Posts Tagged ‘election’

The Final Phase

As many of you likely already know, today we officially reached the final phase of the Plays for Presidents Festival 2012: 44 Films for 44 Presidents!

The film was completed by co-author Karen Weinberg and her company, Ten Trees Productions, and is a testament to the incredible creativity, work, and commitment put forth by the many 2012 Festival participants. You can view the video directly through vimeo: http://vimeo.com/52575100 or you can access it through our website at http://playsforpresidents.com/for-fans/#thevideoproject.

(more…)

Kelly Bremner Talks About What Matters Most at Emory & Henry College

Posted on: by genevra 1 Comment

This week I had a chance to talk to Dr. Kelly Bremner from Emory & Henry College about their involvement in the 2012 Plays for Presidents Festival. I was immediately struck by two things: 1) She is incredibly dedicated to her students and has definitely woven this production of 44 Plays for 44 Presidents into her educational vision; and 2) she’s got a very clear sense of purpose and focus when it comes to art, voting, and college-aged citizens.

GGB: You said that the concept of a Presidential debate had inspired the set design. Can you tell me a bit more about that?

Emory & Henry cast at Dress Rehearsal

KB: It happened almost out of necessity. We have a charming black box theatre here was is being renovated, so we unexpectedly got the news this summer that our first production of the year would need to be in College’s auditorium. Normally the word “auditorium” evokes images of bad high school assemblies, but we decided to use that vibe to our advantage.

Our designer, Professor Daniel Wheeler, used theatrical flats to build artificial wings onto the performance space, and went with two projection screens one on each side. The back of the theatre is lined with pillars that simultaneously seem to evoke the front of the White House, and the row of podiums that get set up for a presidential debate. The presidential seal is hung up center. We couldn’t put it on the floor because the stage is too high for anyone to see it. This makes for some beautiful moments where the actor playing the president is framed by the seal when they stand in front of it. To fight the aesthetic distance of the proscenium stage, we built a 6 ft. apron off of the stage, which keeps my actors nice and close to the audience. My one regret, I will miss the actual presidential debate because I will be in my final dress rehearsal.

(more…)

The Neo-Futurists prep to unveil the Electoral College Prep Academy

Posted on: by genevra 1 Comment

 

The cast of the upcoming 44 Plays @ The Neo-Futurists

As election-season tension mounts and we march ever-closer to November 6, 2012… 44 Plays for 44 Presidents productions across the country are coming up with increasingly creative ways to contribute to the Festival. This week, I spoke with Bilal Dardai, Tif Harrison, and Dan Broberg of The Neo-Futurists to discuss their intentions to create an audience-interactive installation: The Electoral College Prep Academy.

I think you’re the first company we’ve been able to highlight for an interactive installation! Give me a rundown of the Electoral College Prep Academy.

Bilal: The ECPA was the invention of [Managing Director] Dan McArdle, after the initial idea of a basketball court in honor of Barack. At our initial brainstorming session, this idea led us to the idea of a court in a school gymnasium (as opposed to a street court or YMCA court), and that led us to the idea of other fun elements such as the trophy case and images of Obama and other presidents as “illustrious athletes” who had passed through the “Academy.”

(more…)

The Time Is Now: We Want to Hear from You

Hopefully, you’ve had a chance to catch some of the great press we’ve received this week. American Theatre Magazine and Salon.com both did stories… and we’re pushing hard to keep the spotlight focused on our collective efforts.

This goal is two-fold: 1) We want to get more attention for the Festival in general–because we firmly believe in the impact the experience can have on the audience. We are dedicated to voter engagement, critical reflection and discourse, and the power of theatre to incite action and change. 2) We want everyone to know what you – each individual production or entity, each band of artists - are doing because there is great strength and infinite variety in who you are, what you do, and why you do it. Every story is important… and we’re hoping to find ways to share every single one of them through our various efforts and channels.

(more…)

Branding the Presidents

Meg Jannott decided to do 44 Brands for 44 Presidents as a project for herself, and in the zeitgeist of the election she’s gotten a lot of attention. The Festival decided to endorse her work with our own seal of approval. 

—–

Jeff Mosser: What inspired you?

 

Meg Jannott: I really just wanted to do something that wasn’t school driven or client driven. Something I could put some of my free time into which was also design. And I wanted something that still had parameters and guidelines around it. I couldn’t do a daily regimen, but something that comes in numbers — like a series. Then I just started brainstorming and came up with the presidents.

(more…)

Register Thyself

This week Rock the Vote shared important information about voter registration deadlines. Basically, the window for specific types of registration is closing in some states… so it’s important to consider the following:

Are you registered? (Are you sure?!)
Are you voting with an absentee ballot?
Have you recently changed your name, address, or party affiliation? 

