Panel Discussion: EUROPE THEN AND NOW IN AUDIO DRAMA

November 16th at 7PM
3rd Floor - BBLA Room

This panel discussion will explore the role of audio drama in documenting and dissecting political events, the experience of bringing history to life through sound, and the challenges and pleasures of reaching new audiences. Moderator Jen Zoble, a Play for Voices producer and director, will speak with artists affiliated with three PfV productions that explore the legacy of 1989. Audio excerpts from each production will complement the discussion.

We’re excited to welcome from Prague featured guests Tereza Semotamová and Barbora Růžičková, the author and translator of Please Enter Destination. They’ll be joined on the panel by Carol Monda, an actor featured in Please Enter Destination and It’s Cold and It’s Getting So Dark; Elena Mancini, the translator of It’s Cold and It’s Getting So Dark; Jocelyn Kuritsky, an actor featured in both It’s Cold and It’s Getting So Dark and I Regret Nothing; and Matt Fidler, a Play for Voices producer who designed the sound for I Regret Nothing.

FOLLOWED BY:

Staged Reading: ILLEGAL HELPERS

November 16th at 8:30PM
3rd Floor - BBLA Room

Following the panel at 8:30pm, we’ll present a staged reading of Illegal Helpers, a German play by Maxi Obexer, in Neil Blackadder’s English translation. This innovative and timely piece of audio drama explores the current refugee crisis in Europe through the eyes of average citizens, drawing upon interviews with Swiss and Austrian residents from all walks of life—doctors, judges, social workers, activists, and students—who have taken it upon themselves to help refugees, even when that means breaking the law. The stories of the helpers are periodically interrupted by the voice of an impersonal “legislator,” who reads out official statutes regulating the movement and treatment of refugees. Through this juxtaposition, the play questions the justness of a society that criminalizes humanitarian actions. Play for Voices co-producer Katrin Redfern will direct this reading as a live recording, to be released as an episode later in November.

Illegal Helpers will be performed by: JJ Condon, Roberto De Felice, Guenevere Donohue, Mariam Habib, Asta Hansen, Wayne Maugans, Joe Primavera, Francisco Solorzano, Harold Tarr, Pauline Walsh.

Maxi Obexer / Author

Maxi Obexer writes drama, prose, and radio plays, and has made a name for herself in particular with political plays and essays, focusing in recent years on the refugee crisis. Her most widely produced play is Das Geisterschiff ("The Ghost Ship"), which deals with would-be immigrants crossing the Mediterranean. In 2011, Obexer published her first novel, Wenn gefährliche Hunde lachen ("When Dangerous Dogs Laugh") to critical acclaim. Obexer’s plays have been produced in many cities, including Basel, Jena, Freiburg, and Stuttgart, and she has held residencies at the Literarisches Colloquium in Berlin and the Akademie Schloss Solitude. Obexer lives in Berlin and South Tyrol.

Neil Blackadder / Translator

Neil Blackadder translates drama and prose from German and French, specializing in contemporary theatre. His translations of plays by Lukas Bärfuss and Ewald Palmetshofer have been produced in London, New York, Chicago, and elsewhere, and he has received grants from the Howard Foundation and PEN, and held residencies at the Banff Centre and Art Omi. He is a professor of theatre at Knox College. His translation of Ferdinand Schmalz’s Dosenfleisch (“Canned Meat”) will be presented in a staged reading at the Austrian Cultural Forum New York on December 6, 2018.

Katrin Redfern / Director

Katrin Redfern is a multimedia producer, writer, and journalist who reports on human rights and conservation. She has written for the BBC, The Daily Beast, The Indypendent, Huffington Post, and The Phnom Penh Post, among others. She produces film (two Sundance Festival Official Selections), theater (five Tony Award nominations), radio, and podcasts, from science news to audio drama. Katrin is also a longtime activist focusing on labor issues and a Human Rights Commissioner for the city of Newburgh, NY. Katrin holds a BA from the Institute for Social Ecology, an MA from the University of Sussex, and an MSc from the London School of Economics. She is a co-producer of Play for Voices.

Play for Voices would like to thank the Czech Literary Centre, a section of the Moravian Library for supporting Freedom and Movement.

Please arrive at least 10 minutes prior to showtime.

Empty seats will be released to standby patrons after that time.