In regards to the idea that the US is a Christian nation, or that its founders intended it to be based on Christian ideas:
“In god we trust” was on coins in 1864 and added to paper currency in 1956. It comes from a line in the Star Spangled banner. The 1864 inclusion came out of a petition to include a reference to god in 1861, in part to imply that God was on the Union’s side during the Civil War. It actually was removed from coins in 1883 and reintroduced, replacing the US motto of E Pluribus Enum (One of Many) because of the cold war and to distinguish the US from communist nations where religion was actively forbidden.
There actually isn’t much historical fact about the religious intent of the founding fathers. The Declaration of Independence, which is not a legal document, refers to a Creator, Nature’s God and Divine Providence without explicitly referring to an specific deity. Some argue that Jefferson’s early drafts of the Declaration actually included no talk of a creator, but he was pressured to include the vague notion contained within.
The Constitution doesn’t mention God, and all the Amendments say is “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”. In the treaty of Tripoli, unanimously ratified in 1797 by a government still very much tied to the founding fathers, you’ll find the text “As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion”.
In regards to the idea that Marriage equality will redefine society:
To the original point then about redefining society. The USA was established and has evolved through it’s laws and amendments to its Constitution as a redefinition of society. At our formation, we were an experiment in politics, redefining the relationship of the government to the people it governs based on equality and equity. At the time, Monarchies were the norm, with a strong nearly absolute head of state. So I would argue, if any country should be redefining a part of society, that the US has most history in this department.
In regards to the idea that there is no evolutionary basis for homosexuality or that homosexuality is a mutation which is bad for the human species:
To speak to the darwinian argument for a the heterosexual norm in which homosexuality is a mutation or deviation, that over simplifies things. Perhaps if we were isolated, non-social animals which only came together for procreation, this would be a logical argument, but we’re not. Our evolutionary success is not just due to our ability to make babies with each other. If it were, we’d likely be a very unsuccessful species because of the long gestational period in which child carrying females are very vulnerable for long periods of time. That developmental stage is important to the evolution of our self-aware consciousness and intelligence and is very much a result of our organization into massive cooperative social structures. So as long as humans show no since of population decline, which we don’t (quite to the contrary), there isn’t evolutionary support for heterosexual procreation uniformly across the entire species. There are other social species in which there are large numbers of asexual members from ants to naked mole rats. There is evidence of homosexuality in other social species as well and in some cases this is recognized as rising out of the need to successful rear offspring by multi-member family/social units. So if anything, to me, the darwinian argument should be that homosexuality is good for the species to properly rear and care for children who would only have one parent otherwise.
So as an update to my previous post, here are images of the labeling of my package.
The actual shipping label CLEARLY notes a phone number, which you could call, and ask, where is this, now that i’m at the address. So did UPS try to get this to me? I can’t say I believe they did.
On the flip side is the import documentation, which has the address’ business name TWICE. So the driver not only DID NOT call the number on the front, they didn’t turn it over, where the piece of information they said was preventing them from delivering was marked TWICE.
And what adds insult to this, is that they had NO PROBLEM AT ALL Making the same deliver 3 months ago.
I have hypothyroidism which has been treated with hormone replacement since my teens. The prescription has been adjusted over the years, but what my doctor and I found to be most effective was a drug from Forest pharmaceutical called Thyrolar, which combines synthetic T4 and T3. It went out of production once for reformulation early last decade, but came back. It was tricky finding it, and sometimes required changing/combining strengths. And then, in 2009, shortages came back and it has not come back… with no explanation from Forest, just that they’ve been reformulating.
This is bad enough. To be able to actually get my medication, I have to have it compounded. Which is expensive, and not covered by insurance. But, it’s necessary and there is no time when I won’t need it, so we suck it up. My wife and I found a great compounding pharmacy in Muerietta, CA which shipped to me for half as much as the local pharmacies. We also opted in to a Health Savings Account on our insurance, which we can draw on to save a little money on this prescription. This has now worked for a few years, even with moving from the Los Angeles area to Houston for a while. It still was the best option.
