Poverty

The question that the existence of poverty raises is: Do we really want to live in a society based on such severe competition?…Can we as a society really justify commodifying and parceling out such huge rewards and such stern punishments for social accomplishment and social failure? – Anthony Marcus

A Small Fire

Hollye Gilbert as Jenny Bridges and Peggy J. Scott as her mother, Emily Bridges in Portland Center Stage’s version of A Small Fire. With Tom Bloom as Emily’s husband John and Isaac Lamb as Emily’s construction foreman. Directed by Rose Riordan. At the Gerding Theater at the Armory thru Mar 23, 2013

Richard Wattenberg writes in the Oregonian: There is, to be sure, something insubstantial about the world of this play, but isn’t this the point? It’s not our possessions, our “things,” but our connections to and with others that ultimately matter. Yes, this little play has something rather big to say.14406153-mmmain

From the press release for The Colby Sisters of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

London’s Tricycle Theatre has announced its spring/summer season, which will include the world première of award-winning Canadian playwright Adam Bock’s The Colby Sisters of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, directed by New York director Trip Cullman.

Bock’s play will begin performances June 19, prior to an official opening June 25, for a run through July 26. The play revolves around the five Colby sisters, who are the glamorous faces of New York high society. With wealth, style and desirable husbands, they appear to have it all. But privately, the sisters’ squabbles distort the picture of this perfect family. Image is everything, and struggling to maintain it could have life-changing consequences.

In a press statement, Indhu Rubasingham commented, “I’m thrilled to welcome Canadian playwright Adam Bock to the Tricycle with his new play The Colby Sisters, which Trip Cullman will direct. Since meeting the pair at the Sundance Theatre Lab, we’ve been looking for the right project to collaborate on and I cannot wait to bring this glamorous black comedy about the lives of five ‘it girls’ to Kilburn.”

The Drunken City at Whitman College

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In Nov of 2013, Florence Lebas directed The Drunken City at the Harper Joy Theatre.

In a preview article, Alexandra Schaffer (who played Melissa) said: What struck us most about the cast of “The Drunken City” was the equality of the characters. Not really even in terms of there being three men and three women … but that everyone gets their “moment” in the play … A lot of women are involved in Whitman’s theatre department, so it is nice to come across a play that gives the same number of opportunities to both genders. However, what’s better than being involved in a show “about women” is being in a show about life, and we think the sense of life in the play — and the joy, heartbreak and experiences that come along with that — is what the audience will connect to the most.

The rest of the article can be found at whitmanpioneer.com/arts/2013/11/14/getting-adventurous-with-drunken-city/