Theatre

Support Open Program's Cali Premiere!

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OPEN PROGRAM SETS OUT TO CONQUER CALIFORNIA!

Last year marked the Workcenter’s North American debut with two wildly successful visits to New York City. We, the Open Program Team, one of two groups currently operating at the Workcenter, premiered the various manifestations of our work with Allen Ginsberg’s poetry and traditional songs from the American South. Now, we’re elaborating our plans to share our work in other parts of the United States.

 

For our West Coast premiere, we have been given the remarkable opportunity to work with students at Stanford University, to present our landmark production, I Am America, there, and moreover, to present a new wild and unique performance event at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in their monthly Thursday night performance series. Furthermore, we will be in residence at the Performance Art Institute. As our final event of this visit, we will be traveling down to Big Sur to present a one-night-only performance of I Am America, at the Henry Miller Library.

 

 

WHY SHOULD I FUEL THIS PROJECT?

The Workcenter’s expansion of the creative material it is using in recent years is naturally calling us to explore our work in relation to the Americas. Using Ginsberg’s electrifying poetry and the timeless songs from the Deep South as well as the fact that several team members hail from North America indicates that to expose our work to America - and vice versa - is simply a natural and vital step. The enthusiasm with which our performances were received in New York City last year testifies to the mutual benefits of Open Program’s presence in the States.

 

 

WHAT’S MY $$$ GOING TO DO?

Your contribution will be used for the various costs incurred in taking such a huge leap across an ocean and a continent. We’re going to be busy people, traveling from downtown San Francisco to Palo Alto, from our residence at the Performance Art Institute down to Big Sur, and all points in between. We’re a large group of people (we’re consistently coordinating the movement of 12 people), so getting us around once we’re on Californian soil adds up.

 

Furthermore, we’ll be presenting diverse works in diverse locations (besides those already mentioned), and we know from vast and past experience that new spaces present new challenges each time. Fuelling our project will provide us with the materials to help us conquer those unforeseen obstacles and make our performances the incredible meetings that keep our spectators coming back again and again.