But, while this is already a relatively frustrating set-up for a necessity, thanks to a seemingly arbitrary decision from a pharma company, it’s now escalated into a perfect storm with some truly awful customer service from UPS.
I moved to Toronto for a job in September. My perscription was just running out as we drove across north america so I called the pharmacy to see if they could actually ship to my new Canadian address. This is counter intuitive, typically people are trying to ship prescription medication FROM Canada. They could, I gave them my new address, the prescription arrived via UPS about a week later with 3 months of my compounded thyrolar.
Fast forward to the end of November, the 21st, I call the refill line, forgetting that it’s american thanksgiving this week (Canada’s is in October). They call me on Monday (the 26th) confirming the address (in Toronto there is sometimes confusion because of amalgamation where parts of the city recently wee separate areas with different names so my office appears as north York in UPS’ database). I confirm the details and wait the estimated shipping time, seeing that it has been picked up and is on it’s way as of the 28th at 7pm.
Hypothetically, UPS says the package should get to Toronto on the 5th. But after it hasn’t, I check the tracking information on the 6th and see: The commercial invoice is missing and is required for export. This message was apparently posted on the 28th at 10:35pm. So I called the pharmacy, who says that UPS just called them yesterday and they immediately faxed over the export form and that they give me the number of the local UPS depot if I want to check in with them when it will leave their warehouse. They say they haven’t received the fax yet, but they’re looking for it and the package could leave tomorrow.
That’s right, even though they took it on the 28th, they just thought they’d sit on it for a week, then inform the shipper some paperwork was missing and then wait to see whenever it might come in, now 10 days later. And eventually it does get sent out… on the 10th (the next Monday) at the end of the day 5:35pm.
So it’s finally on it’s journey, 12 BUSINESS days after it was called in. Well, guess what, I ran out of this medication on the 7th. I had tried to order the refill well in advance. When I was in the states it took a couple days to get to me in Houston, and when I was in LA, it would arrive the next day or the following depending on the pick-up. So I thought, based on UPS’ information on their website, that 2 weeks would be plenty of time, and that even, looking back, allows for Thanksgiving being a holiday without service. So that 12 business days is actually 26th calendar days…more than three weeks since I ordered the refill.
Since I just moved to Ontario, I’m not yet covered by OHIP, the Ontario Health Insurance Plan. Luckily I am covered by UHIP, the University Health Insurance Plan, since I work at a University. So we don’t yet have a family doctor, but I can get covered for emergency care. Faced with not having medication that I require to function my wife takes me to Urgent care on Saturday. Morning, the 8th, because I need a canadian prescription to have a canadian pharmacy make pills for me while I wait. By noon I have the script, and we find a compounding pharmacy which is open on the weekend, but they don’t compound on the weekend, so it will be ready Monday evening. I feel ill and go to work in a strange daze waiting for the pills.
The new expected delivery date is now Monday the 17th by the end of day. I’ve never been so excited to expect a package from UPS. I sign up for every alert UPS has. I diligently wait in office after everyone else has left and it’s just me. I check UPS’ definition go end of day, 6pm for businesses, and I wait.
Nothing.
I get home to a quantum status update at 6:42 pm: A correct company or receiver name is needed for delivery. UPS is attempting to obtain this information.
What?!
So I got in touch with customer support and have the following conversation:
Initial Question: Can I confirm or complete the shipping information on my package?
Gabriel C.: Hi, this is Gabriel C.. I’ll be happy to assist you.
Gabriel C.: Just a moment while I review your tracking information.
Ian: Thank you
Gabriel C.: The complete ship to information we have is:
IAN GARRETT
4700 KEELE ST CFT ROOM 328
NORTH YORK ON M3J1P3
CANADA
Ian: yes
Ian: that’s the address
Ian: It is the address for York University, where I work
Ian: I’m not sure what is missing?
