Past events for our Social Justice in the Arts and Media series.
To launch the series and give you a taste, here are two presentations that were given at The LAVA Center last year that were the inspiration for the series.
Lillian Ruiz:
“Ticket to Terror: Horror Film in the Age of Anxiety”
Serving as a lens into the fears and anxieties of its time and place, the horror film examines social and cultural issues such as race, class, and gender, among others. Many thanks to Alex DeMelo for editing!
Philippe Simon:
“Social Justice And Media: How Community Media Can Help”
Community Coverage Stories made by Mr. Simon and displayed to generate discussion about becoming a local filmmaker and documentarian interested in social justice events and issues.
Series kickstart: Listening Ear sessions
Saturday, Mar. 5 and Mar. 12, 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.
Christian McEwen’s “The Listening Ear” is a joyous and subversive antidote to a world increasingly dominated by cell phones and other entrancing devices, reminding us of the special pleasure to be found in long, meandering, face-to-face conversation, most especially with friends and family. It gives everyone a real chance to be heard and serves as a metaphor for the entire series, as we invite ourselves and our audiences to practice radical listening.
For more details, check out the calendar listing or Facebook event.
Bridges: Voices of Israel/Palestine staged play readings
Saturday, Mar. 5, 7 p.m.; Sunday, Mar. 6, 3 p.m.;
Saturday, Mar. 12, 7 p.m.; Sunday, Mar. 13, 3 p.m.
In the West Bank and in Israel, the traumas of occupation are inescapable. Clinging to hope or overwhelmed by despair, these Israelis and Palestinians are determined to make their stories heard. Written by Christine Benvenuto and partially drawn from verbatim transcripts of Compassionate Listening sessions, Bridges is produced by Theater Initiative of Temple Israel.
Bridges is directed by Jan Maher and performed by Amanda Bowman, Shannon Chabot, Andrea Cohen-Kiener, Nina Gross, Jim Merlin, Alfonso Neal and Kimberly Salditt-Poulin.
Each performance will be followed by a facilitated discussion about the social justice issues brought up by the play. The schedule of the facilitators is as follows:
Saturday, Mar. 5: Norbert Goldfield MD
Sunday, Mar. 6: Court Dorsey
Saturday, Mar. 12: Andrea Cohen-Kiener
Sunday, Mar. 13: Yael Petretti
After watching the play, join LAVA and GCC for a free Zoom chat on Thursday, Mar. 17, 7 p.m.: Conversations with Playwrights: Christine Benvenuto & Andrea Cohen-Kiener
Every Moment of Every Day staged play readings
Saturday, Mar. 26, 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.; Saturday, Apr. 2, 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.
also available on-demand for one week
Stories of women who relinquished their babies to adoption weave together to illuminate this landscape of loss, endurance and courage from the point of view of the birth mothers. Six stories are drawn from and represent the two dozen interviews conducted by playwright Lindy Whiton.
Every Moment of Every Day is performed by Amanda Bowman, Cynthia Fritz, Emily Gopen, Penney Hulten, Kaia Jackson, Patricia Williams, and EJ Worth. Script Team: Cynthia Fritz, Jan Maher, Annie Quest, and Lindy Whiton. Directed by Lindy Whiton. Graphics by EJ Worth.
Eveline MacDougall – interactive presentation
Saturday, Apr. 9, 1 p.m.
MacDougall will share stories and songs from her work, including about ways the pandemic inspired her to shift the way she rehearses and performs, taking the music exclusively outdoors for a time. With “Soulful Serenades,” MacDougall brings songs to the porches, yards, and driveways of folks who request musical visits. She will take questions from the audience and–depending on where we are in the pandemic–may lead attendees in singing.
JuPong Lin – workshop
Saturday, Apr. 30, 1 p.m.
JuPong’s workshop cultivates practices of ecojustice and connection with environmental kin. She will share qigong and lead a poetry and paperfolding ceremony called “How do your people call the Earth? We will listen to the names of our ecological kin—beaver, frog, fish, dandelion, oak tree, pine tree—spoken in languages other than English. We will create a mandala from feathers, stones, acorns, and shells, to honor Earth, Land, Sky, Sea, Water. We will teach each other these words in non-English languages and write them on the paper that we will fold into canoes.
