Press release for June, 2007 show in Portland
Press release for March, 2007 show in Portland
Press release for June, 2007 show in Portland
CONTACT:
Kate Mytron
503.788.5366
info@whatiheard.org
DATE: May 10, 2007
“'What I Heard About Iraq' is devastating, dazzling, almost overwhelming! Theater at its most meaningful, this piece is an antidote to the cowardice of the mainstream media and a gift to the American people. In the capable hands of Mary McDonald-Lewis and Readers Theatre Repertory, Portland audiences will do more than ‘hear about Iraq,’ they’ll be moved to do something about it."
-- Shelley Fabares & Mike Farrell
Portland Wants to Hear More About "What I Heard About Iraq"
On Friday June 8, Readers Theatre Repertory will again stage Simon Levy's What I Heard About Iraq, at the request of Portland's peace community, and with the enthusiastic support of actor/activists Shelley Fabares and Mike Farrell.
The multi-media show uses direct quotes from politicians, military chiefs, soldiers, and Iraqi citizens to tell the human story behind the US-led invasion of Iraq. Playwright Levy says the play is “neither fiction nor speculation; it takes audiences into the war and confronts them with the human drama, the human toll. It is not about history, or about something going on ‘over there.’”
A winner of the prestigious Edinburgh Fringe First Award, RTR staged What I Heard About Iraq on March 19 to commemorate and protest the fourth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, to enthusiastic audiences. "We were immediately approached by peace activists and asked to stage it again," says director Mary McDonald-Lewis, "but this time with an important addition."
A moderated audience talkback, What You Can Do About What You Heard, concludes the performance. The discussion features experts offering political, humanitarian, ecological, and religious responses to the war in Iraq. "We're going to have a civic conversation after the show," says McDonald-Lewis, "and all of us -- the panel, the actors, the audience -- will discuss ways we can take action."
What I Heard About Iraq will be staged at the First Unitarian Church, and features Chrisse Roccaro, Rick Sanders, Jeffrey Siri, Deanna Wells, and Brian Young.
Critics have called What I Heard About Iraq "chilling," "impassioned," and "dynamic," with the New York Times writing, "The play is less a drama than an indictment, an exercise in controlled outrage… the audiences’ anger flashes back through its applause at the end."
The show runs 70 minutes, with a 60 minute audience talkback following. Admission is a sliding scale, with no one turned away.
For info and tickets: info@whatiheard.org.
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WHO: Readers Theatre Repertory
WHAT: What I Heard About Iraq and What You Can Do About What You Heard
WHEN: Friday, June 8, 2007 8.PM
WHERE: The First Unitarian Church, 1211 SW Main Street, Portland 97205
HOW MUCH: Sliding scale $5 - $20, with no one turned away
TICKETS: 503.788.5366, info@whatiheard.org
Readers Theatre Repertory was founded in 2001 to tell "small stories with big ideas at their heart," tales that alternately amuse, confront, assuage and inspire. Using one-act plays as the text, the company focuses on tales dealing with intimate human relationships to explore universal themes. RTR stages its work at Blackfish Gallery in Portland's Pearl District. For more information about RTR, visit www.readerstheatrerep.org.
Press release for March, 2007 show in Portland
Portland Participates in Critically Acclaimed Worldwide Anti-War Reading
On Monday March 19th, Portland will join a multitude of cities participating in a worldwide reading of Simon Levy's What I Heard About Iraq, to commemorate and protest the 4th anniversary of the invasion of that country.
The show uses direct quotes from politicians, military chiefs, soldiers, and Iraqi citizens to tell the human story behind the US-led invasion of Iraq. Playwright Levy says the play is “neither fiction nor speculation; it takes audiences into the war and confronts them with the human drama, the human toll. It is not about history, or about something going on ‘over there.’”
What I Heard About Iraq was read in forty-five cities around the world on March 20, 2006, and won the prestigious Edinburgh Fringe First Award.
Critics have called the show "chilling," "impassioned," and "dynamic," with the New York Times writing, "The play is less a drama than an indictment, an exercise in controlled outrage, and the performers are preaching to the converted. The audiences’ anger flashes back through its applause at the end."
Portland's reading is directed by Mary McDonald-Lewis, and features Chrisse Roccaro, John San Nicolas, Joseph Silver, Deanna Wells, and Patrick Wohlmut.
Space for the production was donated by Blackfish Gallery as a part of its ongoing mission of pacifism and protest against the war in Iraq, and is co-sponsored by Readers Theatre Repertory and Veterans for Peace.
The show plays twice, at 7:00PM and 9.30PM, and runs 70 minutes. Admission is free, with donations accepted.
Space is limited, and reservations are encouraged.
For info and ticket reservations: rutabega@pacifier.com.
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WHO: Veterans for Peace & Readers Theatre Repertory
WHAT: What I Heard About Iraq
WHEN: Monday, March 19, 2007 7.00PM & 9.30PM
WHERE: Blackfish Gallery, 420 NW 9th Av., Portland 97209
HOW MUCH: Free, with donations accepted
RESERVATIONS: rutabega@pacifier.com
Please include name, telephone number and number of tickets desired. They will be held until 10 minutes prior to curtain.
"More and more I feel that the people of ill will have used time much more effectively than have the people of good will. We have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people." -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Letter from a Birmingham Jail, 1963