Gabriel C.: The driver states wasn’t able to find you at this location.
Ian: CFT stands for “Centre for Film and Theatre” which is the building
Ian: they deliver there everyday
Ian: can that be replaced or noted?
Gabriel C.: There is a pending payment to be collected for import charges, will the driver be able to collect the payment at this location?
Ian: If the driver gets there before the office closes yes, They did not arrive before 6pm, today, which is when I left.
Ian: do you know how much the charge is?
Ian: This is medication, the delays have already resulted in me going to the emergency room once
Ian: I would really appreciate if this could be sorted.
Gabriel C.: Let me check on that.
Ian: or redirected to my house
Gabriel C.: The pending payment to be paid is of $60.50 CAD
Ian: can it be redirected?
Ian: can it be paid before delivery?
Ian: can it be paid by mastercard or america express? Does it need to be cheque or cash?
Gabriel C.: You can call UPS Canada directly by calling 1-800-263-8125 to pay with a card, with the driver only cheque or money order.
Ian: Only cheque or money order?
Ian: Why is this not in the tracking information?
Gabriel C.: To the driver yes
Gabriel C.: Drivers are not able to receive cash.
Ian: How would anyone know that there was a payment due before the driver showed up?
Ian: It’s an office, there isn’t necessarily a cheque book laying around and it’s the holidays so the staff with signing authority aren’t there until after the new year. Can it be redirected to my home
Ian: ??
Gabriel C.: I understand, sorry about all this issue.
Gabriel C.: I can submit a request to change the address.
Ian: Okay
Gabriel C.: What is the new address and your phone number please?
Ian: (deleted)
Ian: Toronto, ON M6S 1X7
Ian: Canada
Ian: phone number: 647-XXX-XXXX
Ian: Or UPS Store #206 in Toronto is fine
Gabriel C.: I can change the delivery address only.
Gabriel C.: One moment please.
Gabriel C.: The change can be done, it usually takes from one to two business days to deliver to the new address.
Gabriel C.: Is that okay to process the change?
Ian: yes
Gabriel C.: I submitted the request. Your package is now scheduled for delivery to: HOME ADDRESS (Delted)
Gabriel C.: Is there anything else I can help you with?
Ian: Will there be multiple delivery attempts at the new address? I will be out tomorrow, but will be here on Wednesday – Friday and can wait with a cheque for the payment
Gabriel C.: Yes, the delivery includes three delivery attempts in three consecutive business days.
Ian: That is a great relief, thank you!
Ian: Will that change appear in the tracking information?
Gabriel C.: No, I’m sorry that information is not posted online.
Ian: So the tracking number will continue to show an exception? Will it note that it is out for delivery?
Gabriel C.: The package will note that it is a change and it will be re attempted to deliver.
Gabriel C.: Is there anything else I can help you with?
Ian: No, that is all, thank you for your help, I am very grateful for you working this out with me.
Gabriel C.: My pleasure. Enjoy your evening.
The status online updates as: A Delivery Change Request for this package will be processed. / Deliver to Another Address.
At the same time, I tweeted my woes: @ups has taken 2 weeks to figure an issue with an address after 1 week to realize a paper was missing… are you even trying? #fb
They responded too!: @ToasterDog Hmm. We can see what’s going on. Email details to twitter@ups.com. Thank you. ^LK @ups
I follow their instructions and send the following email:
I am writing on advice of a reply on twitter to @toasterdog (me) from @UPSHelp. This is in regards to tracking# 1ZXXXXXX
I have a prescription which was shipped to me on November 28th from Innovative Compounding Pharmacy is Murietta, California to me in Toronto, ON, Canada, where I recently relocated for work. Though successful with another delivery in September, their shipment this time was unaccounted for a week after the shipment, at which point the UPS called on the expect delivery day to inform them that a paper needed for export and had been waiting for it. The Pharmacy faxed it over and it was released for shipping again on December 10th. I went to the emergency room the next day to get a new prescription to have filled locally as the medication is for my thyroid disease and it is hard to function without it. It was estimated that it would arrive today, December 17th, and I stayed late at work waiting for it to arrive at my office, I left at 6pm and upon arriving home I received the message:
A CORRECT COMPANY OR RECEIVER NAME IS NEEDED FOR DELIVERY. UPS IS ATTEMPTING TO OBTAIN THIS INFORMATION
I’m now in a chat with a service agent, and they address is correct, but the driver couldn’t find where the office was, even though we receive shipments on a daily basis. however, they did try delivery after 6pm when I left, and the office would have been open since 8:30am after the package was label as out for delivery at 5:45a.
