World Premiere of New Work about Akron and Rubber

NEW WORLD PERFORMANCE LAB DELVES INTO AKRON’S RELATIONSHIP WITH RUBBER

Akron, OH –Center for Applied Theatre and Active Culture (CATAC) and New World Performance Laboratory (NWPL) present “Death of a Man” the first part of the company’s Devil’s Milk Trilogy, a long-term project based on Akron’s relationship with rubber. Preview performances will be held Thursday, Friday and Saturday, February 4, 5, 6 at 8pm and Sunday, February 7 at 2pm in The Balch Street Theatre, 220 South Balch Street, Akron Oh, 44302. Opening night is Thursday, February 12 with performances continuing on February 13, 14, 19, and 20 at 8pm. Tickets are $10 general and $5 for students. Attendance is very limited. For information and reservations call 330-867-3299 or  http://www.deathofaman.brownpapertickets.com. Each performance will be followed by an audience talk-back session. These previews and performances of “Death of a Man: The Devil’s Milk, Part 1” are produced in conjunction with The University of Akron’s Rethinking Race: Black, White, and Beyond (uakron.edu/race)

“Death of a Man” is a solo performance conceived by and featuring Colombian actor, long-time Akron resident, and NWPL Co-Artistic Director Jairo Cuesta, and directed by University of Akron theatre professor and NWPL co-artistic director James Slowiak. In this moving evocation of the jungles of the Amazon where countless indigenous men, women, and children were mutilated and massacred in the mad search for natural rubber, Cuesta seeks to lead the public on a quest for the sources of a city’s sorrow. Through his virtuosic physical and vocal skills, Cuesta enacts a ritual of storytelling, a sacrifice to heal the city by confronting the violence and blood on which the city is built.  “Death of a Man” is an attempt at authentic intercultural understanding by reengaging the past and bringing it alive in the present. The performance is not meant to sentimentalize the story or merely invoke empathy, but to interrogate, criticize, and empower by opening a dialogue between text, past, present, performer, and audience.  The performance event is based loosely on John Tully’s book, “The Devil’s Milk: A Social History of Rubber,” along with other historical and fictional sources. Cuesta and Slowiak recently returned to Akron from an expedition to the Amazon where they engaged in meetings with members of the indigenous community represented in the performance. This intercultural exchange was made possible, in part, through a grant from the Network of Ensemble Theaters’ Travel & Exchange Network (NET/TEN), supported by lead funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

NWPL in conjunction with the Center for Applied Theatre and Active Culture (CATAC) began to devise “The Devil’s Milk Trilogy” in six intensive two-week work sessions between March and November 2015. Each work session culminated in an open rehearsal and talkback session with the public. “Goosetown: The Devil’s Milk, Part 2” and “Industrial Valley: The Devil’s Milk, Part 3” are still in development and will begin performances later 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 John S. and James L. Knight Foundation helped pay for artists’ stipends during the development process and allowed CATAC/NWPL to offer ensemble members and local theatre artists the opportunity to refine their craft. Further funding for the project has come from the Char and Chuck Fowler Family Foundation.

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, Akropolis Performance Lab from Seattle, and Akron’s Ma’Sue Productions. CATAC/NWPL spearheads numerous community projects, training sessions, educational programs, and performances throughout the region, nationally, and internationally.

Contacts

CATAC/NWPL:  James Slowiak • nwplab@gmail.com • 330-867-3299 • Website • Facebook