|
Event
Our Country's Good
STRAWBERRY THEATRE WORKSHOP
SETS AN INFANT CIVILIZATION ON STAGE
IN "OUR COUNTRY'S GOOD"
Mainstage at 12th Ave Arts, Jan-23 through Feb-22
The United States incarcerates more people than any country in the world; the US constitutes 4% of the world population, but keeps 22% of the world's prisoners behind bars. Many prison inmates haven't been convicted of anything--they are jailed awaiting trial or a hearing on their immigration status.
In January, Strawberry Theatre Workshop is inviting audiences to a place where the population is 100% jailed and jailers. The year is 1787, and the place is the British colony of Sydney, Australia. In one of the cruelest episodes of criminal justice in history, the governing class has ruled that criminals--even petty thieves and non-violent offenders--must be killed or exiled from England. There is no rehabilitation for a class of humans genetically defective.
Playwright Timberlake Wertenbaker re-imagined this historical scene for the setting of Our Country's Good, appearing at 12th Ave Arts, starting January 23. Eleven actors play dual roles--each as one soldier and one convict--in her retelling of a British officer's experiment with art among the prisoners. He directs them in a play. At its heart, Our Country is a portrait of drama as a means of giving voice, purpose, and a sense of community to people--even with extraordinary forces pulling them apart.
Leah Adcock-Starr (The Christians, Romeo & Juliet) directs for Strawshop. The cast includes Galen Joseph Osier (Prelude to a Kiss, The Memorandum), who performed the same dual roles at Theater Schmeater in their 2001 production. Osier is joined by Yadira Duarte (Lydia), Miguel Castellano (Take Me Out), and Tim Gouran (Breaking the Code) in the ensemble with seven others.
Adcock-Starr points to language from the sadistic soldiers in the 1988 play, that mirrors President Donald Trump in 2019. Characters are labelled 'humans' vs 'animals,' but "The animals turn out to be the humanizing force in the colony."
Strawshop's Our Country's Good is designed by company favorites Adam Zopfi Hulse (The Pavilion, Prelude to a Kiss, Rhinoceros), Greg Carter (The Elephant Man, How I Learned to Drive, Take Me Out), Kyle Thompson (Take Me Out, The Pavilion), as well as newcomers Bryce Bartl Geller and Taya Pyne.
The play previews Thursday and Friday, January 23-24, and opens for the press on Saturday, January 25.
-----
written by Timberlake Wertenbaker (1988)
directed by Leah Adcock-Starr
performed by
Maya Burton
Miguel Castellano
Yadira Duarte
Mark Fullerton
Hisam Goueli
Sharon Barto Gouran
Tim Gouran
Sydney Maltese
Pilar O'Connell
Galen Joseph Osier
Tré Scott
designed by
Greg Carter
Bryce Bartl Gellar
Adam Zopfi Hulse
Taya Pyne
Kyle Thompson
stage managed by Brandon Eller and Rachel Culbertson
dialect coaching by Katya Landau
graphic design by Melanie Wang
About Strawberry Theatre Workshop
Founded in 2004 by Greg Carter, Strawberry Theatre Workshop is a professional theatre company dedicated to socially engaged work of the highest caliber. Strawshop is a Stranger Genius Award winner, a six-time Seattle Times Footlight Award winner, and the only company to be nominated for a TPS Gregory Award for Outstanding Production four years in a row (2009-12). Known for its critically acclaimed productions of Our Town, The Normal Heart, Breaking the Code, The Elephant Man, Proof and The Laramie Project, Strawshop is anchored in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood. Strawshop is one of three resident companies in the new 12th Ave Arts building, which opened on Capitol Hill in 2015.
Mission Statement
Strawberry Theatre Workshop is committed to the idea that the theatre is the people's place of aspiration, and that any voice from the stage is translated exponentially into conversations at coffee shops, bus stops, classrooms, and play fields. Strawshop is dedicated to the idea of ensemble, in the broadest sense of the word. Our ensemble does not only mean a resident company of workers, but a collective that includes our work, our audience, and our neighborhood. This is an activist stance. To be a good neighbor is to be a relevant neighbor, a responsible neighbor, and a vocal neighbor.
Listing Information
Title: Our Country's Good
Previews: Thu-Fri January 23-24, 2020
Opens: Saturday, January 25, 2020
Plays: Thu-Fri-Sat and Mon, 7:30 pm
Matinee: Sun February 16 only, 2:00 pm
NO PERFORMANCE MONDAY JANUARY 27
Venue: Mainstage Theatre at 12th Ave Arts
Address: 1620 12th Ave, Capitol Hill, Seattle
Ticket Prices: $36 General, $24 Mondays
Phone Sales: 1-800-838-3006
Online Sales: strawshop.bpt.me
READ MORE AT: www.strawshop.org
|
|
 |
Location12th Ave Arts (View)
1620 12th Ave
Seattle, WA 98122
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: Yes! |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
|
Contact
|