I am also surprised that there is an import charge for collection which has not be specified at any time before my chat with the agent. As it was being delivered to an office and there was no notification that a payment would be due, I don’t know what would have happened if the driver would have asked the receptionist for $60.50.
Here is the transcript of the chat:
SEE ABOVE
I’m extremely frustrated by the extreme delays caused by a lack of information from UPS. I don’t understand why it took a week for the depot in Romoland to notify the shipper of the missing commercial invoice and assumed that they or I would look at the tracking information before we would expect it to be delivered so that it took 8 business days before it was in transit. Then, having traveled to the Concord, ON depot, no indication that a balance was due was made and that the Driver’s inability to understand an address which receives shipments on a near daily basis was recorded as being incomplete. Had it been christmas gifts, that would have been one thing, annoying, but manageable. But having gone to the emergency room and spending a weekend on bed rest due to UPS’ negligence to communicate with its customers on issues with shipping just seems like we clearly weren’t valued in this transaction.
In the end, thanks to Gabriel C, it looks as thought there might be a coming resolution, but I’ll think twice before choosing UPS for my shipping needs in the future.
Alright, I go about my day at an off site meeting and get updates throughout the day:
9:04 A.M. Out For Delivery
11:50 A.M. A correct company or receiver name is needed for delivery. UPS is attempting to obtain this information.
9:32 P.M. A correct company or receiver name is needed for delivery. UPS is attempting to obtain this information. / The address has been corrected. The delivery has been rescheduled.
WHAT?!
So they tried to deliver to my work address again, and again couldn’t find it.
I tweeted again: @UPSHelp @ups did you get the email? I got the same exception notice as though the driver couldn’t find address.
their response:
@ToasterDog Email us the details again to twitter@ups.com so we can get this addressed. So sorry that this happened again. ^MN @ups
a minute later:
@ToasterDog We responded to your email earlier today. The change was made after 7 PM so address won’t change until tomorrow. ^MN @ups
I didn’t get an email. I tweeted back:
@UPSHelp @ups I did not receive a response in my inbox or spam, where would I find it?
I’ve heard nothing back.
I got in touch with customer support again. They checked the status and said the same thing (only the twitter help had mentioned anything about the 7pm cut off). They have assured me that the package was going to be rerouted and that the depot would call me before 10am this morning. They called me at 9am saying the package would go out to my address today (December 19th)
Currently the status is: Concord, ON, Canada 12/19/2012 8:05 A.M. Destination Scan
I’m flying back to Los Angeles to spend the holidays with my family… on the 21st, a month after I asked for this prescription to be shipped. As I write this, It’s 3pm and I’m diligently waiting for UPS to show up… which I guess should be before 7pm today…Luckily I have enough of my prescription for the trip, but is the store I live above going to spot me the $60.50 import fees? Probably not.
I understand that it is now a very busy time of year for UPS. But, they’re playing with my health with their lax approach to their customers, customer service reps who say things are being done when they aren’t and drivers who can’t figure out where an address they deliver to on a daily basis is.
UPDATE: at 4:52pm on December 19th UPS showed up with my package.
