Do you consider your work political?
I dont think I work in the political so much as the social realm, between personal and political. Im not on a moral high ground making didactic statements . . . but if giving voice to people who are usually silent is a political act, then, yes, my work is political.
Jon Haddock
A detail from Jon Haddocks 98/197, a set of 98 figurines depicting the members of the 197th Congress who voted for the USA Patriot Act. The sculpture was on view at Howard House gallery in Seattle, in March 2003.
Jon Haddock
A detail from Jon Haddocks 98/197, a set of 98 figurines depicting the members of the 197th Congress who voted for the USA Patriot Act. The sculpture was on view at Howard House gallery in Seattle, in March 2003.
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How has the current international situation been affecting you?
My current piece [Engagement] is more abstract. This period right now is not black and white. Its not truthful to make something without doubt.
The times have made me really look at the relationship between art and war. We use the same language: engagement in the art of war or the art of theater. I read [Sun Tzus] The Art of War. The soldier and the artist are seeking a similar place: They practice and practice to become an instrument in the hands of something unknown, with no thought outside the moment. Sandra Kurtz
One of the reliable pleasures of the fringe scene, actor JULIE RAWLEYwho recently stole the show vocalizing in Annexs The Changelinghas just completed a novel, Victory Garden, and is branching out as lead singer in a new band, StarHole 67.
Do you feel like youre approaching what you do more carefully? Is that even a responsibility?
Well, Ive been thinking ever since the war started, What is my role? What am I going to do? How can I be an activist? And nothing has come to me very clearly, except that its a time when we really need to think for ourselves. . . . The more that people can get out and be in theater where all of their senses are being provokedplus the fact that theyre surrounded by strangers[the more it] makes them open up and touch whats really hitting them inside, and it makes people really think for themselves.
Do you think its important to be doing war-themed art right now?
I do think its important that we have stories that are directly addressing whats happening, just to see how people react in a live setting. As many opportunities as we can give for people to be faced with the questions and to ask themselves, Am I going to respond to this? Do I have the courage to stand up and say something? I think is very important. But I also think that these issues can be addressed in non-war theater, in stories that have nothing to do with whats going on right now. Steve Wiecking
BARTLETT SHER is the artistic director of Intiman Theatre.
How much do you feel its your duty to plan a season according to political climate?
I see my role as helping people to have experiences that help them ask questions more deeply and with a greater openness. The biggest problem for me is that the whole thing becomes this yelling match between the right and the left. Theater is at its best if its provoking people to ask questions about their own lives and their own role as human beings very profoundly. We do six plays a yearsome of them will be exactly in their moment, and some wont.
Do you think theater should comfort and reassure people at all now?
Yes, absolutely, [but] it depends on the context. Its such a big forum that you cant monolithically say, It must now challenge everything, or, It must now only comfort and support the troops. Thats what I mean by asking the questions more deeply. If we only have those two answers, then we cant proceed. S.W.
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