encouragement from MiLkBabY

i send this message to encourage you...

encourage you that the world is not a machine...

encourage you to leave the house, be with other human beings, and share
something...

encourage you to fly out of your skin and be with a bird, a lady, and a magician @ 7:30 (before the MiLkBabY show @9:30) and see THE SCARLET IBIS
directed by Ann Filmer, music by Barry Bennett, and video by Kristin Reeves.

i encourage you to make a small statement to our friend , laurie, that even if the monetary amount raised at the MiLkBabY show seems inconsequential in the long run; that a group of hUmaNs came together to celebrate her healing...

OK
enough!
it sounds bit new agey, but i am a ROCKER at heart and can sort of get away with it!
i shouldn't have to encourage you to have an awesome time, but i am.
on top of everything else, i feel a real rebirth in the MiLkBabY beast
with Davidly's visit and the show we have planned for you on FRI AUG 1ST is
the kind of shows that MILkBabY want to keep doing in the future.
We would love to have you come out and be a part of it with us...

summing up for ED in vienna...

MiLkBabY + DavidLy (from berlin)
FRI AUG 1ST

LIVE @ 16TH STREET THEATER
6420 W 16th Street ** Berwyn
9:30pm sharp ... all ages ... $5
have a fever dream with us....

love
milkme
www.milkbaby.net

Audience responds to THE SCARLET IBIS

Hi, Ann,
Well. You were right. I have never seen anything like IBIS. And it was such an interesting experience, watching it. I started out feeling overwhelmed. As a lover of poetry, of it's (usually) necessary intimacy between page and reader, or poet and listener, I didn't know what to pay attention to. But then I settled down and let it happen and got comfortable and just really really enjoyed it. It was moving and funny and truly magical. It made me want to get the poems and read them, which I did.
I am so proud to be associated with a theater doing things that are so artful and different and risky and satisfying.
Thank you for all you to bring such richness to your community.
xoxo
E.

Ann,

Just wanted to reiterate that your staging of the poetry was brilliant -- very David Lynch -- and all three actors were superb.

Will

Hi Ann,

just wanted to say congratulations again for doing such a beautiful thing. I am so impressed.

As I was saying when we spoke after the show, I felt grateful to you for carving out a space and time in the world where the kind of communication and experience that happens through poetry and dreams got to have a little play in waking life. And I think you did succeed in allowing the witness to relate to the images, actions and words with as much room for personal experience as we have in the arenas of dreams and poetry. I think you succeeded in embodying ephemeral important things without limiting their expansiveness or possibility very much at all, which is a wonderful thing.

I also feel like you did what my favorite absurdist theater does, which is to represent dynamics that are recognizable to us, without any context or detail of situation. I felt like the bird and the woman and especially their relationship to each other in the second half was archetypal, and wordlessly familiar... and didn't need any time or location of description to be deeply understood. very yay. :)"

And I felt the same about seeing you. I thought, 'gosh that lady shines'. It was really fun to see you again, and nice to be there on that night. I liked that you had so many women in attendance who you've worked with/are going to be working with this season... that was cool. :) I'll definitely be out to see more of your work!

With love,

Janna

A conversation with Susan Hahn

The Poet.
A conversation with Susan Hahn by Gina Tarullo

“I felt like the bird had come into my life and kept informing me as to what to do next.”
- Susan Hahn, on writing The Scarlet Ibis

You are an experienced poet and this is not your first play. How would you describe The Scarlet Ibis in relation to your body of work?

Susan Hahn: Of all the books I’ve written, The Scarlet Ibis was a complete surprise. I never intended to write it.

It probably – as oddly as it sounds – is my most personal book. And if someone had said to me, “Someday, Susan, you’re going to write a book about a bird and a lady and a magician and it’s going to be your most personal book of poetry,” I would have just looked at them and said, “That’s nuts.”

How did the idea for the book come about?

SH: It happened exactly like it is in the play: I saw a picture of a scarlet ibis in a book and I became enamored by its beauty… I am not a person who goes and looks at birds. I’m not a birdwatcher. I had bought this book Earth From Above – it’s a gorgeous book, and because I loved it so much, I bought the version for children. It was in the children’s version that I saw the scarlet ibis. I remember opening it up and thinking there was something about the bird that just insisted on its appearance.

I decided that I would find out more about the scarlet ibis and consequently, I started doing some research. It became unbelievable to me what I was learning in terms of this bird – the wealth of information and the possibilities to write poems. I always felt like the bird was leading me somewhere.

I never, never imagined writing The Scarlet Ibis until I saw that picture in the book. It was almost like something was happening to me that I wish for every poet – that the muse comes to visit them in such a way that it almost carries them. I really have not had an experience like that – where the intention for the book appeared out of nowhere. It was a very odd, very magical experience. That’s why I added the [bird and lady] tricks.

Had you always intended for this book to be produced for the theater? How did you come to know it could work as a performance?

SH: I had asked one rather accomplished poet to do cover copy for the book and he said no –that he didn’t do that anymore – but he gave me a greater gift because he asked, “Do you realize what a theatrical piece this is?”

… I immediately e-mailed Ann [Filmer] and asked if she would read it as a theatre piece. Suddenly I saw the possibilities. She read it saying she couldn’t get it out of her mind. I knew that was a good sign that she would probably take it to the next level.

16th Street Theater’s production of The Scarlet Ibis incorporates a number of artistic elements, including original music and video. How would you compare this performance to the experience of reading these poems on the page?















SH: This performance of it is like a fully fleshed-out version of the book – it’s so unified, it’s got so many facets to it – it informs the audience so much better.

