See "Freedom Tower" tonight & Sat. Seven Stories Theatre Company's production of Sam Graber's "Freedom Tower" is a must-see.
I caught the show last night at Monongalia Arts Center (MAC) on High Street, Morgantown. If you haven't caught this show yet, you don't want to miss tonight's 8 p.m. performance (Friday, Nov. 1), after which there will be an informal talk-back session with the audience. The show will also be tomorrow, Saturday, Nov. 2, at 8 p.m. at the MAC.
I'm writing a brief review here to let you know why you don't want to miss this play.
First, the acting and directing is top notch. Director Roger Banks has taken a powerful, challenging script and created a performance in which the actors have stepped up to that challenge. I also commend the playwright, Mr. Graber, for having the guts to write about the nature of freedom 12 years after 9-11. Ultimately the subject matter of the play, particularly the relationship between freedom and forgiveness, speaks to key issues of humanity that go beyond 9-11.
I can't say enough good things about the cast and crew and the amount of effort, time and work Seven Stories Theatre Company has put into this production. I want to thank the cast for taking a few minutes after the performance to chat with me & sign my program. Here's the cast list (via the program, in order of appearance) Robby Justiss as the character, Mouth, Josh Brooks as Truck, Justin Grow as Squanto, Walter Hurd as John Tyler, Max Gould as Khaki, Joey Madia as Aly Nafisi, Carleigh Walker, Voice and Jason Nels, Voice. Kudos to Knight Berman Jr. for the music interludes and sound effects.
I read the script prior to the performance (huge thanks to Mr. Graber for making it available on his website). The dialogue, which includes construction crew banter spoken in slang with New York/Jersey accents, is in itself a challenge. On top of that, the main characters are each complex in their own right.
The actors did an incredible job, not only with dialect, but with the action. There are a few blocks of dialogue that when I read the script, I wondered how it would go over on stage. I felt the actors made the longer dialogue sound very natural, in keeping with the moment.
Because the play is still being performed, I won't get too much into the subject matter right now, as I want to avoid giving away any spoilers.
What moved me the most both personally, and as a writer interested in these subjects, was the unspoken things I felt on a personal level as I was watching the play. (Note: This is more my view and not speaking exactly about anything specific in the play.) Seeing "Freedom Tower" unfold on the stage, my mind kept going back to thinking about, what exactly does Freedom Tower represent? The word "freedom" is in the name of the new building, but whose freedom exactly does it represent? After coming back from Iraq, I've been thinking long and hard about what exactly is freedom and wrote extensively about it in my novel, "The STARLING Connection."
Is our nation's youth, meaning the majority in public schools, free to get a full education that is equal to the education the wealthy receive in private schools? Are we free to volunteer for the military? But is it truly a volunteer force if there aren't enough good-paying jobs in the country?
Actually, when you begin to think more deeply about precisely what freedom is, then we begin to realize freedom is much more than a flag. It's more than a word, more than a bumper sticker. Actually, we learn that an enormous amount of hard work and consciousness goes into constructing a truly free and just society for all.
My greatest concern today is that, under the current trajectory, the "freedom" in Freedom Tower is becoming more of a word than a reality, much like the 4th Amendment and our other human rights in our Bill of Rights.
What does the word "freedom" in Freedom Tower mean exactly when the National so-called "Security" Agency is spying on the citizenry? When the gap between the rich and poor has become astronomical and ever-growing, with massive global banking systems (think 2008 financial collapse, so-called "bail outs," etc.), to the point that beneath the surface, the nation is ever-more becoming similar to France prior to the French Revolution or Russia under the tsar? Does the word "freedom" apply to everyone or to only a few people? Where exactly are we heading? What is the end game?
Again, I want to be very clear, these are are only my personal thoughts and questions about freedom. My perspective is based on my experiences in public schools in West Virginia and eastern Kentucky, my deployment experiences overseas in the Army, and so on. I'm very thankful to see a play that challenges me to think about freedom in new ways, most importantly, in terms of forgiveness. I realize forgiveness may be one of the best ways to think about human liberty.
The play challenges us to realize we can't be truly free unless we are capable of forgiveness. We can't be free if we are unable to work together, focusing on the most important things which make or break any society, namely, striving for inclusiveness and equal opportunity.
The play examines freedom from many angles, including the problem of how many of those who searched for their loved ones in the rubble are also still searching for freedom. Looking at all these issues surrounding freedom, it's obvious that a new tower, while being an important symbol, is not exactly what will make us free.
Perhaps true freedom lives only within the natural consciousness of the human mind-heart.
What do you think freedom is, precisely? What does freedom represent to you? What does freedom look like? How exactly can everyone be free? I'd love to hear your thoughts, so leave some comments.
I also hope you'll be able to see Mr. Graber's "Freedom Tower" and/or any of his other works as they're performed in other venues. I commend Mr. Graber for having the courage to exercise his freedom to write about such challenging issues we all continue to deal with.
Theodore Webb is a poet, novelist, short story author and playwright. Webb is the author of the dystopian fiction novels, "Lifeline,” “Crucible,” “Colossus” and “Inferno,” the first four books in “The STARLING Series,"available for ALL DEVICES, smartphone, Kindle, PC, MAC, via Amazon.com. (Note: All four books are available as one volume, titled, "The STARLING Connection.") His short stories are also available online, including "Desperate Engine" on Amazon and "Family Hour" available in ALL digital formats on Smashwords.com. For paper copies of Webb's books, contact the author directly via email:twebb4502@gmail.com.
