Season 8: A New Way Forward continues with LONELINESS WAS A PANDEMIC by Olivia Haller, November 6-22, Streaming Virtually. This hybrid theatre/film production, directed by Amanda Alch and Jared Mohr-Leiva, and featuring Justen Glover, Isa Jackowich, Bailey Patterson, and Alex Soto, questions the consequences of technology and the necessity for humanity.

Robots have finally advanced enough to realize they can do everything better than humans - except make art. The robots have done away with all humans except for a select few artists. When one human is tasked with teaching a robot how to paint, they grapple with the question of whether such a thing is possible, and whether they would want to do it at all. Could robots ever be capable of creating art, and if so, could they also be capable of compassion? Or is the human's need for companionship more important than their handle on reality?
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In addition to raising meaningful questions about the value of art and human connection in a technological world, the play addresses concerns surrounding surveillance and privacy. “[Directors] Amanda and Jared have highlighted these themes in a creative and engaging manner through the execution of the production,” says Relative Theatrics Founder/Producing Artistic Director, Anne Mason. “They have chosen to film the piece from a stationary camera angle that mimics the motions of a security camera, bringing the audience into the world of the play as that ever-present voyeuristic character.” Audiences view the play by streaming the production from their own devices, in their own homes.

Tickets:  $15

Subscribers and Individual Ticket Buyers will receive a private viewing link for at-home streaming on November 6th that can be viewed at any time through November 22nd.

Relative Theatrics strives to present thought-provoking theatre that examines the joining qualities of the human race. We believe that theatre is a forum with the power to illuminate the binding qualities of humanity and reinforce the ideals that as a society we have values that pose as common ground and emotions that relate us to one another. Taking artistic risk, we provide a community gathering place where thoughts can be exchanged about society, culture, and the power of creativity.

LONELINESS WAS A PANDEMIC is supported in part by grants from the Wyoming Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, Wyoming Humanities, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

​Olivia Haller is a writer and dramaturg currently based in the DC Metro area. Her stage plays have been presented at or developed with Convergence Theatre (2018 Women's Voices Theater Festival), 2cents Theatre Group (2020 INK Fest), NextStop Theatre Company, Spooky Action Theatre, Theater Alliance, Keegan Theatre, Rorschach Theatre, Nu Sass Productions, and the Inkubator New Works Development Laboratory. Olivia was a finalist in the 19-20 Tennessee Williams Literary Festival One-Act Play Contest. She has completed a residency at the Vermont Studio Center, and attended the Midwest Dramatists Conference and the Kenyon Playwrights' Conference. She is currently a member of the Dramatists Guild and the Playwrights' Center. Olivia holds a BFA in Theatre Arts from Boston University and is a candidate for UCLA's Professional Program in Writing for Television (drama).

Suppliants by Euripides; Directed by Noelia Berkes; Discussion led by Dr. Laura De Lozier; Featuring Cheri Vanden Heuvel, Francesca Mintowt-Czyz, Peter Parolin, Justen Glover, and Bailey Patterson.

Coming to our virtual stage, Relative Theatrics presents a rarely-performed and thought provoking play by Euripides. Suppliants is a tragedy about war and the dead, existential dread, dignity, faith, and resilience. It is based on a time before the Trojan War, when the Thebans defeated the Athenians, and would not allow them to retrieve their dead and bury them for several days. The mothers of the Argive generals who perished (joined by Adrastus, King of Argos) plead with Theseus, King of Athens, to let them retrieve and bury their dead sons. In response to this just plea, Theseus sends a message to Creon, king of Thebes. Soon, a Theban messenger arrives, bringing a message to Theseus: he is to drive Adrastus and the mothers away, or else the Theban army will attack. 

Presented in conjunction with Reading Greek Tragedy Online, a weekly series of scene readings and discussions presented by the Center for Hellenic Studies, the Kosmos Society, and Out of Chaos. https://chs.harvard.edu/CHS/article/display/7081

Translation and performance permission granted by Cecelia Luschnig.

Relative Theatrics strives to present thought-provoking theatre that examines the joining qualities of the human race. We believe that theatre is a forum with the power to illuminate the binding qualities of humanity and reinforce the ideals that as a society we have values that pose as common ground and emotions that relate us to one another. Taking artistic risk, we provide a community gathering place where thoughts can be exchanged about society, culture, and the power of creativity.

The reading will take place at 7p MDT on Thursday, September 24th. Register for the reading via Zoom at  https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUrf-msqDwrHtM8HfhIBpX8NyIZG65DzXZX.  Following the reading, we invite viewers to join us via video chat for a discussion led by Dr. Laura De Lozier. The performance and discussion will not be livestreamed.

A video of the reading will be viewable on the Relative Theatrics YouTube Channel the following week.

