Why choose a subject like rape?
Everyone has a story – no one has the gift of living without also experiencing the challenge of loss. Often these losses are considered unspeakable. The ensuing silence robs our world.
While we cannot choose the experiences that define and shape us, we do have the power to choose what comes ‘after.’ This is what I call crafting a ‘magnificent second choice’ life, which is what we are all doing.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
The Ensemble
The people behind 'As If We Live To Bear No Scars' are an extraordinary ensemble of nationally recognized artists and performers. They include:
Andrea Bredbeck, Artistic Director
Anya Bredbeck, Artist and Collaborator
Anya is the commissioned artist for the visual narrative of “As If We Live...” Working closely with producer Andrea Bredbeck, she has collaborated, edited and supported the production from its inception. In addition to her work as an artist and art teacher, she is also a carpenter. Andrea Bredbeck describes her daughter Anya as a motivation and inspiration for all of her work.
Carolann DiPirro, Actor, 'The Girl'
Originally a New Yorker, Carolann is delighted to return to the East Coast and take a hiatus from the Hollywood Hills. With roots in stage acting, Carolann is equally at home with serious drama or outrageous comedy. She finished an extended run in Boston last spring with the “fierce, female, fabulous and funny” (Eve Ensler) all-women’s sketch comedy troupe “Broad Comedy” at the Stuart Street Playhouse. In Los Angeles, Carolann has performed in “The Vagina Monologues” as part of the V-Day Benefit, and other original plays throughout the city. New York stage credits include “The Who’s Tommy,” and original works at such venues as Ensemble Studio Theatre, New York Theatre Workshop, and La Mama. Film credits include “The Confession,” “Reason Thirteen,” “Midnight,” and “Lucky.” TV credits include “American Dreams,” “Saturday Night Live,” and “Beyond Chance” (pilot). Carolann also works as a writer and producer and is currently developing a TV pilot based on environmentally friendly living. She has produced and starred in a series of reward-based dog training videos and “Self-Employed Dogs” commercials (currently on YouTube), collaborating with the original Dog Whisperer, Paul Owens. She is a graduate of Swarthmore College, and trained at the American Conservatory Theatre, BADA in London, and the Barrow Group in New York.
Chloe Lara-Russack, Theatrical Director
Holding strong to her belief that theater has the power to make the world a better place, Chloe fills her days with teaching and directing young actors between the ages of five and fifteen. She is Artistic Director of the Artbarn Community Theatre in Coolidge Corner, near Boston, and theatre teacher at the Pierce School in Brookline, Mass. She also co-runs a theatre program in Jamaica Plain, Mass. Chloe will continue her life-long pursuit of theatre as a healing tool this fall when she enrolls as a master’s candidate at the New York University Drama Therapy Program. Chloe was thrilled to join this inspired, talented team, believing "As If We Live To Bear No Scars" speaks to the human emotions of strength, love and hope.
Josie Bray, Choreographic Director
Josie is the Executive Director of Green Street Studios, Center for Movement and Dance, and was the recipient of the 2005 and 2006 IRNE awards for Best Choreography of a Musical (small company). As part of the Animus Ensemble, where she was Co-Artistic Director, she choreographed"for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow was enuf," "Promises, Promises," "Once Upon a Mattress" and "Little Shop of Horrors."She has studied modern dance technique and composition with Jody Weber, Debra Bluth, and Marcus Schulkind, among others. Josie was also the recipient of the Emerging Artist Award at Green Street Studios funded in part by LEF in the spring of 2002. She earned a B.A. in theatre and dance and an M.A. in theatre education from Emerson College, where she received the Departmental Thesis award.
