Artspeak Radio November 1 Edition

Artspeak Radio, Wednesday, November 1. 2023, noon – 1pm CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live audio www.kkfi.org

Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd welcomes Cynthia Levin and Sidonie Garrett from the Unicorn Theater, writers Jenny Molberg & Alexander Weinstein, Janann Eldridge KC Rep, artists Megan Ganey & Barrett Emke, Deborah Baxter, Linda Jurkewicz, & Silvia Arellano Fernandez 84/61 Women’s Work.

SIDONIE GARRETT, Director and CYNTHIA LEVIN, Unicorn Producing Artistic Director

MACBITCHES
October 18 – November 5, 2023
”Macbitches” is a contemporary adaptation of William Shakespeare’s classic tragedy, “Macbeth.” Set in a modern context, the play reimagines the story with a feminist twist. It explores themes of power, ambition, and the complexities of gender dynamics. The narrative delves into the journey of Lady Macbeth and her pursuit of power, shedding light on the challenges and dilemmas she faces in a male-dominated society. Through sharp dialogue and dynamic characters, the play advocates for a reexamination of traditional gender roles and highlights the strength and agency of women. McIntosh’s adaptation offers a thought-provoking and empowering perspective on a timeless tale.

Unicorn Theatre · 3828 Main Street, Kansas City, MO 64111 · 816-531-7529 · 816-531-0421 www.unicorntheatre.org

Sidonie Garrett (DIRECTOR) is the Executive Artistic Director of the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival where she most recently directed The Tempest, Romeo and Juliet, and the previous six season’s productions, Shakespeare In Love, Much Ado About Nothing, The Winter’s Tale, King Lear, Twelfth Night and Hamlet, all awarded Best Play in Pitch Magazine’s BEST OF KC as well as 15 other Shakespeare plays. Previously, at Unicorn Theatre she directed The Sound Inside, Tiny Beautiful Things, Red Bike, The Effect, Disgraced, How to Use a Knife, The Whale, I’ll Eat You Last, Other Desert Cities, The Motherf**ker With the Hat, Time Stands Still, In the Next Room: the vibrator play, Faith Healer, Rising Water, Iron Kisses, Retreat from Moscow, Omnium Gatherum, Thanatos (World Premiere), SubUrbia, The Waiting Room, Desert Holiday, Spinning Into Butter, SantaLand Diaries and co-directed Light/Damage with Cynthia Levin. Sidonie directed A Streetcar Named Desire and ‘Night Mother for Kansas City Actors Theatre.  At the Coterie Theatre she directed The Macbeth Project: In Spite of Thunder, the U.S. premiere of After Juliet, Mr. A’s Amazing Maze Plays, Little House on the Prairie, Little House by the Shores of Silver Lake, Of Mice and Men, Playing for Time and co-directed Only One Day a Year and The Hobbit. Sidonie co-directed Tony & Tina’s Wedding (Kansas City and St. Louis) for Fourth Wall Productions. She directed The African Company Presents with the Black Repertory Theatre of Kansas City, Eleemosynary and Gruesome Playground Injuries at the Fishtank Theatre and has directed collaborations with KC Ballet, KC Symphony, Bach Aria Soloists and KC Chorale, and Script-In-Hand readings including The Beard of Avon and The Women, with KC Actors Theatre and The Tempest for JCCC’s Performing Arts Series. During the pandemic she directed and produced streaming productions; Shakespeare at Home, William Shakespeare’s Christmas Carol, Show-Me Shakespeare and an in-person film version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She also directed live outdoor performances of Shakespeare’s scenes, Yard Bards, ShakesFEAR! and Shakespearience and two projects with UMKC Theatre; Twelfth Night on zoom and an in-person production of The Tempest. In summer 2024 she will direct Julius Caesar for HASF’s 32nd season in Southmoreland Park.