I caught the show last night at Monongalia Arts Center (MAC) on High Street, Morgantown. If you haven't caught this show yet, you don't want to miss tonight's 8 p.m. performance (Friday, Nov. 1), after which there will be an informal talk-back session with the audience. The show will also be tomorrow, Saturday, Nov. 2, at 8 p.m. at the MAC.
I'm writing a brief review here to let you know why you don't want to miss this play.
First, the acting and directing is top notch. Director Roger Banks has taken a powerful, challenging script and created a performance in which the actors have stepped up to that challenge. I also commend the playwright, Mr. Graber, for having the guts to write about the nature of freedom 12 years after 9-11. Ultimately the subject matter of the play, particularly the relationship between freedom and forgiveness, speaks to key issues of humanity that go beyond 9-11.
I can't say enough good things about the cast and crew and the amount of effort, time and work Seven Stories Theatre Company has put into this production. I want to thank the cast for taking a few minutes after the performance to chat with me & sign my program. Here's the cast list (via the program, in order of appearance) Robby Justiss as the character, Mouth, Josh Brooks as Truck, Justin Grow as Squanto, Walter Hurd as John Tyler, Max Gould as Khaki, Joey Madia as Aly Nafisi, Carleigh Walker, Voice and Jason Nels, Voice. Kudos to Knight Berman Jr. for the music interludes and sound effects.
I read the script prior to the performance (huge thanks to Mr. Graber for making it available on his website). The dialogue, which includes construction crew banter spoken in slang with New York/Jersey accents, is in itself a challenge. On top of that, the main characters are each complex in their own right.
The actors did an incredible job, not only with dialect, but with the action. There are a few blocks of dialogue that when I read the script, I wondered how it would go over on stage. I felt the actors made the longer dialogue sound very natural, in keeping with the moment.
Because the play is still being performed, I won't get too much into the subject matter right now, as I want to avoid giving away any spoilers.
What moved me the most both personally, and as a writer interested in these subjects, was the unspoken things I felt on a personal level as I was watching the play. (Note: This is more my view and not speaking exactly about anything specific in the play.) Seeing "Freedom Tower" unfold on the stage, my mind kept going back to thinking about, what exactly does Freedom Tower represent? The word "freedom" is in the name of the new building, but whose freedom exactly does it represent? After coming back from Iraq, I've been thinking long and hard about what exactly is freedom and wrote extensively about it in my novel, "The STARLING Connection."
Is our nation's youth, meaning the majority in public schools, free to get a full education that is equal to the education the wealthy receive in private schools? Are we free to volunteer for the military? But is it truly a volunteer force if there aren't enough good-paying jobs in the country?
Actually, when you begin to think more deeply about precisely what freedom is, then we begin to realize freedom is much more than a flag. It's more than a word, more than a bumper sticker. Actually, we learn that an enormous amount of hard work and consciousness goes into constructing a truly free and just society for all.
My greatest concern today is that, under the current trajectory, the "freedom" in Freedom Tower is becoming more of a word than a reality, much like the 4th Amendment and our other human rights in our Bill of Rights.
What does the word "freedom" in Freedom Tower mean exactly when the National so-called "Security" Agency is spying on the citizenry? When the gap between the rich and poor has become astronomical and ever-growing, with massive global banking systems (think 2008 financial collapse, so-called "bail outs," etc.), to the point that beneath the surface, the nation is ever-more becoming similar to France prior to the French Revolution or Russia under the tsar? Does the word "freedom" apply to everyone or to only a few people? Where exactly are we heading? What is the end game?
Again, I want to be very clear, these are are only my personal thoughts and questions about freedom. My perspective is based on my experiences in public schools in West Virginia and eastern Kentucky, my deployment experiences overseas in the Army, and so on. I'm very thankful to see a play that challenges me to think about freedom in new ways, most importantly, in terms of forgiveness. I realize forgiveness may be one of the best ways to think about human liberty.
The play challenges us to realize we can't be truly free unless we are capable of forgiveness. We can't be free if we are unable to work together, focusing on the most important things which make or break any society, namely, striving for inclusiveness and equal opportunity.
The play examines freedom from many angles, including the problem of how many of those who searched for their loved ones in the rubble are also still searching for freedom. Looking at all these issues surrounding freedom, it's obvious that a new tower, while being an important symbol, is not exactly what will make us free.
Perhaps true freedom lives only within the natural consciousness of the human mind-heart.
What do you think freedom is, precisely? What does freedom represent to you? What does freedom look like? How exactly can everyone be free? I'd love to hear your thoughts, so leave some comments.
I also hope you'll be able to see Mr. Graber's "Freedom Tower" and/or any of his other works as they're performed in other venues. I commend Mr. Graber for having the courage to exercise his freedom to write about such challenging issues we all continue to deal with.
Theodore Webb is a poet, novelist, short story author and playwright. Webb is the author of the dystopian fiction novels, "Lifeline,” “Crucible,” “Colossus” and “Inferno,” the first four books in “The STARLING Series,"available for ALL DEVICES, smartphone, Kindle, PC, MAC, via Amazon.com. (Note: All four books are available as one volume, titled, "The STARLING Connection.") His short stories are also available online, including "Desperate Engine" on Amazon and "Family Hour" available in ALL digital formats on Smashwords.com. For paper copies of Webb's books, contact the author directly via email:twebb4502@gmail.com.
