the way we work now
In past seasons, Stone Soup aimed to educate and learn about issues we don't necessarily think about in our everyday lives. This season, we explored a part of daily life that, rich and poor, in New York offices and in factory across the world, all people relate to. Whether we have someone do it for us, or do it ourselves, we are all conditioned to contribute to a global workforce. Our work is a source of income, stress, sometimes challenge, sometimes danger. During The Way We Work Now we sought to find a commonality between all people through their work, whether it's behind a computer, a podium, or an assembly line, and explore the consequences and the rewards of making a living.
the memorandum
by Vaclav Havel
The Abingdon Theatre
432 W. 42nd Street, NYC
August 7-10, 2003
Ex-president of Czechosolvakia and the Czech Republic Vaclav Havel's 1965 play The Memorandum spoke directly to the work environment much of Stone Soup's ensemble dealt with daily. In the shrewd landscape of office politics, an artificial language is introduced to improve communication amongst employees. It is up to the noble humanist Managing Director to navigate his staff through the treachery of language, the insidiousness of the corporate ladder, and the individual's search for an authentic voice.
Featuring: Yasser Akhtar, Alex Blouin, Amy Cervini, DR Mann Hanson, Shi Wei Hsu, Jared McGuire, Marsha Martinez, Liz Racster, Sandra Rodriguez, Sadeq M. Sadeq, Winnie Sun, Suzie Syta and Ben Trawick-Smith
just the front
an original play
The American Theatre of Actors
314 W. 54th Street, NYC
March 11-20, 2004
We continued our study of labor by creating characters in the 1930's and 40's who's struggles mirrored those of the present. In Just The Front four Naval Yard workers during WWII attempt to make one ship out of two destroyed by war. Traveling back to the Depression, the characters' stories parallel the joining of the two ships; by reconciling their past, their culture and their race with their work, they try to acheive the hardest combination - duty and desire, job and identity.
Featuring: Jesse Ainslie, Dondrie Burnham, Nat Cauldwell, Jason DeMarchi, Teresa Jusino, Marsha Martinez, Maria Schirmer, Ben Trawick-Smith and Chris Wild
Amy Cervini and Alex Blouin in The Memorandum
Shu Wei Hsu and Jared Maguire in The Memorandum
original artwork by Chris Soria
