The Hope Frieze - Part 1
Art. Love. Politics. Revolution.
Russia, 1916. A young actress joins the renowned Moscow Art Theatre at the dawn of a new era, fulfilling her childhood dream. She can't imagine how the fires of political revolution will transform and consume everything she knows in the decades to come.
Russia, 1916. A young actress joins the renowned Moscow Art Theatre at the dawn of a new era, fulfilling her childhood dream. She can't imagine how the fires of political revolution will transform and consume everything she knows in the decades to come.
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Anton Chekhov reads The Seagull to the MXAT, 1905
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The Hope Frieze - Part 1 "Into the Fire" tells the story of Zinaida - just 17 when she begins training as an actor - and her friends, relatives and fellow Russian artists. Amongst them are Natasha, her dynamic mother; Kostya, a budding socialist poet; Anatoli, her secret Tsarist lover, and Vsevolod Meyerhold, the daring actor/director who later becomes her husband. Against a backdrop of unprecedented turmoil, triumph, and persecution, Zinaida learns how to survive, protect her family, and speak her artistic truth while her country wages an epic battle for its very soul.
photos: Joana Cardozo
Spring 2016 Workshop - 440 Studios
Creative Team: Nicole Cardoni, Jamil Chokachi, Emily Delbridge, Dennis, Spencer Evans,
Tyler Kent, Brian Knoebel, Rita McCann, Amy Nielson, Clinton Powell,
Alison Reader, Anika Solveig, & Esther Van Zyl
Directed by Gabriel Grilli
Creative Team: Nicole Cardoni, Jamil Chokachi, Emily Delbridge, Dennis, Spencer Evans,
Tyler Kent, Brian Knoebel, Rita McCann, Amy Nielson, Clinton Powell,
Alison Reader, Anika Solveig, & Esther Van Zyl
Directed by Gabriel Grilli
Peppered with BrickaBrack's typical tapestry of humor, movement, style (puppets!) and audience interactivity, The Hope Frieze - Part 1 is inspired by true events and historical figures in Russia during the 1920s and 30s including Lenin, Stalin, Empress Alexandra, Rasputin, Meyerhold, Stanislavsky, Olga Knipper, Bulgakov, Yesenin, Pasternak, and other luminary artists of the period.
Why This Project Now
BrickaBrack has been aiming to develop projects which tackle universally resonant human issues. With The Hope Frieze, we consider the transformation of women's roles (and artists' roles!) throughout the 20th century - and, through the stories of these remarkable characters, illuminate the position of women and the arts in contemporary society. The past few decades have brought so much social progress, and yet our culture remains rampant with gender issues. The Hope Frieze looks at the lives of independent women who faced enormous challenges: life during the Russian Revolution, surviving Stalin's purges of artists, finding community as a refugee, helping establish a body of international justice, and maintaining a balance between society's expectations and one's personal ambitions.
Other questions we are asking include:
We hope you'll join us for future versions of The Hope Frieze as we continue to develop this epic journey!
BrickaBrack has been aiming to develop projects which tackle universally resonant human issues. With The Hope Frieze, we consider the transformation of women's roles (and artists' roles!) throughout the 20th century - and, through the stories of these remarkable characters, illuminate the position of women and the arts in contemporary society. The past few decades have brought so much social progress, and yet our culture remains rampant with gender issues. The Hope Frieze looks at the lives of independent women who faced enormous challenges: life during the Russian Revolution, surviving Stalin's purges of artists, finding community as a refugee, helping establish a body of international justice, and maintaining a balance between society's expectations and one's personal ambitions.
Other questions we are asking include:
- What is the artists' role in our world?
- What does it mean to have a life in art?
- Is art as powerful today as it was in the past?
- How did women confront cultural expectations throughout the 1900s?
- What's the story we haven't heard?
We hope you'll join us for future versions of The Hope Frieze as we continue to develop this epic journey!
