The AntiGravity Theatre Project presents Yermedea RAW by Eri
k Ehn\, a hybrid
\npuppet and theatre performance braiding the tragic
experiences of Euripides’ Medea and Lorca’s
\nYerma into a single na
rrative. The AntiGravity Theatre Project will produce the three-venue tour
that
\nwill Explore\, Explode\, & EXPOSE our genocides.
EXPL
ORE: Set in Central America\, the play draws inspiration from the horrors
of the civil war in El
\nSalvador. The decade-long armed conflict bet
ween the military-led government (backed by the United
\nStates) and
the FMLN (a coalition of left-wing guerrilla groups) left the country and
its indigenous
\npopulation in ruins. Centuries of exploitation have
depleted the region of its richest resources\,
\nincluding the mental
\, spiritual\, and psychological life of its people.
EXPLODE: Loos
ely based on the two literary figures Yerma and Medea\, one of whom can’t
have
\nchildren and the other of whom is driven to kill her own\, the
audience\, along with the Nurse and the
\nBus Driver\, are led throu
gh a labyrinth of repeating events in what appears to be a waking dream.\nYermedea RAW explores the disturbing social and psychological effect
on life lived in the midst of
\ngenocide\, incorporating the ephemer
al materials of theatre – sound\, light\, space\, time\, movement\,
\ngesture\, and image – to convey that which cannot be expressed otherwise
. Playwright Erik Ehn
\nexplains that\, “We believe the people have a
strong\, strong voice\, but people aren’t listening\; we don’t
\nwan
t to speak for them\, we want to stand with them.”
EXPOSE: Directo
r Kym Moore and acclaimed Spanish puppet theatre artist Alejandra Prieto j
oin
\nforces to bring Erik Ehn’s Yermedea to life in RAW form. The pl
ay will tour three venues starting in
\nOctober with performances at
the 95 Empire Black Box Theater in Providence from October 11 th-14th\,
\nthe Factory Theatre in Boston from October 27th-28th\, and La Mama Ex
perimental Theatre Club in New
\nYork City on November 11th and 17th
as part of Ehn’s commemorative play-cycle Soulographie: Our
\nGenocid
es.
In addition to touring\, Yermedea RAW will teach free workshop
s in Providence Public Schools\,
\ncommunity organizations and 95 Emp
ire’s School@95. Using applied theatre to actively engage
\nparticipa
nts in the history of genocide around the world\, Yermedea’s education out
reach efforts will
\nengage communities that might not otherwise atte
nd live theatre performances. The AntiGravity
\nTheatre Project seeks
to move its work beyond the stage and into direct dialogue with the publi
c.
Yermedea RAW: explore\, Explode\, & EXPOSE our genocides.
\nThe AntiGravity Theatre Project is a Providence-based theatre cooperati
ve dedicated to multi-
\ndimensional\, dramaturgically alert\, highly
visual performance free from sociopolitical confines and the
\nforce
of gravity. Founded by Kym Moore and Michael Williams\, the collective se
eks to produce and
\nsupport performance that traverses boundaries an
d thumps with a beating heart.
\nhttp://theantig
ravityproject.wordpress.com