Invitation Only
Kenyon Virtual Residency Workshop
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Wed, Feb 10.2021
Virtual Event
For more than a decade, the social impact company Theater of War Productions has performed ancient plays and other seminal texts in unlikely places—such as hospitals, military bases, homeless shelters, prisons, houses of worship, and public housing developments—to catalyze and frame crucial conversations about issues of public health and social justice. In this workshop session—open to Kenyon students, faculty, staff, and residents of Knox County—Theater of War Productions will present a scene from Bryan Doerries’ new translation of Sophocles’ Oedipus at Colonus in order to frame a discussion about the how the company’s model works and how it might be applied to specific issues that impact people living in Gambier and Mount Vernon. The workshop will begin with the reading—featuring the actors David Zayas (Dexter), Moses Ingram (The Queen's Gambit), Marjolaine Goldsmith (Afterwords), and Frankie Faison (The Wire)—followed by a guided audience discussion, focussing on the identification of potential issues, texts, and collaborators for the development of a new project, which Theater of War productions will present on Zoom in late-March.
Cast Members
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Moses Ingram
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Marjolaine Goldsmith
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Frankie Faison
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David Zayas
Residency Partner
Explore Projects
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Natural DisasterBook of JobThe Book of Job Project presents dramatic readings by acclaimed actors of The Book of Job as a catalyst for powerful, guided conversations about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic upon individuals, families, and communities. The Book of Job is an ancient Hebrew poem that timelessly explores how humans behave when faced with disaster, pestilence and injustice.
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GenocideThe InvestigationTheater of War Productions and the Museum of Jewish Heritage, in partnership with the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene, present readings of scenes Peter Weiss' play The Investigation, a piece of documentary theater adapted from the Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials of 1963-1965. This project centers on guided discussions about mass murder and its lasting impact upon individuals, families, communities, and countries throughout the world. Performed by a diverse cast, including international performers from communities affected by genocide, The Investigation seeks to generate powerful dialogue across cultures and communities about the human capacity for evil, as well as the systems and hierarchies that create the conditions for unthinkable violence.
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Domestic ViolencePatient and Impatient GriseldaTheater of War Productions and Margaret Atwood return to the Toronto International Festival of Authors with an exciting new collaboration exploring power and control, domestic violence, and family dynamics by way of two versions of the same story, one written by Giovanni Boccaccio in 1348 during the bubonic plague and the other by Atwood in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. In Bocaccio’s version, a woman named Griselda remains in an abusive and controlling relationship, showing great patience and forbearance in the face of her husband’s sadism and cruelty. In Atwood’s version, Griselda takes matters in her own hands and, with the help of her sister, turns the tables on her husband.
This free, public event featured a live, dramatic reading of the “Patient Griselda” story from Boccaccio's Decameron by Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network, Fleishman is in Trouble), Maev Beaty (Beau is Afraid, Mouthpiece), and Araya Mengesha (Tiny Pretty Things, Nobody). Then, in response, Margaret Atwood performed “Impatient Grisleda,” a story that is narrated to a group of humans in quarantine by an alien that looks like an octopus. The readings of both texts was followed by immediate responses by community panelists and culminated in a guided audience discussion, facilitated by Bryan Doerries (Artistic Director, Theater of War Productions).
Co-presented by Theater of War Productions and Toronto International Festival of Authors.
This hybrid presentation took place in person at the Toronto Harbourfront Centre Theatre and on Zoom Webinar on September 30, 2023.