Public Art ACTS: Don't miss the final performances of the season!
URT premiered a unique program this summer: free street theater in dialogue with works of Cambridge public art. On the national scene there's nothing like it. URT is collaborating with the Cambridge Arts Council on this project and we would like to invite you to the next two installments in September and October.
The first two productions were a huge hit with audiences. Many said that they had never really noticed the public art before the performance, or at least had not thought much about it. It is Underground Railway Theater's goal in this program to bring to life the public art in the Cambridge Arts Council's collection, to reveal its rich social context and enhance its delights. Actors, puppetry and original accordion music are featured in every performance. The performances run about 20 minutes, and are repeated for both passers-by and audience members who seek them out.
The first production, Alley Cats in the Reading Garden, was performed at the Spring dedication of the new Valente Library Reading Garden in East Cambridge. Installed in the garden are three whimsical bronze benches that artist Judy McKie calls her "alley cats," Underground Railway Theater created a performance that wove together T.S. Elliot's poem "the Naming of Cats" with a 100-year social and natural history of the plot of land on which they, the library, and the new garden stands.
Next came Against the Wall: Engine Company #5, in honor of Ellary Eddy's mural on the Inman Square fire station. Research included interviews with local firefighters, including the only fire fighter still in the force who was honored on the 30-year-old mural. Toy theater and clowning combined with a serious tribute to the firefighters brought to life the stories behind the firefighters' portraits.
The ensemble creating these performances include URT Artistic Director Debra Wise, Resident Puppeteer and Playwright Andrew Periale, Composer Evan Harlan (who is being joined by fellow accordion virtuoso Roberto Cassan), and Ramona Alexander, who toured with URT as Harriet Tubman during the 2004-05 season.
Upcoming productions include:
Dreams and Multlicultural Manifestos: September 18th & October 1st, 1:00 and 1:30 pm. Performances are at the site of Ritsuko Taho's mysterious sculpture and installation in the middle of Central Square, and the text is taken from quotes by hundreds of community residents about their dreams and aspirations. The September 18th performances are part of the Alternative Arts Fair sponsored by the Central Square Business Association, and the Oct. 1st performances are part of CAOS: Cambridgeport Artists' Open Studios.
Turnaround/Surround: Sept. 24th, 12:30, 1:00, 1:30. As part of the annual Danehy Park Family Day in North Cambridge, a mock - heroic procession of actors and junk-puppets will lead families up to the highest point in the park (once the city dump), where artist Mierle Ukeles has installed two thrones made of re-cycled metal. There an improvised theatrical ritual will take place, crowning the children present as Kings and Queens of the Hill.
For more information, contact: Lillian Hsu, Acting Director, Public Art Program, Cambridge Arts Council, lHsu@cambridgema.gov, 617-349-4389. Public Art ACTS is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Massachusetts Council for the Arts, the Cambridge Arts Council, and the New England Biolabs Foundation.