The Linfield Theatre Program will kick off its season with “We Are But One Thread,” a devised work with Jerry Goralnick and The Living Theatre Workshops.
Goralnick and Linfield students will develop an original production based on Linfield’s PLACE (Program for Liberal Arts and Civic Engagement) theme for 2015-16, “Air, Water, Earth, and Fire: The Ancient Elements on a Changing Planet.”
Performance dates are Thursday, Sept. 17, Friday, Sept. 18, and Saturday, Sept. 19, at 7:30 p.m. in the Marshall Theatre in Ford Hall.
Air, water, earth and fire create the loom upon which the tapestry of the planet is woven, connecting all its elements by a common thread. “We Are But One Thread” examines the way in which humankind, a single filament within this fabric, alters the design in ways no other creature has ever done. What happens to the planet and to ourselves when we pull one interconnecting thread?
Themes for the play will be drawn from the common reading for Linfield’s entering students, “The Sixth Extinction” by Elizabeth Kolbert. Using improvisation and other acting techniques, the ensemble will develop the script and production elements.
Goralnick will be in residence at Linfield for two weeks, working with Linfield students from across the college and participating in class discussions. Since 1947, The Living Theatre has created an imaginative alternative to the commercial stage by using the theatre to further social change. Founded by Judith Malina, the German-born student of Erwin Piscator, and Julian Beck, an abstract expressionist painter of the New York School, The Living Theatre has staged more than 100 productions performed in eight languages in 28 countries on five continents – a unique body of work that has influenced theatre the world over. To learn more, visit: http://www.livingtheatre.org.
This production kicks off the 96th theatre season at Linfield and is the 13th in Marshall Theatre. This play is presented by the Linfield Theatre Program and the Lacroute Art Series, and is a Linfield PLACE event. The Lacroute Arts Series is made possible by the generosity of Ronni Lacroute, Linfield College trustee and arts benefactor. The second production for the fall semester will be Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” which is scheduled in November.
All tickets are $5 and seating is reserved. Tickets will go on sale online on Tuesday, Sept. 8, at http://www.linfield.edu/arts and at the Marshall Theatre Box Office on Monday, Sept. 14. Located just inside the lobby of Ford Hall, the box office is open Monday through Wednesday from 3 to 5 p.m. and Thursday through Saturday from 3 to 7:30 p.m. For more information, call 503-883-2292. The Marshall Theatre is fully accessible.
To reach Ford Hall from Hwy 99W, turn east on Keck Drive at Albertson’s. Take Keck Drive to Lever Street and turn right. Take the next immediate right at Ford Drive into the theatre parking lot. Ford Hall is located at the west end of the parking lot. For a campus map, visit: http://www.linfield.edu/campus-map.html
