The Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College announces its Fall 2011 Season at 899 Tenth Avenue, between 58th and 59th Streets, NYC. Tickets are available at www.ticketcentral.com or by phone at 212-279-4200.
Beginning in 2008, the Theater created the unique series, ART OF JUSTICE, which focuses on how the artistic imagination can shed light on the many perceptions of justice in society. ART OF JUSTICE focuses on advocacy for marginalized communities through music, drama, dance and fine art. JUST-US Dialogues, a supplemental series, will be formally introduced this fall. Through intimate discussions, lectures and post-show dialogues with artists and experts, audiences will gain legible context and have the opportunity to exchange critical thinking and share perspectives. Provocative and engaging performances that explore topics ranging from the post-9/11 environment politically and culturally in the United States and abroad, immigration and race, religious freedoms and separation of church and state are included in this season’s ART OF JUSTICE series.
The Gerald W. Lynch Theater’s Fall 2011 Season includes:
* The 9/11 Performance Project
* unFRAMED
* Soul Steps
* Dark Sisters (World Premiere)
The 9/11 Performance Project
Art of Justice Series
Co-Curated with The Department of Communication and Theatre Arts at John Jay College
Friday, September 9 – Sunday, September 11, 2011
The 9/11 Performance Project is a set of three very different yet complementary plays: The Domestic Crusaders written by Wajahat Ali, Another Life written by Karen Malpede, and The Demolition of the Eiffel Tower written by Jeton Neziraj. The Project is a vehicle for cultural diplomacy, advocates reform of the post-September 11th political atmosphere and promotes a return to critical thinking, adherence to the rule of law, respect of civil liberties and upholding human rights in the United States and abroad. The goal of the performances and public dialogue is to create an experience that will engage the public and help society enact more progressive thinking and action in the search for understanding current U.S. and world policies, and their consequences, and furthering the understanding of Islam as it is lived today. A JUST-US Dialogue will follow most performances. A series of free panel discussions will round out the 9/11 Performance Project.
Demolition of the Eiffel Tower
Written by Jeton Neziraj (Kosovo), Directed by Kushtrim Bekteshi (Macedonia), Produced by International Theatre Festival MESS, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Executive Producer: Nihad Kresevljaković
Starring Amar Selimovic, Alban Ukaj, Adi Hrustemovic, Irma Alimanovic, Alma Terzic
Friday, September 9, 2011 at 7:30pm, followed by a JUST-US Dialogue
Saturday, September 10, 2011 at 12:00pm
A tragicomedy, Demolition of the Eiffel Tower addresses one of the modern world’s most significant problems – terrorism arising as a consequence of global political and religious conflicts. Above all, the play highlights misunderstandings, stereotypes, and prejudices created as a consequence of secular politics clashing with religious observations in Paris. For more information about the playwright, visit www.jetonneziraj.com. For more information on MESS Festival, visit www.mess.ba.
Tickets $20 ($10 students)
The Domestic Crusaders
Written by Wajahat Ali, Directed by Carla Blank
Saturday, September 10, 2011 at 4pm;
Sunday, September 11, 2011 at 5pm, followed by a JUST-US Dialogue Moderated Panel
An award winning two act play written by a Muslim-American, The Domestic Crusaders, the first ever published by McSweeney’s,is an authentic, revelatory, and no-holds barred depiction of a day in the life of a contemporary Pakistani-American Muslim family. For more information about the playwright and the company, visit www.domesticcrusaders.com.
Tickets $20 ($10 students)
Another Life
Written and Directed by Karen Malpede (author/director of Prophecy, editor: Acts of War)
Starring George Bartenieff with Eunice Wong, Ariel Sharif, Omar Koury, Christen Clifford, Dorien Makhloghi
Co-Produced with Theater Three Collaborative
Saturday, September 10, 2011 at 8pm, followed by a JUST-US Dialogue with special guest
Sunday, September 11, 2011 at 1:30pm
A surreal, real, and satiric story of a mogul and his daughter locked in a titanic struggle, Another Life offers a whirl-wind trip through the past ten years. Greed, torture, war-lust and sexual enslavement vie with a subtle but growing resistance that leads to brave acts of caring and whistle-blowing. Another Life employs inventive language and memorable characters to bring to light questions of complicity and conscience in civil society. For more information, visit www.theaterthreecollaborative.org.
