Director's Statement
An undergraduate student who elected a Special Projects/THE 399 course with me in devised and collaborative theatre-making methods, asked me to mentor and facilitate a group of seven students to create original performance in the abandoned and dry Grand Fountain feature of downtown Flint, Michigan’s Riverbank Park. We worked two months together to research the dynamics of action within the geometric labyrinth of the Grand Fountain as well as far-distance storytelling opportunities, such as two simultaneous scenes happening across the River.
The experience of place in theatre-making offered civic engagement opportunities to interface with a diverse assortment of citizens who frequent the riverbank and concrete architecture: fishermen, kids on skateboards, the homeless, a few runaways, etc. The intention of the project was to not only create original performance, but to raise awareness of this abandoned park and water feature in concert with other downtown Flint revival initiatives. Three performances brought 150 audiences to the final product, called AWAKEN THE WALLS -- they brought chairs or perched along bridges or found a place to sit in space…even if it happened to be a future performance spot. Often times, community members who use the park to fish or bike, or drink, would use the space when rehearsal or performance was going on – even talking to the actors/audience about the play’s action as it unfolded. (see photo of silhouette of young fisherman watching the show). This collision of real-life/theatre action was something we embraced, and made for exciting moments of community engagement – it even inspired a vignette called “Help! I Think I’m in a Play!”
Script for this image-based performance included actor-written poetry, excerpts from found text from signs and graffiti around the fountain, and a short adaptation of Theseus and the Minotaur.
Additional Photos
Awaken the Walls
Site-specific Performance Experiment
Production Mentor, Process Facilitator, and Staging Director
Vignettes created by an ensemble of UM-Flint students called Riverbank Theatre Group
Grand Fountain, Riverbank Park, Downtown Flint, MI
June-August 2009
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