Every state’s rules and regs are different, which means anyone planning to vote has got to track down the correct information for his or her area of the country. Luckily, the United States Election Assistance Commission (EAC) is ready to help. Check out their fun, interactive map and learn not only what you need to know to vote, but also how to get involved at the polls.

And, of course, Rock the Vote has oodles of info as well. Check our their FAQs and marvel at the plethora of good info.

In the meantime, we want to share with you that we’re working on a top secret, voter-themed project we’ll be revealing soon—because the next step is getting all of you to participate. Stay tuned for more details… and get thee registered, my friends!

Sarah R. Rowan Wants to Buy Obama a Snack

Posted on: by genevra 1 Comment

Sarah R. Rowan

Maybe I’m a dork for feeling this way, but I always love to hear why people are invested in projects as artists and collaborators. What’s their hook? What’s the draw? What’s the dream? It’s in my nature to be curious about such things, but for the Plays for Presidents Festival 2012, I have an additional motive. As a co-author of 44 Plays for 44 Presidents (and the wife of the play and festival creator, Andy Bayiates), it’s sort of obvious why I might be invested and not really a surprise to know I’m heavily involved.

But we’ve got this amazing team of people who have jumped on board with genuine enthusiasm—and who are sharing their time, talents, and energy in truly significant ways. I’m super interested in their “why,” and I think it’s even more important.

This week, I interviewed the Plays for Presidents Lead Press Director, Sarah R. Rowan, to find out what made her decide to jump into our Festival wagon.

(more…)

Why I’m In It: Personal Purpose and Festival Motivations

Posted on: by genevra 1 Comment

Our daughter, Ari, with "Abe"

Along with a series of posts highlighting the original contributions and community efforts of producers involved in the Festival this year, I had intended to slowly work my way through the Plays for Presidents staff to focus a bit on the individual “why” that drives us to commit our time and energy to this project.

The opportunity to focus on my personal motivation came this week when my daughter brought home a book of poems she had written in class. I had forgotten how her teacher had mentioned the distinctive subject matter Ari had chosen, or how one of her poems stood out so much that all the kindergarten teachers had sort of marveled and laughed over it later that week.

As I read through her packet of poems, many of which focused on our dog Simon (When I wake up/Simon/I see you at my door/I love you/Simon/Good Simon), I realized how much this Festival and the focus of what Andy and I believe 44 Plays… is capable of as a piece of art has become woven into our family life as well.

I’ve written about this a bit before, but I never really thought twice about the Presidents or this country’s political history until being asked to help write 43 Plays… back in 2001. And I don’t think I had a full sense of how the play could become such a powerful vehicle until I really committed to supporting Andy’s idea for this Festival back in 2011.

(more…)

Forward Theater Co. Ready to Get Madison, WI Talking Politics

Gwen Rice of Forward Theater Co.

I recently reached out to Festival producers who will be mounting their “44P” shows before October to learn more about any side projects, community involvement, or creative undertakings they’ll be tying to their production. I mean – that’s what, at its heart, this Festival is all about: Conversation. Creativity. Action. (All in the name of history and political engagement!)

Gwen Rice, Director of Communications at Forward Theater Co., was ready with an answer. Several in fact. Madison, WI-based Forward Theater Co. already has multiple projects in mind, including pre-show talks before Thursday and Sunday shows to discuss historical background, source materials, and production elements; post-show talkbacks after every show with Artistic Director, Jennifer Uphoff Gray; a presidential portrait gallery created by local artists – to run in tandem in remount with an earlier exhibition of first ladies; educational outreach to get students in to see the show; and a possible addition of a “red night” and a “blue night” wherein audiences and organizations can come out in support of their personal political affiliation.

The amazing part? This sort of additional programming is nothing new. I just had to learn more.

(more…)

Andy Bayiates Reveals the Inspiration Behind the Festival

Andy Bayiates and our daughter, Ari, outside Abe Lincoln's Springfield home

This week I decided to interview my hubby, Festival Co-Chair, 44 Plays for 44 Presidents Founding Father, co-author, and history nerd. Here’s what he had to say about why this Festival is so important to him.

What gave you the idea to take something like this on?

It was after I saw the Actors’ Theatre of Louisville production in 2008, and the audience reaction to the alternate ending they had us write… there were all these disenfranchised, theatre-going Kentucky Democrats, vehemently screaming for the Obama play at the end. They were just so into that—and the play in general. I was moved by the effect the play could have during an election year. It seemed to make people feel the opposite of how they usually feel when bombarded by negative advertising and insipid media coverage: They were excited about history being made. And I thought, “Wouldn’t it be great if we could spread this feeling all over the country during an election year?”

(more…)