Blake Newman, Musical Director, Composer, Bassist
In addition to composing an original score for “As If We Live To Bear No Scars,” Blake is an acclaimed recording artist and bassist with diverse musical interests. He has performed at New York’s Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall, among other venues, with MIT’s Balinese gamelan orchestra, Gamelan Galak Tika, under the direction of Evan Ziporyn. His work with this group appears on the CD “Amok” (New World Records, 2000). He has also performed with the American Repertory Theatre’s productions of Oedipus (with music composed by Ziporyn) and OrpheusX (music by Rinde Eckert), both directed by Robert Woodruff. He spent six years performing and recording with the West African Mbalax band Ibrahima Camara and Safal, culminating in a tour of Senegal. He also recorded “Three Feet Off the Ground” (Audioquest, 2000) with the instrumental blues band Bruce Katz Band. He currently performs with Jeff Robinson Trio, a music and spoken word group, which hosts a weekly poetry jam at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge, Mass.; this group will release “Next on the Mic” (Rounder Records) in September 2007. As a freelance bassist, Blake has performed and/or recorded with David Murray, Ran Blake, Big Jack Johnson, Duke Robillard, Michelle Wilson, John Sinclair, Mamadou Diop, David Maxwell and many others.
Todd Brunel, Clarinetist
Michael McLaughlin, Accordionist
Misha Derissaint, ASL Consultant and Interpreter, 'The Girl'
Misha is an actress and ASL (American Sign Language)interpreter. Her acting experience began in middle school in “Birds of Different Feathers” with directors Jody Steiner and Janis Cole. Past credits include “1001 Black Inventions,” “The Vagina Monologues,” “A Nice Place to Live,” “Light,” “Hey Sistah, Welcome Home,” “The Creation of the World and Other Business” and “Suburbia.”She has extended her talents interpreting the 2005 and 2006 Martin Luther King Junior Concerts at Symphony Hall, the Boston Children's Chorus, Maria in “The Sound of Music,” several roles in “Beauty & the Beast” at Wheelock Family Theater, and jazz musician Lisa Thorson’s JazzArtSigns Concert at Wheelock. Misha interned with the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, playing the role of Prince Escalus in “Romeo and Juliet,” and as an ensemble player in “Hamlet.” She also performed in an independent film for Lanice O'Bryant's “Love Signs (And Other Matters Open to Interpretation).” This June Misha will be graduating with her B.A. in theatre arts from University of Massachusetts/Boston.
Otis Debnam III, ASL Interpreter, 'Buzzing Man'
Bob Maibor, Actor, 'Daddy's Voice'
Aaron Malgeri, ASL Interpreter, 'Daddy'
Maria LaRossa, Dancer, 'The Girl'
Maleek Washington, Dancer, 'Buzzing Man'
Sylvia Morrison, Videographer
Jo Parente, Makeup Consultant
Pamela Bush, Costume Fabricator
Petr Metlicka, Lighting Designer
Scott Ervin, Legal, Set Fabrication
Andrea Bredbeck, Artistic Director
Anya Bredbeck, Artist and Collaborator
Anya is the commissioned artist for the visual narrative of “As If We Live...” Working closely with producer Andrea Bredbeck, she has collaborated, edited and supported the production from its inception. In addition to her work as an artist and art teacher, she is also a carpenter. Andrea Bredbeck describes her daughter Anya as a motivation and inspiration for all of her work.
Carolann DiPirro, Actor, 'The Girl'
Originally a New Yorker, Carolann is delighted to return to the East Coast and take a hiatus from the Hollywood Hills. With roots in stage acting, Carolann is equally at home with serious drama or outrageous comedy. She finished an extended run in Boston last spring with the “fierce, female, fabulous and funny” (Eve Ensler) all-women’s sketch comedy troupe “Broad Comedy” at the Stuart Street Playhouse. In Los Angeles, Carolann has performed in “The Vagina Monologues” as part of the V-Day Benefit, and other original plays throughout the city. New York stage credits include “The Who’s Tommy,” and original works at such venues as Ensemble Studio Theatre, New York Theatre Workshop, and La Mama. Film credits include “The Confession,” “Reason Thirteen,” “Midnight,” and “Lucky.” TV credits include “American Dreams,” “Saturday Night Live,” and “Beyond Chance” (pilot). Carolann also works as a writer and producer and is currently developing a TV pilot based on environmentally friendly living. She has produced and starred in a series of reward-based dog training videos and “Self-Employed Dogs” commercials (currently on YouTube), collaborating with the original Dog Whisperer, Paul Owens. She is a graduate of Swarthmore College, and trained at the American Conservatory Theatre, BADA in London, and the Barrow Group in New York.
