Industrial Valley: The Devil's Milk, Part 3

NEW WORLD PERFORMANCE LAB STAGES 1930’S LABOR NOVEL

LOCAL THEATRE CONTINUES TRILOGY ON AKRON AND RUBBER

Akron, OH –New World Performance Laboratory (NWPL) will present open rehearsals of “Industrial Valley” the third part of the company’s Devil’s Milk Trilogy, a long-term project based on Akron’s relationship with rubber, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, November 12, 13, 14, 2015 at 8pm and Sunday, November 15 at 2pm in The Balch Street Theatre, 220 South Balch Street, Akron Oh, 44302. For information and reservations call 330-867-3299 or devilsmilk3.brownpapertickets.com. Each open rehearsal will be followed by an audience talkback session. Admission is $10.

“Industrial Valley” is an ensemble-devised theatre performance based on Ruth McKenney’s acclaimed 1939 account of class and industrial conflict in Akron, Ohio. NWPL, under the direction of co-artistic director and University of Akron theatre professor James Slowiak, is using McKenney’s novel to bring to life the sights, sounds, and smells of Depression-era Akron. Malcolm Cowley called McKenney’s historical novel “the best American example of proletarian literature.” These early open rehearsals of “Industrial Valley: The Devil’s Milk, Part 3” will provide the public with a rare view of NWPL’s working process and the birth of a company created performance.  The NWPL ensemble consists of co-artistic director Jairo Cuesta and long-time company members and Akron residents Debora Totti, Justin Hale, Jamie Hale, and Chris Buck, with apprentices Rosilyn Jentner, Robert Keith, and Kyra Kelley.

NWPL in conjunction with the Center for Applied Theatre and Active Culture (CATAC) has been developing “The Devil’s Milk Trilogy” in six intensive two-week work sessions between March and November 2015. Each work session will culminate in an open rehearsal and talkback session with the public. “Death of a Man: The Devil’s Milk, Part 1” was presented in March and May 2015 as a solo performance featuring Jairo Cuesta. “Goosetown: The Devil’s Milk, Part 2” written and composed by JT Buck, began development in June and August 2015. The entire trilogy is planned to begin performances in 2016 at the company’s home base, The Balch Street Theatre, 220 South Balch Street in Akron. Each part of the trilogy will stand on its own as a performance event and take on a very distinct theatrical form and style, providing a stimulus and forum for a frank discussion about the city and the rubber that shaped it. A grant from The Knight Foundation has helped to pay for artists’ stipends during the development process and has allowed CATAC/NWPL to offer ensemble members and local theatre artists the opportunity to refine their craft.

About CATAC and NWPL

CATAC serves as the administrative umbrella for NWPL, an internationally acclaimed ensemble of theatre artists that has been active in Northeastern Ohio since 1992. Since taking up residence at The Balch Street Theatre in 2011, CATAC has produced a number of exceptional NWPL productions including “Virginia Woolf’s ORLANDO” and “Gilgamesh: He Who Saw Everything” as well as hosting various theatre companies such as Studium Teatralne from Poland, TAPIT Theatre Ensemble from Madison, WI, and Ma’Sue Productions. CATAC/NWPL spearheads numerous community projects, training sessions, educational programs, and performances throughout the region, nationally, and internationally.

About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation promotes journalism excellence worldwide and invests in the vitality of communities where the Knight brothers once owned newspapers.  Knight Foundation supports ideas and projects that can lead to transformational change.