Tickets:  We are encouraging a $10 donation to Relative Theatrics.

Wine, Cheese, and Theatre all from the comfort and safety of your own home? Yes, please!
Relative Theatrics is pairing up with Chalk N' Cheese, "Pairings at CnC" to bring you select Wine and Cheese pairings suited to our upcoming Virtual Play Reading. Pick up your pairing today and enjoy the full experience while tuning in online. Chalk n’ Cheese will donate 10% of all Virtual Reading Wine/Cheese Pairing Sales to Relative Theatrics! What a delectable way to support your local theatre!

Productions in our virtual programming are supported in part by grants from the Wyoming Humanities, The National Endowment for the Humanities, The Wyoming Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
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​Where to listen: via Apple Podcasts or the Think Wyoming website, or by following this link - https://www.thinkwy.org/first-but-last/sara-burlingame

Time needed: 25 minutes

What it's about: host Emy diGrappa interviews Sara Burlingame, who is the Executive Director of Wyoming Equality, and also represents Wyoming House District 44 in the Wyoming legislature.

Discussion questions:

Burlingame talks about being an organizer and activist from a young age. She says that she realized that she wants her activism 'to be dialogue driven.' Do you agree? Is dialogue the most effective way towards social change?

Burlingame discusses that the verbiage surrounding women's suffrage in Wyoming can be problematic, because the state only granted white women the right to vote. How does this shape your feelings about suffrage and Wyoming calling itself the equality state?

diGrappa and Burlingame discuss both the Bechdel test and the 'Jackalope test.' What do you think of these? Will they influence how you view movies, committees, policy making, etc. in the future? Why or why not?

Burlingame ends with a James Baldwin quote: 'We can disagree and still love each other, unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression.' Does this quote resonate with you? Why or why not?
How do you feel this podcast relates to And The Wind Howls, and the issues that are brought up in it?

​TO JOIN THE PROGRAM

• Login to your email provider on your computer.
• Open email from Relative Theatrics.

OR

• Login to your facebook account on your computer.
• Go to the Relative Theatrics Event that you wish to attend.
• Click on the Zoom Link provided by Relative Theatrics.
• A pop-up window will show up.
• Click Allow on the pop-up window to allow your computer to run the Zoom meeting.
• You will be placed in a waiting room (you don’t need to do anything at this point!).
• When the host lets you in, you will be “allowed” into the room.
• A pop up window will show up.
• Click Use Computer Audio.
• At this point, you will be able to hear/see everyone, but they will not be able to hear/see you.
• If you look on the bottom left hand corner of your Zoom window, you will see 2 buttons: a microphone icon and a video icon, both with a red line through them.
  • For you to be heard, click the microphone icon. The red line will disappear on that icon, and you will be “unmuted.” 
  • For you to be seen, click on the video icon. The red line will disappear on that icon, and your camera will turn on, allowing your video to appear.
• In order to see all video participants equally on your screen, look to the top right corner of your Zoom window, and click the button titled Gallery View. 
  • If you are already in Gallery View, you will be given the option to select “Speaker View.” If this is the case, do not select “Speaker View” - you are already all set up to see the program in the format in which it is intended to be viewed!
• One more task and you’ll be good to go! Next to the video icon in the bottom left corner there is an upward pointing arrow. 
  • Click on it and select Video Settings.
• A pop-up window will show up.
• In the Meetings: section, click on the box next to Hide Non-Video Participants.
• Voila! You have successfully joined the Zoom meeting for our virtual programming.

DURING THE PROGRAM

• Relative Theatrics will admit you into a special “Breakout Room” in order to view and participate in the program.
• A pop-up window will show up saying, “The host is inviting you to join Breakout Room: Performance Space.”
• Click Join Breakout Room.
• Another pop-up window will show up while Zoom moves you to the new Breakout Room (You don’t need to do anything at this point!).
• If you look on the bottom left hand corner of your Zoom window, you will see 2 buttons: a microphone icon and a video icon. These control your microphone and your camera.
  • If there is not already a red line through them, please click on them in order to turn off your video and microphone.
  • You will know they are turned off when the red line appears through each icon.
• At the bottom center of your Zoom window, there is a speech bubble icon. This icon is connected to the Chat function of the Zoom Meeting Room.
  • Click on the icon in order to view the chat box. It will pop up to the right of the Zoom participant videos that you are viewing.
  • Interact with your fellow viewers by posting responses to the program in the chat box, i.e. “LOL” for something funny, “Whoa!” for something surprising, “Awe” for something heartwarming, etc.