I just started at a new Assistant Professor at York University in Toronto. I’m going to be heading up the Ecological Design for Performance course (fitting right) and it’s tenure stream… so we’ll be here a while. We spent a lot of July preparing for the move… getting paperwork sorted for immigration, packing (and inventory things for customs)… and then two days after landing back from Edinburgh we started to drive to Toronto. It was a great road trip! We’ve now been here a week. Our things aren’t here yet (see the moving van in the pictures!) but we’ve started to buy the things we need to fill out (we didn’t have too much, since we had already moved long-distance twice in the previous year).
I don’t really have much time to most during the summer, especially this past one. Issue one is that Edinburgh takes a lot of time. This lovely video shows a little bit about the venue I call home. But I was involved in 6 different shows this last year… look for more on some of them later.
Bootleg Theater proudly presents the newest side-splitting and inspiring solo work from Los Angeles’ own writer/performer/car-less eco-activist Kristina Wong, Going Green the Wong Way.
At a young age Kristina Wong was tapped by Mother Earth and entrusted with a quest: Save the Planet. In this critically-acclaimed mad-cap comedy, Wong weaves her true-life adventures as a tireless missionary of recycling. From confrontational 6th grade science projects to exploding vehicles powered by vegetable oil, join Wong as she crusades for sustainable living in today’s complicated climate. Going Green The Wong Way will have everyone asking What Would Mother Earth Do?
“There are hundreds of ways to go wrong when attempting to go green, but going Wong can only ever be right.” —San Francisco Bay Guardian
Some LA Reviews:
“Wong is an energetic, witty, uninhibited performer, and with the assistance of director Paul Tei, she has produced a seamless, sure-fire comedic turn.” – Backstage
June 8 – July 1, 2012
Friday/Saturday @ 8 p.m.
Sunday @ 5 p.m.
+ Monday, June 25 @ 7:00 p.m. with a post-performance talkback with playwright Sheila Callaghan!
Los Angeles, CA (4/30/12) – Award-winning theatre company, Son of Semele Ensemble (SOSE), will present the West Coast premiere of Sheila Callaghan’s Roadkill Confidential: A Noir-ish Meditation On Brutality, opening June 8 at the Son of Semele Theater in Silver Lake. This biting satire about the connection between voyeurism, sadism, and paranoia is a hilarious and exhilarating mash-up of styles and genres.
Artist, Trevor Pratt has gained fame and a cult-like following by creating brutal works of art. Living in up-state New York with her former art professor and step-son, Trevor is obsessed with the violence on TV. After hearing a local news story, she decides to incorporate potentially lethal roadkill into her new work. Soon those around her begin to die and an FBI agent is called in to investigate, but his increasing infatuation with Trevor and her work just might be leading the agent to commit his own act of violence.
Roadkill Confidential uses art, video and live performance to reveal the loneliness and desperation beneath our fame and media obsessed culture. The play premiered at 3LD in September 2010 by Clubbed Thumb, an OBIE award-winning company that commissions, develops, and produces funny, strange, and provocative new plays by living American writers.
Sheila Callaghan is the author of 22 plays including Dead City; Lascivious Something; Kate Crackernuts; That Pretty Pretty: or, The Rape Play; Fever/Dream; Crumble (Lay Me Down, Justin Timberlake); and We Are these Hands. Callaghan’s work has been produced and developed at Soho Rep, Playwright’s Horizons, South Coast Repertory, Actor’s Theatre of Louisville, New Georges and Woolly Mammoth among others. She was a writer for the Showtime series United States of Tara, and is the recipient of the Princess Grace Award for emerging artists, the Susan Smith Blackburn Award, and the prestigious Whiting Award.
Roadkill Confidential will be directed by SOSE ensemble member, Barbara Kallir, who has also directed the SOSE productions of Slaughter City by Naomi Wallace, The Tower by Matthew Maguire, and Melancholy Play by Sarah Ruhl, as well as Lisa Dillman’s Half of Plenty for Rogue Machine. The cast features Son of Semele Ensemble members Melina Bielefelt, Daniel Getzoff, Melissa Randel, Alex Smith and Alexander Wells. The set is co-designed by Adam Hunter and Barbara Kallir, with video by Adam Flemming, sound by Joseph “Sloe” Slawinski, lighting by Ian Garrett, costumes by Vicki Anne Hales-Daly and movement direction by Melina Bielefelt. The production features original roadkill artwork by Travis Novak.
