For the 2021 Alumni Performance Project, we will once again be hosting an online incubator-style event in which a selection of submitted projects will have the opportunity to showcase their work in 10 to 15-minute scenes/vignettes and participate in a moderated discussion about their work and processes. Later in the spring, we will also host two selected live performances that are separate from the incubator projects (if in-person events are permitted on campus). 

For the incubator project event, each artist or artistic team from the four selected projects will share a pre-recorded scene or vignette (up to 15 minutes) of their creative project. This will be followed by a knowledgeable five-minute statement from assigned respondents or on-site collegial critics, who have studied these works in advance. The artists will be invited to address major points of discussion within five minutes, before we move on to the next presentation. After the presentation of all works the audience will have an opportunity to ask questions and share their insights.

The following four performances will be showcased at this event:  

Benevolence: Kevin Matthew Wong 
Friendship and Fantasy: James Hyett, Nicole Eun-Ju Bell 
Spectrum Heart: Alyson Doyle 
Through the Fairy Circle:  Shannon Kingston, James Hyett, Uri Livne-Bar 

Moderator: Professor & CDTPS Interim Director T. Nikki Cesare Schotzko 
Respondents: Amir Haidar, Giorelle Diokno, Evan Moritz, Aria Sharma

Register in advance for this webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Ma5pAD43TwiMPTuA9sx_ow

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Download a copy of the show program (pdf).

Project Descriptions:

Benevolence
by Kevin Matthew Wong
Benevolence is an intimate and epic telling of the two-thousand year history of the Hakka Chinese (客家) and their early challenges and triumphs as some of the first Chinese-Canadian settlers. This work-in-progress will be presented as a pre-recorded digital sharing. 
 

Friendship and Fantasy 
by James Hyett, Nicole Eun-Ju Bell 

Four friends play Dungeons and Dragons together for fun and to stay in each other’s lives. Government-imposed stay-at-home orders mean that the four friends have to find ways to keep together using technology. One friend suggests that they should live stream their games so others can join in on the fun. It seems like a great idea, because they all feel isolated and lonely. This is the first time they are all gathering, and they’re still working out some of the kinks, both in their technology and in their relationships…

Friendship & Fantasy is a story about people struggling to carve out space for each other during the pandemic. Developed through an improvisatory creation process that takes the telecommunication technology we are required to use as a potent dramatic proposition, this first stream is a pilot for a larger story we want to tell in the future.
 

Spectrum Heart
by Alyson Doyle 
Spectrum Heart is a puppet play in development, inspired by the work of modern artist Marc Chagall. It is inspired by vignettes from Chagall's life in conversation with the biblical stories he depicted in windows for Union Church at Pocantico Hills, NY.  Born in Russia, Chagall survived pogrom culture, the Russian Revolution, WWI, WW2 (narrowly escaping Nazi-occupied France), and a tubercolosis outbreak that took the life of his beloved first wife, Bella. Despite the continual tumult, he never ceased to create hauntingly beautiful, joyous works of art. Themes include faith, joyful resilience, hope, and how all these qualities are facilitated and sustained through "creation." Spectrum Heart, in its early development, utilizes various forms of puppet arts including bunraku-style, shadow, and hand puppetry. 

Through the Fairy Circle
by Shannon Kingston, James Hyett, Uri Livne-Bar 

Rich with sound inspired by the rural landscapes of Wolfe and Howe Islands, Through the Fairy Circle is an audio play about Denny, a young girl who lives on an island with her father and sister. Unfortunately, the family is currently experiencing a string of Bad Luck.

When Denny meets Femone, a fairy who promises her good luck charms in exchange for her time, she leaps at the opportunity for a magical adventure. But being a fairy’s changeling isn’t what Denny expected, and she must learn to do what’s right to protect her family from Bad Luck.

Through the Fairy Circle is an audio play with text captions that is enjoyable for adults and children alike. This show explores family, nature, systems of authority, and growing up. Recommended for kids aged 10 and up.

"Through the Fairy Circle weaves a glittering tale that is both charming and visually fascinating—and it’s an audio play" 
-- Jeff McGilton, Kingston Theatre Alliance