A Bright Room Called Day
By Tony Kushner
Presented by Faultline Ensemble
Presented by Faultline Ensemble
A story of Weimar Germany's descent into fascism
Presented as a staged reading Halloween weekend 2016
And as a virtual quarantine reading Halloween weekend 2020
In anticipation of the U.S. Elections
Followed by panel discussions on current fascist movements
Presented as a staged reading Halloween weekend 2016
And as a virtual quarantine reading Halloween weekend 2020
In anticipation of the U.S. Elections
Followed by panel discussions on current fascist movements
Director's Note
On Halloween weekend before the 2016 election, Faultline held a staged reading of A Bright Room Called Day at the Waterline Studio in Portland, OR. At the time, we foolishly hoped we'd seen the most relevant moment for this play in our lifetimes. Over the next four years, it became dramatically more relevant to our daily lives. Though it broke our hearts not to be able to gather in person, it felt right to present this play again, from quarantine, on the eve of the 2020 election, with our group of careworkers, artists, friends, comrades. And it feels utterly terrifying to see the ways it still resonates with our reality. The play was followed by panel discussions with incredible activists and historians studying fascism in current times. They joined us to, in Kushner's words, "grieve over the savagery" of this world, strategize for the future, and "dream ahead."
A note of warning: This is not an easy story. We asked audiences to be prepared for descriptions of fascist violence, suicidality and multiple forms of oppression.
Panelists
- Robert Evans, author of A Brief History of Vice, investigative journalist for Bellingcat, and host of the podcasts It Could Happen Here and Behind the Bastards.
- Laura Jedeed, writer, folklorist, observer, and videographer focusing on the far right, the Oregon protest scene, and definitions of fascism. Her writings have been featured by Willamette Week, Portland Monthly Magazine, Reed Magazine, and It’s Going Down.
- Shane Burley, author of Fascism Today: What It Is and How to End It and Why We Fight: Essays on Fascism, Resistance, and Surviving the Apocalypse. His work is featured in places like NBC News, Al Jazeera, The Daily Beast and Bandcamp.
- Kristian Williams, author of Our Enemies in Blue: Police and Power in America, Between the Bullet and the Lie: Essays on Orwell, and Resist Everything Except Temptation: The Anarchist Philosophy of Oscar Wilde.
- Taiga Christie, director of today's reading and founding member of Faultline Ensemble.
- Moderated by performer and activist Katrina Enyeart
Originally produced by the Heat and Light Company, New York
A BRIGHT ROOM CALLED DAY is produced
by special arrangement with Broadway Play Publishing Inc, NYC
www.broadwayplaypub.com
A BRIGHT ROOM CALLED DAY is produced
by special arrangement with Broadway Play Publishing Inc, NYC
www.broadwayplaypub.com
|
Cast
Agnes Eggling ---------------- Tamara Sorelli
Gregor Bazwald ----------- Matthew Sepeda Paulinka Erdnuss ----------- Crystal Lemons Annabella Gotchling -------- Katrina Enyeart Vealtninc Husz ------------------- Rick Curtis Rosa Malek ----------------- Bea Deans Lake Emil Traum ---------------------- Alfie Padilla Die Alte --------------------------- Allie Cislo Gottfried Swetts ------------- Elaine Kinchen Zillah Katz ----------------- Corinne Bachaud Narrator ----------------------- Robert Evans Stage Directions ------------- Alex Vermillion |
Production Team
Director ---------------------- Taiga Christie
Tech Design ---------------- Katrina Enyeart Graphic Design ------------- Katrina Enyeart Planning Support ----------- Bea Deans Lake Panelists
Moderated by Katrina Enyeart
|
|
|
|
Photos from Faultline's 2016 rehearsals and staged reading of A Bright Room Called Day.