new work The Hillsboro Storyduring the 2010 Fertile Ground Festival.
Here’s an excerpt from Banyas’ description of the piece:
The Hillsboro Story opens in Hillsboro, Ohio on July 5, 1954 when the “colored” elementary school went up in flames. The fire sparked a “school fight” led by five African American mothers that became the first test case for the Brown v. Board of Education decision (May, 1954) in the North. Ms. Banyas was in the third grade, and the memory of those times sparked this cultural detective story — a lively mix of voices, images, and narration backed by an evocative sound score.
The work is directed by Rebecca Engle, a 2009 Kennedy Center National Teaching Artist, with choreography and visual design by Gregg Bielemeier, and an original music score by jazz composer, David Ornette Cherry. The stellar cast of performers include LaVerne Green, Paige Jones, Jennifer Lanier, Harold Phillips, and Kenneth Springs, with Susan Banyas.
Sounds absolutely FASCINATING.
Want to get an early sneak peek? They will be doing a workshop reading of the piece on August 9th at 7:30 pm at Artists Repertory Theatre (1515 SW Morrison). The August performance will also serve as a fundraiser, by donation ($2-$2000) to raise money for the full production in January, a co-production of SO&SO&SO&SO Inc. & Artists Repertory Theatre.
Art Scatter, the Portland Arts and Culture blog run by former Oregonian arts editors Bob Hicks and Barry Johnson, posted a beautiful and moving review of Artists Rep’s Fertile Ground entry, The Hillsboro Story (pictured, left). Here’s a quote from that review:
Fertile Ground Festival 