Son of Semele Ensemble was profiled as one of the “hippest, hottest, most innovative theatre troupes in the U.S.” by American Theatre, and featured on the magazine’s cover. Over the past twelve years the company’s work has received 17 regional awards and award nominations including the Ovation Award, the L.A. Weekly Theatre Award and the NAACP Theatre Award. In addition to producing theatre, SOSE also sponsors the work of like-minded theater artists, sharing resources for co-productions through SOSEhost, a curated guest-production program. For additional information on SOSE and SOSEhost visit www.sonofsemele.org.
Performances of Roadkill Confidential begin June 8, playing Friday and Saturday nights at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday afternoons at 5:00 p.m. One “theatre community” performance will be offered on Monday, June 25 at 7:00 p.m. Admission ranges from $18-20. Discounted group tickets are available for groups of 6 or more. Unsold seats at the time of curtain will be sold to local residents of zip codes 90004 and 90026 for $5.00 (I.D. required). Tickets are available through the SOSE website at www.sonofsemele.org. The box office opens one half hour prior to curtain. Son of Semele Theater is located in Silver Lake at 3301 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90004 (one mile west of Alvarado). For more information visit www.sonofsemele.org.
Once Eternal Thou was opened, it was a crazy slope coasting to today! After a trip to Toronto to scope out my future home, when I move to join the Faculty of Fine Arts in the School of Theatre at York University as Assistant Professor of Ecological Design for Performance in August, it was a mad dash to complete three huge projects:
Not your average conference, we als had some help from google to allow 1 in 4 participants to attend remotely through a combination of Brave NEw Workshop’s webcasting partner Qwikcast and Google+ Hangouts On Air!
There will also be a report that will come out at the TCG conference, in Boston in the middle of June, that will highlight how this saved a whole lotta carbon footprint AND affected the field.
3) Indy Convergence 2012
FINALLY (unless you count a wedding I attended) I spend May 4th – 18th in Indianapolis back for a 5th Indy Convergence! This one was a particular pleasure because I was able to attend for the entire thing! There were some really stupendous projects this last year and I had the pleasure to work with new converging artists like Alice Bever, Tina Chancey, Sarah Weber Gallo, Sarah Moon and Lysandra Peterson.
I also had the pleasure to work with Leila Ghaznavi again, but a new context as a creative collaborator (not just a managerial nudge!)
Meet history’s most compelling and elusive figure, mankind’s ultimate hero, and the reason the Bible is the World’s #1 bestseller (well, it sure ain’t Leviticus baby.) If it weren’t for the Savior, that hack Dan Brown would be writing book jackets.
When I was 33 years old, toiling away in my own virtual obscurity while waiting to be discovered as the next Steven Spielberg, I took a job managing post-production for a feature length motion control ride on the life of Jesus Christ. I was certain my work on this ludicrous endeavor would provide endless material to regale both friends and family for years to come.
In spite of my jaded intentions, the experience impacted me profoundly. I read the Bible for the first time, read books about the Bible, even books about books about the Good Book. I am Jewish by birth, agnostic by choice, a movie going zealot by avocation. My interest in Jesus’ story didn’t lead to any religious conversion, but it did result in my watching-and thoroughly enjoying-33 films about Jesus Christ. It turns out the Savior and the Silver Screen share a long and fruitful history together.
As I continued to read–religious texts, philosophical tracts, and every movie history book I could get my hands on—I made even more unexpected connections: between Evangelical Christians and Orthodox Jews, between the Crucifixion and the Holocaust, between Polish shtetls and Hollywood back lots—and yes I swear it’s true, between Jesus movies and porn.
