Read. Rant. Relate.
Igniting Conversation Through Theatre
Experience a new piece of contemporary dramatic literature every month with Relative Theatrics. Participants will engage directly with modern plays by listening to actor led readings of the texts, then joining discussions breaking down the thematic elements of the works and their relevance to today's society.
LIKE A BOOK CLUB, BUT WITH SCRIPTS!
As playwright Terrence McNally put it, “theatre teaches us who we are, what our society is, where we are going. I don’t think theatre can solve the problems of a society, nor should it be expected to … Plays don’t do that. People do. [But plays can] provide a forum for the ideas and feelings that can lead a society to decide to heal and change itself.”
*This programming is funded in part by a grant from Wyoming Humanities Council, the Wyoming Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
LIKE A BOOK CLUB, BUT WITH SCRIPTS!
As playwright Terrence McNally put it, “theatre teaches us who we are, what our society is, where we are going. I don’t think theatre can solve the problems of a society, nor should it be expected to … Plays don’t do that. People do. [But plays can] provide a forum for the ideas and feelings that can lead a society to decide to heal and change itself.”
*This programming is funded in part by a grant from Wyoming Humanities Council, the Wyoming Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
NEXT READING
February 4th, 7pm MST - Zoom Event
Read, Rant, Relate: COWBOY PLAY by Lily Rushing Zoom Event A partnership with Relative Theatrics and the UW Art Museum, this play is connected to the exhibition “The West on Horseback from the UW Art Museum Collection”. Gail tries to end her own life, but instead ends up back in the 1940s and on the very day when, at 16, she is crowned Rodeo Queen. As she haunts her old childhood ranch and interacts with her younger self she is reminded of how much her world has changed. This is a world where memory, sexuality and the Wild West all come together and two selves collide. |
About Lily Rushing:
Lily Rushing is from the hot, inland metropolis known as Sacramento, CA. She recently graduated from The Theatre School at DePaul University with a BFA in Playwriting. She is the 2018 recipient of The Playwriting Initiative award at Interrobang Theatre Project, where she wrote Cowboy Play. Three of her plays, Office Romance, Desert Stories for Lost Girls, and a one-act called Lights Out were developed into staged readings as a part of the Wrights of Spring festival at The Theatre School. Desert Stories received a full production in April 2018, directed by Ann Filmer. Her ten-minute play, The Dog, was recently commissioned by Victory Gardens and presented at their College Night. She has also worked with Sacramento Theatre Company and the School Partnership Program, putting on plays at urban schools with kids from her neighborhood, in her beloved hometown.
About 'The West on Horseback':
This exhibition explores various representations of an iconic and enduring symbol of the American West: the horse. In the 19th century, some artists from the East ventured westward to work as cowboys and ranchers. Collectively, they created a romanticized vision of the region through beautiful landscapes and rugged scenes of ranch-life, often featuring wild stallions or their equine work partners. The use, companionship, and admiration of horses in the West has remained a constant, though many contemporary artists working in the region recontextualize the creatures within the modern landscape. The assemblage of these images complicates the idea of a single, unified Western vision as contemporary works challenge the viewer’s preconception of the horse and the West itself.
Lily Rushing is from the hot, inland metropolis known as Sacramento, CA. She recently graduated from The Theatre School at DePaul University with a BFA in Playwriting. She is the 2018 recipient of The Playwriting Initiative award at Interrobang Theatre Project, where she wrote Cowboy Play. Three of her plays, Office Romance, Desert Stories for Lost Girls, and a one-act called Lights Out were developed into staged readings as a part of the Wrights of Spring festival at The Theatre School. Desert Stories received a full production in April 2018, directed by Ann Filmer. Her ten-minute play, The Dog, was recently commissioned by Victory Gardens and presented at their College Night. She has also worked with Sacramento Theatre Company and the School Partnership Program, putting on plays at urban schools with kids from her neighborhood, in her beloved hometown.
About 'The West on Horseback':
This exhibition explores various representations of an iconic and enduring symbol of the American West: the horse. In the 19th century, some artists from the East ventured westward to work as cowboys and ranchers. Collectively, they created a romanticized vision of the region through beautiful landscapes and rugged scenes of ranch-life, often featuring wild stallions or their equine work partners. The use, companionship, and admiration of horses in the West has remained a constant, though many contemporary artists working in the region recontextualize the creatures within the modern landscape. The assemblage of these images complicates the idea of a single, unified Western vision as contemporary works challenge the viewer’s preconception of the horse and the West itself.