Chloe Lara-Russack, Theatrical Director
Holding strong to her belief that theater has the power to make the world a better place, Chloe fills her days with teaching and directing young actors between the ages of five and fifteen. She is Artistic Director of the Artbarn Community Theatre in Coolidge Corner, near Boston, and theatre teacher at the Pierce School in Brookline, Mass. She also co-runs a theatre program in Jamaica Plain, Mass. Chloe will continue her life-long pursuit of theatre as a healing tool this fall when she enrolls as a master’s candidate at the New York University Drama Therapy Program. Chloe was thrilled to join this inspired, talented team, believing "As If We Live To Bear No Scars" speaks to the human emotions of strength, love and hope.
Josie Bray, Choreographic Director
Josie is the Executive Director of Green Street Studios, Center for Movement and Dance, and was the recipient of the 2005 and 2006 IRNE awards for Best Choreography of a Musical (small company). As part of the Animus Ensemble, where she was Co-Artistic Director, she choreographed"for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow was enuf," "Promises, Promises," "Once Upon a Mattress" and "Little Shop of Horrors."She has studied modern dance technique and composition with Jody Weber, Debra Bluth, and Marcus Schulkind, among others. Josie was also the recipient of the Emerging Artist Award at Green Street Studios funded in part by LEF in the spring of 2002. She earned a B.A. in theatre and dance and an M.A. in theatre education from Emerson College, where she received the Departmental Thesis award.
Blake Newman, Musical Director, Composer, Bassist
In addition to composing an original score for “As If We Live To Bear No Scars,” Blake is an acclaimed recording artist and bassist with diverse musical interests. He has performed at New York’s Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall, among other venues, with MIT’s Balinese gamelan orchestra, Gamelan Galak Tika, under the direction of Evan Ziporyn. His work with this group appears on the CD “Amok” (New World Records, 2000). He has also performed with the American Repertory Theatre’s productions of Oedipus (with music composed by Ziporyn) and OrpheusX (music by Rinde Eckert), both directed by Robert Woodruff. He spent six years performing and recording with the West African Mbalax band Ibrahima Camara and Safal, culminating in a tour of Senegal. He also recorded “Three Feet Off the Ground” (Audioquest, 2000) with the instrumental blues band Bruce Katz Band. He currently performs with Jeff Robinson Trio, a music and spoken word group, which hosts a weekly poetry jam at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge, Mass.; this group will release “Next on the Mic” (Rounder Records) in September 2007. As a freelance bassist, Blake has performed and/or recorded with David Murray, Ran Blake, Big Jack Johnson, Duke Robillard, Michelle Wilson, John Sinclair, Mamadou Diop, David Maxwell and many others.
Todd Brunel, Clarinetist
Michael McLaughlin, Accordionist
Misha Derissaint, ASL Consultant and Interpreter, 'The Girl'
Misha is an actress and ASL (American Sign Language)interpreter. Her acting experience began in middle school in “Birds of Different Feathers” with directors Jody Steiner and Janis Cole. Past credits include “1001 Black Inventions,” “The Vagina Monologues,” “A Nice Place to Live,” “Light,” “Hey Sistah, Welcome Home,” “The Creation of the World and Other Business” and “Suburbia.”She has extended her talents interpreting the 2005 and 2006 Martin Luther King Junior Concerts at Symphony Hall, the Boston Children's Chorus, Maria in “The Sound of Music,” several roles in “Beauty & the Beast” at Wheelock Family Theater, and jazz musician Lisa Thorson’s JazzArtSigns Concert at Wheelock. Misha interned with the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, playing the role of Prince Escalus in “Romeo and Juliet,” and as an ensemble player in “Hamlet.” She also performed in an independent film for Lanice O'Bryant's “Love Signs (And Other Matters Open to Interpretation).” This June Misha will be graduating with her B.A. in theatre arts from University of Massachusetts/Boston.
Otis Debnam III, ASL Interpreter, 'Buzzing Man'
Bob Maibor, Actor, 'Daddy's Voice'
Aaron Malgeri, ASL Interpreter, 'Daddy'
Maria LaRossa, Dancer, 'The Girl'
Maleek Washington, Dancer, 'Buzzing Man'
Sylvia Morrison, Videographer
Jo Parente, Makeup Consultant
Pamela Bush, Costume Fabricator
Petr Metlicka, Lighting Designer
Scott Ervin, Legal, Set Fabrication
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Press Release
'As If We Live To Bear No Scars,' New Performance Piece, Weaves Themes of Rape, Racism and Family Bonds
Workshop Performance Debuts May 24 & 25, 2007 at Roxbury Center for the Arts
BOSTON, May 24, 2007 – When a young woman was raped in her apartment on Symphony Road, Boston, nearly three decades ago, the city was at the height of racial turmoil. The rape, a racial hate crime, was one of three violent rapes that punctuated an otherwise beautiful life. Remarkably, it strengthened the young woman’s resolve to reject racism and hatred.
