Ko Fest & Workshops

Dear Friends, Colleagues and Artistic Associates, 

This summer the 17th Annual KO  FESTIVAL OF PERFORMANCE will serve up a season on the theme of  "FOOD: appetites, attitudes and politics" July 7 - August 10, 2008 on the Amherst College campus in Amherst, MA. We will also offer a series of 6-day WORKSHOPS with expert teachers who are adept at gearing their classes for participants of all levels of experience, who have ranged in age 18 from to 80.

PERFORMANCES

• JULY 11 & 12 We will indulge our palates and awaken our senses with "SEASON" a DARK-DINING PROJECTS a multi-course banquet/performance installation where local foods will be served to BLINDFOLDED guests, set in an olfactory, tactile and sonic landscape.
  
  
• JULY 18 - 20 we will think about the politics and pleasures of eating as raised by LightBox's MILK-N-HONEY, a piece that is the result of three years of research and interviews with flavor scientists, farmers, dumpster-diving "freegans," diabetics and many others. All performances will be followed by the AFTER SHOW CAFÉ, a dynamic discussion forum with invited experts.
  
  
• JULY 25 - 27 with HEARTS AND TONGUES we will join Temple Crocker & Annie Kunjappy in contemplating humankind's relationship to the natural world and the role the senses play in this sublime, contentious and ever-evolving exchange.
  
  
• AUGUST 1 - 3 we will experience the power of song to give us a visceral experience of the control our desires and appetites have over us in SONGS OF HUNGER AND SATISFACTION, a new cabaret by Belle Linda Halpern that will be a funny, intriguing in a profound Jewish-American take on our constant hunger for food, sex, acceptance, and fame – and for true nourishment.

All of these performances are accompanied by lobby displays that contextualize the work and by facilitated, post-performance discussions that provide opportunities for inter-audience/artist exchange and civic dialogue.

 

In addition, we will host two special events:

• JULY 13 NANABOZHO, our annual all-ages event with the beloved Mettawee River Theatre Company, performed outdoors with live music and giant puppets

• AUGUST 8 - 10 2/3 - two short plays (Me and Bobby McGee and Lugnuts of the Soul) for three actors by Amherst College's Peter Lobdell.

 

WORKSHOPS

• July 7 - 12 THE ART OF COLLABORATION: devised theatre and ensemble practice
  with Temple Crocker and Barbara Lanciers
  

• July 14 – 19 FINDING THE THEATRICAL SOUNDSCORE: with voice and non-traditional instruments
  with Katie Down

• July 21 - 26 PHYSICAL & EXPERIMENTAL APPROACHES TO CLASSICAL TEXTS
  with Ellen Beckerman
  

• July 28 - August 2 CREATING CABARET: styles, stories & songs
  with Deletta Gillespie
  

• August 4 - 9 FUNDAMENTALS OF PUPPET PERFORMANCE: performer, instrument & score
  with Robert Smythe?

Please help get the word out! Pass this information along to all appropriate friends, colleagues and students.

In spite of efforts to eliminate duplicates, some of you may have received more than one posting. Many of you are highly networked individuals who appear on more than one listserv, or have multiple e-mail addresses. Please, let me know by return email if you would like to be removed from this list, if you have email address updates, or if you would like to receive a festival brochure or weekly email reminders of our performances during the month-long festival. FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ANY OF THESE EVENTS PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT www.kofest.com

All best wishes,

 

--Sabrina 

 

Sabrina Hamilton
Artistic Director
Ko Festival of Performance

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