On March 29 several friends came out to The Irish Rogue at 44th St. and 9th Ave in Manahattan, to share a drink, hear some tunes and show their support at the Party for Artisan. Over $200 was raised to help support our NYC premiere of “Aesop & Icarus.” Check out some pictures from the event!
Photos courtesy of our favorite photographer…Shawn McGinnis, New York/New Jersey Wedding and Event Photographer.
Scott Effman and Jason Smukler played a sweet set for everyone… Click on their names above and follow the links to hear their sounds.
Artisan Producing Director, Jennifer Wills, gets ready to toast the fans.
Congrats to Melinda Faust and the other raffle winners! They won tickets to Off-Broadway shows at New World Stages, The York Theatre Company and of course, to Aesop & Icarus.
If you missed out in March, don’t worry…we’re hoping to do another party for Artisan in late April. Stay tuned for more details!
We are thrilled to announce, after a successful December run in Chicago, Aesop & Icarus was accepted into the Manhattan Repertory Theatre’s NY Amazing Play Festival 2009!
A short festival showcasing new plays from different companies and artists around the country, Aesop & Icarus will have three performances…
May 6th, 7th & 8th at 9:00PM.
Save the date! More details to come soon!
We are living in a wonderful time! A time when change is popularly recognized as GOOD! Or at least accepted as necessary. May our theatre pounch upon this opportunity to invigorate audiences who are purchasing responsibility for breakfast. May we encourage the blossoming imaginations of the people through work that understands creativity, collaboration and compassion. Let us all work together, painters, dancers, writers, actors, musicians and all artists alike, to develop work that inspires audiences to pursue and open mind and open heart with courage and conviction.
“Perhaps the sad and empty language that today’s flabby humanity pours forth, will, in all its horror, in all its boundless absurdity, re-echo in the heart of a solitary man who is awake, and then perhaps that man, suddenly realizing that he does not understand, will begin to understand.”
– Arthur Adamov
For when the heart goes before, like a lamp, and illumines the pathway, many things are made clear, that else like hidden in darkness.
Let me essay, O Muse! to follow the wanderer’s footsteps: — Not through each devious path, each changeful year of existence, But as a traveller follows a streamlet’s course through the valley: Far from its margins at times, and seeing the gleam of its water here and there, in some open space, and at intervals only; Then drawing nearer its banks, through sylvan glooms that conceal it, Though he behold it not, he can hear its continuous murmur; Happy, at length, if he find the spot where it reaches an outlet.
Feeling is deep and still; and the word that floats on the surface is as the tossing buoy; that betrays where the anchor is hidden. Therefore trust to thy heart, and to what the world calls illusions.
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “Evangeline”
“Thick are the wits of the man who says that his wagon’s already finished; the fool doesn’t know there are hundreds of planks in a wagon. Make it your business to have these planks in your house for the future.”
- Hesiod
Artists like questions. They intrigue us. Actors often search for the mystery of a character, and when they touch upon it, they handle it with great care, cautious not to unravel it too quickly, holding their breath as they penetrate the darkness, tingling with excitement, not knowing what they will find. For the actor, its not about the answer, its about the question. For essentially, it is what we are: question-askers. As artists, we sympathize, we empathize, we dare not moralize, but we compulsively synthesize the world around us, and if we’re very quiet, we can behold its naked form. A mirror is broken. The curtain opens. We breathe it in and smile. And then the questions begin.
How much Aesop and Icarus has taught me! Proverbs like “How often do we provide our enemies the means of our own destruction.” “Kindness effects more than severity.” “Union gives strength.” Directing technique like “Don’t speak just yet, let the actress struggle for a day, maybe she’ll find something more interesting than what you would have said.” Imagination exercise that helped us find eagle monsters, how an Old Man flies, the sound of clouds, the attitude of the sun. Professional insight: “Artists come from another planet. They will always be late. Plan accordingly.” Personal insight: “Befriend your actors.” “Do with love.” Yet so much more to be learned. What will we discover on our next journey into the dark forest?
Artisan thanks everyone who came out to the reading of Jacob Juntunen’s new play Under America at the Prop Thtr on September 5th. We were thrilled to see the theatre filled to capacity! Check out pictures below of the event and a few words from director, Sean Kelly on the experience…
More pics coming soon!
Under America was a truly rewarding experience. The cast embraced the text and each other, bonding almost immediately and developing a great give-and-take ensemble in a matter of days. Our rehearsal room was always full of activity, conversation and friendship, all stimulated by Jacob Juntunen’s wonderful script. I said often to the actors “Isn’t it wonderful when a play can teach you something?” From the abc’s of everyday prison life (”take one foot out of your pants before you crap, that way you can fight back”) to staggering stats and facts about prison labor and its far reaching economic and political ramifications, this play educated us to a terrible injustice lurking on the fringe of our society. Jacob smartly quoted Dostoyevsky in the play’s foreword “The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.” But far from merely politics and figures, the play painted poignant characters, each struggling with important and conflicting responsibilities in their lives. My daughter vs. my political party. My brother vs. my newborn son. My girlfriend vs. my happiness. Under America touched us all personally and politically. It educated and entertained. It moved and motivated. I am thrilled to have been a part and to have been able to watch it shrink (in pages) but grow in depth, wit and truth.
-Sean Kelly, Director
Join us for our first full-length premiere…
Aesop and Icarus uses cross-media elements to weave classic myths into an original story about Truth, Self and Community.
Director/Adapter: Sean Kelly
Cast: Brandon Cloyd, Nathaniel Niemi, Allison Snow, Claire Tuft and Zev Valancy
In collaboration with The UIC Choirs under the direction of Michael Anderson and Andrew Lewis
Cast: Brandon Cloyd, Nathaniel Niemi, Allison Snow, Claire Tuft and Zev Valancy
In collaboration with The UIC Choirs under the direction of Michael Anderson and Andrew Lewis
Produced by The Artisan Theatre Project
Jennifer M. Wills - Producing Director
Sean Kelly – Artistic Director
December 5th and 6th at 7:30 pm and December 7th at 2:15 pm.
UIC Theatre
University of Illinois at Chicago, EPASW Building
1040 W. Harrison St.
Chicago, IL 60607
Tickets:
Student $5.00
General Admission $10.00
Tickets are available here or at the door.
Starting November 1, 2008 tickets to all Artisan Project’s can be purchased through TicketLeap!
Just click here to purchase your tickets now!