This true story is the inspiration behind “As If We Live To Bear No Scars,” a mixed-genre piece blending theater, dance, poetry, an original musical score, visual art, film, and ASL signing for the deaf as an integral part of the performance.
The workshop performance of Act IV, Scene 1, and the Final Monologue debuts at the Roxbury Center for the Arts, Hibernian Hall, 184 Dudley St., Roxbury, MA, in two performances at 8pm, May 24 and 25, 2007, with an audience talkback after each performance.
“As an artist committed to the collaborative process, I have felt it essential to combine several artistic visions as we bring this work to the stage. This work speaks not to just one girl’s story, but to the fact that every one of us has a story. Because none of us can live without loss, part of being human is finding a personal answer to the question: ‘What comes ‘after’ if the ‘before’ has been tragic?’” said Andrea Bredbeck, artistic director and author of the piece.
Her collaborators have included:
* Anya Bredbeck, Andrea’s daughter, an artist who created the visual narrative
* Carolann DiPirro, nationally known actress, playing “The Girl”
* Blake Newman, musical director, bassist and composer of the original score
* Chloe Lara-Russack, theatrical director
* Josie Bray, choreographic director
* Misha Derissaint, ASL (American Sign Language) interpreter and consultant
The workshop performance was staged to solicit community interest, dialogue, collaboration, and support, with the goal of attracting investment to underwrite the full performance. For further information about investing or participating in the As If We Live To Bear No Scars Limited Partnership, please contact Andrea Bredbeck at (617) 524-5133, andreaspeak@gmail.com.
For media inquiries only: Catherine Marenghi, (781) 449-8591, catherine@marenghi.com
Workshop Performance Debuts May 24 & 25, 2007 at Roxbury Center for the Arts
BOSTON, May 24, 2007 – When a young woman was raped in her apartment on Symphony Road, Boston, nearly three decades ago, the city was at the height of racial turmoil. The rape, a racial hate crime, was one of three violent rapes that punctuated an otherwise beautiful life. Remarkably, it strengthened the young woman’s resolve to reject racism and hatred.
This true story is the inspiration behind “As If We Live To Bear No Scars,” a mixed-genre piece blending theater, dance, poetry, an original musical score, visual art, film, and ASL signing for the deaf as an integral part of the performance.
The workshop performance of Act IV, Scene 1, and the Final Monologue debuts at the Roxbury Center for the Arts, Hibernian Hall, 184 Dudley St., Roxbury, MA, in two performances at 8pm, May 24 and 25, 2007, with an audience talkback after each performance.
“As an artist committed to the collaborative process, I have felt it essential to combine several artistic visions as we bring this work to the stage. This work speaks not to just one girl’s story, but to the fact that every one of us has a story. Because none of us can live without loss, part of being human is finding a personal answer to the question: ‘What comes ‘after’ if the ‘before’ has been tragic?’” said Andrea Bredbeck, artistic director and author of the piece.
Her collaborators have included:
* Anya Bredbeck, Andrea’s daughter, an artist who created the visual narrative
* Carolann DiPirro, nationally known actress, playing “The Girl”
* Blake Newman, musical director, bassist and composer of the original score
* Chloe Lara-Russack, theatrical director
* Josie Bray, choreographic director
* Misha Derissaint, ASL (American Sign Language) interpreter and consultant
The workshop performance was staged to solicit community interest, dialogue, collaboration, and support, with the goal of attracting investment to underwrite the full performance. For further information about investing or participating in the As If We Live To Bear No Scars Limited Partnership, please contact Andrea Bredbeck at (617) 524-5133, andreaspeak@gmail.com.
For media inquiries only: Catherine Marenghi, (781) 449-8591, catherine@marenghi.com
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