[Peace-discuss] Re: "The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail" -- probably Nov 7+8, Channing-Murray

[Karen Medina]

Stuart wrote: > I'd love for AWARE to help promote this play.

[I agree. "The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail" sounds like a great play (see description below), and the fact that a local group will be performing it here says there is hope for the world. -karen medina]

"The play is based on the early life of Henry David Thoreau, leading up to his night spent in a jail in Concord, Massachusetts [because he refused to pay the tax to support the war].
 
The play opens with Ralph Waldo Emerson, in his old age, recalling the memories of his friend, Henry David Thoreau. The play quickly shifts to Henry's current time in jail because he refused to pay the tax to support the war. In jail, Thoreau meets Bailey, a homeless man falsely accused of arson. After meeting Bailey, Thoreau reflects on his recent past.

The play does not present events in chronological order; rather, the play features Thoreau remembering earlier parts of his life, not necessarily in the order they occurred. 

See the wikipedia entry for it... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Night_Thoreau_Spent_in_Jail



>----- Forwarded message from mdemar4 at illinois.edu -----
>
>Date: Mon, 22 Sep 2008 21:02:13 -0500 (CDT)
>From: mdemar4 at illinois.edu
>Subject: Re: "The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail"
>To: Stuart Levy <slevy at ncsa.uiuc.edu>
>
>Thanks for getting in touch Stuart!  I think this would be great for AWARE.
>"The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail" focuses on the life of Henry David Thoreau,
>especially the night spent in a Concord jail for tax resistance, which inspired
>his "Civil Disobedience."  It is a call for activism over withdrawal.  Also, it
>should be noted that this play involves an interaction between Thoreau and a
>runaway slave at Walden pond, which inspires a combination between abolitionism
>and anti-war activism, since the Mexican War sought to expand slave territory.
>
>I'd also like to let you know that we are doing a minimalist interpretation of
>the play--actors in all black, pantomimed props and no real set.  We're keeping
>with the Thoreauvian maxim, "simplify, simplify, simplify!"
>
>Performances are tentatively slated for November 7 and 8 at Channing-Murray.
>I'd like to start promoting a week or two beforehand, for the most part.
>
>That's all I can think of to tell you for now.  Feel free to hand out my e-mail
>to any members with questions.  Also, let me know if you'd like me to stop by
>at an upcoming meeting to elaborate, bounce ideas around or answer any
>questions.
>
>Thanks a lot,
>Matthew DeMarco
>mdemar4 at illinois.edu
>(630) 544-9233
>_______________________________________________
>Peace-discuss mailing list
>Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net
>http://lists.chambana.net/cgi-bin/listinfo/peace-discuss