With the added layer of videography, at first I didn’t quite know where to look. And then I just allowed it in with the music and with the language – and once I embraced it as a whole, then I decided I could look at the entire stage and it’s such a rich experience. As a poet, it’s almost overwhelming to have all that happening; to see the different layers of intention in the language highlighted in such a way.

Would you call this piece autobiographical?

SH: Emotionally, it is. With the publication of The Scarlet Ibis, I think what I did is I took my book Mother in Summer and reinvented it. [Mother in Summer] is a very personal book about losing my mother but I think The Scarlet Ibis takes that subject matter to a much higher level. When I see The Scarlet Ibis, it seems the most accurate way of putting what I wanted to say about the loss. And I am struck by that. I knew that was happening while I was writing the book but I had pushed it out of me and gone on to other things since. And it was only when I saw it staged that it really hit hard.

I think it can be enlarged for anyone about any kind of loss and about how you replace it.
In my case, I had this bird visit me.

###

The Scarlet Ibis performs July 24 – August 2, 2008 at 16th Street Theater in Berwyn.

Audience responds to SAINTHOOD and CARLOTTA

Dear Ms Filmer,
I was so moved by Arlene Malinowski's Aiming for Sainthood. It was a beautiful piece of writing and the acting was astonishing. I don't gush, but this show left me speechless. Her story, her energy, her honesty was amazing. I will enjoy coming back to 16th Street Theater. Great job by everyone!!
Grace


Dear Ann,
Another great evening at 16th Street. A terrific show. Our friends were knocked out by the theater, the show, Arlene, and of course, you. They'll definitely be back.
Thanks.

Donna

Ann,
I just wanted you to know how terrific I thought the play "Aiming for
Sainthood" was!!!
Arlene Malinowski's story and acting is awesome!

Mary

Dear Ms. Filmer,

I just wanted to say how much I loved your recent production of Will Dunne’s “The Ascension of Carlotta.” I was talking with my good friend Arlene (Malinowski), and she asked me if I had shared my appreciation with you. I told her that I had wanted to Saturday night but that my courage faltered. Arlene’s mantra—and I love her for this—is that artists love to have their work appreciated by other artists, so I am taking her advice.

I live just down the street on Harlem, and it is nice to finally have a theater in my back yard. And as a working-class boy myself, it was so refreshing to go to a theater dedicated to this kind of work. I had thought that this voice had all but been silenced. (Maybe I am going to the wrong theatres.) Will Dunne’s play presented a range of working-class experiences rather than just presenting a monolithic picture of that experience. It is an insider’s view; I am sure of it. When Romeo—what a great character!—accuses Carlotta of stealing his dream—however small—I felt as if Will Dunne truly knew what he was about. More than anything, I feel, this is the way of things for the children of the working class.

All I wanted to say was, I hope to introduce myself at the next show. I wouldn’t miss Arlene’s show for the world. She also mentioned that you might need people to help out for your summer programming. If you have need of me for anything, please don’t hesitate to write.

Thanks,

Carlo Matos

Talking with solo performer Arlene Malinowski

A conversation with playwright/performer Arlene Malinowski
by Assistant Director Maggie Carlin

Arlene, doing a one-woman show like this is kind of unique. I have to know, how did you come up with this idea and what did you base your ideas off of?

There are two people I have to mention in order to answer this question. The first is Anne Etue. I saw a performance of Tokyo Bound, which Anne Etue directed, and I said, “I want to do that!” Anne became my fairy god mother. Tokyo Bound is a one-woman autobiographical play written and performed by Amy Hill, who was even nominated for an award. So, anyway, I was talking to Anne and telling her about myself and my family and she told me that I had a story to tell and that I needed to tell it. And that’s how I got into autobiography work.

The second person I must mention is Kerry Haynie. He directed my first show and really helped me develop my story. We started out with a sixteen-minute piece and he wanted to know if I could go further and really expand my story. I had been working on some material for about a year but nothing was complete so this forced me to put it together.

I based my ideas on an American Sign Language storytelling style. The characters that I have, their positions, placements and quirks are based on deaf storytelling, which was an easy way to tell my story. There could be no other way to tell my story!

You have kind of already addressed this but who have been your biggest influences over the years and why?

Every storyteller that I have ever seen at the Deaf Club. Oh, and my Dad too. He is an amazing storyteller.

What do you think are you greatest accomplishments thus far?

Holding the vision of being a good daughter, sister, wife and friend. And of course being a good teacher. I have been lucky enough to have a number of careers that have prepared me for the next level and they are all a part of my accomplishments.

You share a lot of personal facts about your life and your families’ lives. How have they reacted to this?

Wow, so many moments are pivotal that people don’t remember! Some things that have meant so much to me, my family will say, “That didn’t happen.” I really believe that reality is truly shaped by who you are and what you see and what’s important to you.

Is there anything else you’d like to share about Theater and the work you’re doing?

I just want to say that the reason I love autobiographical work so much is because as a culture I feel that we don’t know enough about the people around us. We know and connect with the people of “Grey’s Anatomy” or even “Project Runway” but we don’t know our neighbors! Most of us don’t even know the stories of our grandparents! We’re not connecting to each other and in doing so we’re losing ourselves.

I want people to watch my story and think, “I know what that’s like,” not just C.O.D.A.’s (Children Of Deaf Adults) but everyone. I want my story to be a springboard for all of us to share our own stories and make connections.

I really feel that a play is like a molecular structure that can change who you are. I mean, a good play invites you to watch but a GREAT play lets you see the world differently. My goal is to connect the world one story at a time!

Scenic design for AIMING FOR SAINTHOOD

Katie Schweiger's scenic design for AIMING FOR SAINTHOOD. She is building and painting a "false proscenium" to frame Arlene's Malinowski's solo performance. The hanging photos will be abstracted images from Arlene's childhood using the image of Arlene below.