The
Arctic Cycle (USA), in collaboration with Ensemble Free Theater
Norway, will present a free reading of Forward,
a new play by award-winning New York playwright Chantal Bilodeau, at
Soria Laboratoria (Vogtsgt 64) in Oslo on Friday, 6 December 2013 at
19.00. Admission is free, but seating is limited. This reading will
be performing in English.
Created
for the purpose of bringing artistic voices into mainstream
conversations, The Arctic Cycleuses
the power of storytelling to investigate and attempt to understand
the many challenges posed by climate
change. Each
play in the cycle corresponds to a distinct region of the
Arctic–Canada, Norway, the United States, Greenland, Iceland,
Sweden, Finland, and Russia–and each new work will be developed in
collaboration with artists and institutions in each country.
Set in Norway, theCycle’s second play presents a poetic history of climate change
and considers the question “How did we get here?” Directed by
Jennifer Vellenga, a Kansas State University professor who has worked
in theatre throughout the United States, Forward’s episodic
narrative progresses in reverse chronology–from present day Norway
to 1895, when Fridtjof Nansen established the record for sailing
closest to the North Pole. The play presents a series of seemingly
unrelated characters confronting small, day-to-day challenges, and
making choices that seemed innocent at the time but turned out to be
important markers in history.
“Our changing
climate is deeply impacting not just the environment but also
cultures and economies,” explains Bilodeau. “And this is
especially true in the Arctic where warming temperatures are already
displacing entire ecosystems and changing local populations’ way of
life.”
“Science
has done a good job at explaining these disruptions,” Bilodeau
adds, “ but what we need now are narratives that can help us
understand how these facts fit into our personal lives so we can turn
a chaotic moment in human history into an opportunity for growth. I
hope the plays in the Cycle can provide ways of thinking about
climate change that ultimately lead to action.”
This
free reading of Forward
will include a number of professional actors from Norway’s
contemporary theater scene: Dushinka Andresen (TRESS Teaterkompani),
Ingvild Marie Lien (Memento), and Brendan McCall (Ensemble Free
Theater Norway). Morten Joachim at Soria Laboratoria is providing
logistical support.
A
discussion with the playwright will follow the reading. Those wishing
to attend should send a message to the organizers at
[email protected].
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Contact:
Clay Myers-Bowman, Managing Director
The
Arctic Cycle: www.ArcticCycle.org
Chantal
Bilodeau: www.cbilodeau.com
Ensemble
Free Theater Norway: www.ensemblefreetheaternorway.com
Soria
Laboratoria: www.sorialab.no
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