AFTER THE PROGRAM

• Feel free to turn on your video at this point by clicking on the video icon in the bottom left hand corner of your Zoom window.
• To catch our discussion proctor’s attention, you can visually raise your hand if your video is on OR you can use the “Raise Hand” function on Zoom.
  • Along the bottom of the Zoom Window, click on the Participants icon (it looks like the outline of two bodies).
  • A window will appear to the right of your Zoom window, above the chat box.
  • At the bottom of the window, there is a Raise Hand icon that looks like a hand. Click on this icon to raise your virtual hand for our discussion proctor to call on you.
• If/When you would like to ask questions or share comments, “unmute” yourself by clicking on the microphone icon in the bottom left hand corner of your Zoom window.
• You can also ask questions or share comments by posting them in the chat box.
• When you are ready to leave, click the red button in the lower right hand corner of your Zoom screen, titled Leave.
• One final pop up meeting will come up giving you the option to “Leave Room” or “Leave Meeting.” Click Leave Meeting to successfully leave the Zoom call. ​

The Wyoming Arts Council is pleased to announce the recipients of this year’s Fellowships in Visual Arts, Creative Writing, and Performing Arts.

Visual Arts Fellowship recipients are: Diana Baumbach of Laramie, Shawn Bush of Casper, and Rachel Hawkinson of Casper. Honorable mentions were awarded to Barrie Bryant of Kirby, Carli Holcomb of Casper, and Mona Monroe of Alta.

Creative Writing Fellowship recipients are: Betsy Bernfeld of Wilson in Poetry, Susan Marsh of Jackson in Fiction, and Shreve Stockton of Ten Sleep in Creative Nonfiction. An honorable mention was given to Kate Northrop of Laramie in the poetry category.

Performing Arts Fellowship recipients in Music are: Aaron Davis of Jackson and Abby Webster of Wilson. An honorable mention was awarded to Andrew Wheelock of Laramie.

Performing Arts Fellowship recipients in Theatre and Dance are: Anne Mason of Laramie and Luke Dakota Zender of Jackson. Honorable mentions were awarded to Patrick Konesko of Laramie and Gina Patterson of Jackson. 

Fellowships are merit based awards to selected Wyoming artists based on their submitted portfolio of work that reflects serious and exceptional artistic investigation. Recipients each receive a $3,000 award and the opportunity to share their work with the community through support from the Wyoming Arts Council.

Submissions are juried anonymously by jurors from outside the state with extensive backgrounds in each artistic area. The jurors for this year’s Fellowships were Iwan Bagus and Nicole Herden for Visual Arts, Mesha Maren, Marie Mutsuki Mockett, and Kathryn Savage for Creative Writing, and Tara McGovern and Claro de los Reyes for Performing Arts.

For more information on this program and details on each recipient please visit www.wyomingartscouncil.org or contact Taylor Craig at 307-274-6673 or taylor.craig@wyo.gov. 

Photo caption:  The 2021 Wyoming Arts Council Fellowship Recipients. Top row L-R Shreve Stockton, Abby Webster, Aaron Davis (photo by Brad Christensen), Middle row L-R Anne Mason, Shawn Bush, Diana Baumbach (photo by June Glasson), Bottom row L-R  Betsy Bernfeld, Luke Dakota Zender, Rachel Hawkinson, Susan Marsh.

Action item: Read Peggy McIntosh's White Privilege: The Invisible Knapsack.
Where to read it: via this link
Time needed to read it: 15-20 minutes. 
What It's About: Peggy McIntosh gives a personal account explaining how we are often blind in the ways we are privileged in comparison to others. 

Discussion questions:

• Were any of the privileges listed surprising to you?
• How was privilege taught to you growing up?
  
• Which of the "daily effects of white privilege" stick out to you? Why?
  
• How can white people lessen the impact of our privilege? 
  
• Does this essay make you feel encouraged or discouraged? Why?

Action Item: Watch 13th: An Original Netflix Documentary. 
Where to watch it: On Netflix, or streaming free on YouTube.
Length: 100 minutes
What It's About: Filmmaker Ava DuVernay explores the history of racial inequality in the United States, focusing on the fact that the nation's prisons are disproportionately filled with African-Americans.

Discussion questions:

• What was your initial response to this film?
• Have you ever been directly affected by any of the issues presented in the film? If not, do you know anyone who has?
• What are your thoughts on the film’s argument that people have been subconsciously conditioned to fear black men at the behest of the media?
• How knowledgeable are you on the concept of social privilege? Do you ever reflect upon the systematic privileges you may or may not experience because of privilege?
• Prior to seeing the film, were you aware of the corporate interest group ALEC? After having seen the film, how do you feel about ALEC?
• The film argues that there is a direct link between American slavery and the modern American prison system. What is your take on this argument?
• Do you see yourself making any personal changes in your life after having watched 13th? If so, what kinds of changes?