Tickets $20 ($10 students)
FREE Panel Discussions
Sponsored in collaboration with the:
Center on Terrorism, John Jay College
Together with 9/11: Families for Peaceful Tomorrows
York College, CUNY, and the Christian Regenhard Center for Emergency Response Studies
Thursday, September 8 – Sunday, September 11, 2011
Nothing can adequately honor the pain of 9/11 survivors and the families of those who died in the disaster. It was too large an event, one that remains simultaneously ever-present and elusive. At John Jay College, which lost 68 alumni that day, we feel a special connection to the significance of 9/11 and wish to probe some of its enduring meanings on the cusp of this tenth anniversary year. In three panels and some smaller breakout sessions, these panels will explore 9/11 in cultural and historical memory.
The Lawyers Panel
Thursday, September 8 at 5pm in the Gerald W. Lynch Theater lobby
This panel of lawyers who represent Guantanamo and other detainees and work to defend civil liberties at home is bound to create an incredible dialogue about some of the most hotly debated and contested issues surrounding the ongoing detainment of terrorism “suspects” and the line between interrogation and torture. Panelists: Jonathan Hafetz, Seton Hall and Rutgers Universities; Martha Rayner, Fordham Law, currently representing a Guantanamo detainee; Gita Gutierrez, the Center on Constitutional Rights; Alex Abdo, ACLU’s National Security Project; chaired by Kathleen Chalfant, award-winning actress of stage and screen and advocate of social justice.
Panel: The Cultural
Friday, September 9 at 11am in Room 630, Haaren Hall, John Jay College
The vast scale of 9/11 left its enduring mark on our culture. There is nothing that has been untouched, from novels and poetry, to film, art, theater, photography, and television, indeed all aspects of the way we try and creatively imagine terrorism, survival and resilience. This panel of writers and scholars will address these interrelated issues and invite reflection on the deeper meanings of culture and 9/11. Panelists: Amy Waldman, author of The Submission: A Novel (FSG, August, 2011); Karen Malpede, author of Acts of War: Iraq and Afghanistan in Seven Plays (2011); Susie Linfield, Professor of Journalism at NYU and author of The Cruel Radiance: Photography and Political Violence (University of Chicago Press, 2010); Jeton Neziraj, Director of the National Theater of Kosovo; chaired by Michael Flynn, Associate Professor of Psychology, York College, CUNY and Associate Director, Center on Terrorism, John Jay College.
Panel: The Historical
Friday, September 10 at 4:30pm in Room 630, Haaren Hall, John Jay College
Mourning a loss, whether personal or collective, finds its most poignant moment of commemoration after a year. After that the dates tend to blur and anniversaries mean different things to different people. But with the tenth anniversary of 9/11, memories will fade, which is not to say forgotten but memorialized in different ways. The context changes, an idea that will be explored from several perspectives in this panel of scholars who will examine the disaster in historical perspective as we look forward, with some trepidation, to the future. Panelists: Robert Jay Lifton, author of Witness to a Violent Century (The Free Press, 2011); Karen Joy Greenberg, author of The Least Worst Place: Guantanamo’s First 100 Days (2010); Moustafa Bayoumi, author of How Does it Feel to be a Problem: Being Young and Arab in America; Louis Bickford, Professor of Public Administration, NYU Wagner; chaired by Peter Romaniuk, Associate Professor of Government and Associate Director of the Center on Terrorism, John Jay College.
Panel: The Muslim American post 9/11 experience
Sunday, September 11 at 7:30pm, immediately following 5pm performance of The Domestic Crusaders, Gerald W. Lynch Theater, Haaren Hall, John Jay College
This panel will solicit audience responses to the play and will specifically include issues pertaining to the Muslim American experience post 9/11. Panelists: Wajahat Ali, playwright of The Domestic Crusaders and San Francisco-based attorney; Carla Blank, director of The Domestic Crusaders; Ishmael Reed, American poet, essayist, and novelist. A prominent African-American literary figure, Reed is known for his satirical works challenging American political culture, and highlighting political and cultural oppression.