Soon I was consumed by questions. How did an impoverished rabbi become the father of modern Christianity? How did an illiterate Junkman from Minsk go on to re-invent the American dream? How do Jews in Hollywood address the Bible’s thorny “Jewish Question”? What are the sins of the father? Did “The Passion of the Christ” really gross $610 million worldwide?
Two epic heroes on a search for transcendence–one, the son of God; the other, son of a TV writer–travel dizzying speeds, taking hairpin twists and turns through sweeping historical vistas and deeply private moments; An epic comedic roller coaster– part movie history, part chronicle of Western Civilization; a stem-winding personal confession, a raconteur’s fever dream, a terrifying journey through the worst Jesus movie in all human history.
Fasten your seat belts. Take the JESUS RIDE.
Presented by Deus Ex Productions in association with Son of Semele March 9 – April 8 Friday & Saturday nights @ 8pm Sunday afternoons @ 1pm All Sunday shows will include a brief Communion Service for non-practicing Jews, lapsed Christians and Movie ZealotsSon of Semele Ensemble 3301 Beverly Boulevard (at Hoover) Los Angeles, CA 90004-6003 Tickets $15 – call (323) 993-7263 or go to: www.sonofsemele.org
The convergence only happens for two weeks of the year, but it takes hours of carefully planning to take advantage of every hour of our time in Indianapolis. Take a look at that special time when we get everything started.
2011 Converger Christina Aimerito Feinberg led a number of workshops on puppet making during that year’s convergence, resulting in puppets finding their way into both side-projects and the umbrella project “Mythystory”.
An original theatrical work created by Antoinette LaFarge and Robert Allen
Antoinette LaFarge, co-creator, writer, visual designer
Robert Allen, co-creator, director
Philip White, composer
Feb. 23, 24, 25 Evenings @ 8:00 p.m.
March 1, 2, 3 Evenings @ 8:00 p.m.
Feb. 25 and March 3 Matinees @ 2:00 p.m.
xMPL (Experimental Media Performance Lab) in the Contemporary Arts Center
This original multi-media work is about one of the stranger periods in American history. It was a time when the FBI kept meticulous files on German war refugees in Los Angeles (people like actor Peter Lorre and writer Thomas Mann). A time when beloved American artists like singer Pete Seeger and playwright Jerome Robbins were called on to testify about their political beliefs in front of the House UnAmerican Activities Committee. A time when civil liberties were threatened by blacklists; when clowns and inquisitors shared the spotlight and when people of integrity were forced to grapple with the true cost of living up to their principles. Not unlike today, you might say…
Part cabaret and part courtroom drama, Galileo in America focuses on the period in the 1940s when German playwright Bertolt Brecht fled to Santa Monica to escape the Nazis. During his exile years, Brecht and noted film actor Charles Laughton worked on a new production of his play about Galileo’s struggle with the Catholic Church.
Brecht and his friends were suspected of being communists and under constant surveillance by the FBI. At the end of this period, Brecht has his own reckoning with authority when he was called to testigy before the House UnAmerican Activities Committee. Galileo in America is structured as a surreal epic in which all these stories are twined into a single braid, bringing Galileo and his daughter, Virginia, face-to-face with the FBI agents who shadowed Brecht.
Galileo in America has been supported by the Goethe Institute in Los Angeles, Villa Aurora in Pacific Palisades, University of California, Irvine, and contributions from individual donors.
Prior to each show, tickets can be purchased online at www.arts.uci.edu/tickets General Admission $15 Seniors $14 UCI Students and Children $11
If you’re a Bertol Brecht fan, don’t miss the Drama Department’s presentation of Mother Courage – and take advantage of special discounts if you buy a ticket to both productions — Tickets just $10 each when purchased together. To purchase the package, click here www.arts.uci.edu/tickets
Call the Arts Box Office for more information, (949) 824-2787
I hadn’t really updated my website, aside from keeping info current, in any real way in quite a while. And it was looking a bit dated. So, I remade it, what do you think?
June 8 – July 1, 2012