unFRAMED: A Man in Progress
Written and Performed by Iyaba Ibo Mandingo, Directed by Brent Buell Art of Justice Series, in collaboration with Double Play Connections and Doing Life Productions, Jane Dubin, Executive Producer
Thursday, September 22 – Saturday, September 24, 2011
Thursday, September 22, 2011 at 1:30pm; Friday, September 23, 2011 at 7:30pm; Saturday, September 24, 2011 at 7:30pm
All shows will be followed by a JUST-US Dialogue The nation misread him; the prison enraged him; his art expressed him, his woman believed him; his poetry saved him – winner of the 2011 Award for Excellence in Theatre from the DC Black Theatre Festival, unFRAMED is the poetic tale of life as an immigrant in America — a journey from boyhood in Antigua to manhood in America. Using canvas, paint, poetry, prose and song, playwright Iyaba Ibo Mandingo tells us a story of his transformation – from “Mommy Me No Wanna Go Merrica”- a prophetic piece that hints at the many trials he will face in a new land – to his powerful political poetry that would lead to his arrest and attempted deportation in post 9/11 America. Throughout the play Iyaba shares his rage, his determination, and his hope while he paints his self-portrait. Presented in conjunction with an exhibit of his original artwork – you are invited into the studio of the artist where painting and poetry create unframed art. For more information, visit www.unFRAMEDthePlay.com.
Tickets $20 ($10 students)
Soul Steps
Thursday, October 20, 2011 at 7:30pm, followed by a JUST-US Dialogue
Soul Steps brings the African American art form of stepping to the stage in a high-energy performance where Afro-urban rhythms and personal narratives relay personal stories and explore a cultural legacy. For more information about the company, visit www.soulsteps.com.
Tickets $20 ($10 students)
Dark Sisters (World Premiere)
Art of Justice Series
A co-commission and co-production of Gotham Chamber Opera, Music-Theatre Group, and the Opera Company of Philadelphia
Wednesday, November 9 – Saturday, November 19, 2011
Wednesday, November 9, 2011 at 7:30pm (Gala Performance); Friday, November 11, 2011 at 8pm; Saturday, November 12, 2011 at 8pm; Tuesday, November 15, 2011 at 8pm; Thursday, November 17, 2011 at 8pm; Saturday, November 19, 2011 at 8pm
Music by Nico Muhly, Libretto by Stephen Karam, Conducted by Neal Goren, Directed by Rebecca Taichman, Set and Video Design by Leo Warner and Mark Grimmer (for 59 Productions)
In a world where personal identity is forbidden, Dark Sisters follows one woman’s dangerous attempt to escape her life as a member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS), a polygamous sect based in the Southwestern United States. Dark Sisters puts the women of the patriarchal FLDS sect front and center. The narrative draws inspiration from the flurry of media attention surrounding the two most famous raids on FLDS compounds (the 1953 raid at Short Creek, AZ, and the 2008 raid at the Yearning For Zion Ranch in Eldorado, TX) as well as from the stories of the more than 80 wives of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. For more information, visit www.darksistersopera.org.
Tickets $30-125
Since opening its doors in 1988, the Gerald W. Lynch Theater has been an invaluable cultural resource for John Jay College and the larger New York City community. Under the new direction of Executive Director Shannon R. Mayers, the Theater is dedicated to the creation and presentation of performing arts programming of all disciplines. Its signature series, The Art of Justice, is the only performance series in New York that presents a diverse exploration of the role performing arts have played in the pursuit of social, transitional and criminal justice. The Theater has collaborated with such noted companies as Epic Theatre Ensemble, Gotham Chamber Opera, and has also hosted prestigious events for Lincoln Center Festival, Great Performances, Juilliard, Alvin Ailey and numerous television specials for HBO and Comedy Central.
About John Jay College of Criminal Justice: An international leader in educating for justice, John Jay College of Criminal Justice of The City University of New York offers a rich liberal arts and professional studies curriculum to upwards of 14,000 undergraduate and graduate students from more than 135 nations. In teaching, scholarship and research, the College approaches justice as an applied art and science in service to society and as an ongoing conversation about fundamental human desires for fairness, equality and the rule of law. For more information, visit www.jjay.cuny.edu.
For more information, visit www.jjay.cuny.edu/theater.
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