Cynthia Levin, Producing Artistic Director is in her 43rd season with the Unicorn. Over the years she has served as a director, actor, designer or producer for over 300 productions. Cynthia has directed Bernhardt/Hamlet, Bond, Vietgone, Chesapeake, Priscilla Queen Of The Desert: The Musical (co-directed with Missy Koonce), Eclipsed, Hand to God, Heathers: The Musical (again, with Missy), The Oldest Boy, Women Playing Hamlet (world premiere), Bad Jews, Grounded, Venus in Fur, My Name is Asher Lev, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, The Soul Collector (world premiere), Hungry (world premiere), Red, Two Jews Walk Into A War…, Distracted, Green Whales (world premiere), Miss Witherspoon, My First Time, The Clean House, Mauritius, 9 Parts of Desire, The Great American Trailer Park Musical, Bat Boy: The Musical and additionally the world premieres of rightnextto me (both at the Unicorn and Geva Theatre Center, Rochester, NY), How His Bride Came to Abraham, Light:Damage, Mercy Killing, Innocent Thoughts and Jack and Jill. At Coterie Theatre, she has directed Number the Stars, And Then They Came for Me, Frankenstein, Gatherings in Graveyards (I and II), Valley Song and To Kill A Mockingbird. At the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., she directed readings of Our Black Death, Occupants, In The Belly Of The Whale, The Friendship Of Her Thighs, The Last Pair Of Earlies, Tigers Be Still and White Devil and Loving Mother for the MFA Playwright’s Workshop. Cynthia is a graduate of Park University which also awarded her an Honorary Doctorate in 2002. She is a founding board member of the National New Play Network, an organization dedicated to the development and production of new works. She has been honored with the Pinnacle Award for Excellence in the Arts, the Human Rights Campaign Equality Award and most recently the Kathryn V. Lamkey Award from the Actors’ Equity Association for her ongoing commitment to inclusion and diversity. She shares her home with Zia (the beagle), Dodger (the cat) and the spirit of the big red dog, Sylvia.

JANANN ELDRIDGE, Director of Production, KC Rep –What the Constitution Means to Me
Fifteen-year-old Heidi earned her college tuition by winning Constitutional debate competitions across the United States. In this hilarious, hopeful, and achingly human new play, she resurrects her teenage self to trace the profound relationship between four generations of women and the founding document that shaped their lives.
Schreck’s timely and galvanizing play became a sensation off-Broadway before transferring to Broadway where it received two Tony Award nominations among countless other accolades. The New York Times hailed What the Constitution Means to Me as “not just the best play to open on Broadway so far this season, but also the most important.”
Unleash your mind and ignite powerful conversations on democracy, equality, and justice with What the Constitution Means to Me — a thought-provoking exploration of our constitutional rights.
The Saturday, November 4th 2pm performance of this production will include ASL interpretation from Juliana Ladd and Lisa Wirken.
What the Constitution Means to Me features personal stories and experiences from the playwright, Heidi Schreck, which are intertwined with broader political themes. These themes include gender-based violence, reproductive rights, and systemic inequalities. It is recommended for ages 14 and up. This show is 1 hour and 40 minutes long with no intermissions.

Copaken Stage (Power & Light district) 1 H&R Block Way, Kansas City, MO 64105 www.kcrep.org

MEGAN GANEY & BARRETT EMKE- don’t call it a selfie. Curated by Megan Ganey
Oct. 14 – Nov. 12, 2023 Closing reception: Nov. 11 | 5-8 p.m. Open hours: Sundays 12-3 or by appointment
​This exhibition explores themes such as identity and our relationship with our physical bodies, all within the context of the internet’s influence on self-portraiture. How has the widespread use of mobile devices for self-representation or perhaps self-construction influenced the practice of creating self-portraits as a whole? Does occupying the roles of composer and subject increase the knowledge of self? How can self-portraiture feel like power?
Printed works will be displayed without traditional frames. Instead, they will be included into installations featuring shiny, transparent materials, creating an atmosphere that evokes mirrors and screens. By selecting self-portraits that delve into the theme of identity and ensuring they adhere to a uniform 9:16 aspect ratio, we can observe the effects of scale, time, and artistic intent frozen outside of our mobile devices in our physical reality.
​Artists: Christina Marie Santner, Kadie Nugent, Barrett Emke, Anthony Marcos Rea, Victoria Hernandez Velazquez, and Megan Ganey
PLUG is located in the Agnes Arts Building, 1328 Agnes Avenue, KCMO www.

JENNY MOLBERG & ALEXANDER WEINSTEIN- Alexander Weinstein is the author of the short story collections, Universal Love and Children of the New World, which was chosen as a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, and a best book of the year by NPR, Google, and Electric Literature. His fiction and interviews have appeared in Rolling Stone, World Literature Today, Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy, and Best American Experimental Writing. He is the founder and director of The Martha’s Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing.

Jenny Molberg is the author of Marvels of the Invisible (winner of the Berkshire Prize, Tupelo Press, 2017), Refusal (LSU Press, 2020), and The Court of No Record (LSU Press, 2023). Her poems and essays have recently appeared or are forthcoming in Ploughshares, The Cincinnati Review, VIDA, The Missouri Review, The Rumpus, The Adroit Journal, Oprah Quarterly, and other publications. She has received fellowships and scholarships from the National Endowment for the Arts, VCCA, the Sewanee Writers Conference, Vermont Studio Center, and the Longleaf Writers Conference. She is Associate Professor and Chair of Creative Writing at the University of Central Missouri, where she edits Pleiades: Literature in Context. Find her online at jennymolberg.com.

LINDA JURKIEWICZ, DEBORAH BAXTER, SILVIA ARELLANO FERNANDEZ- 84/61: Women’s Work, October 12 – December 15

In 2022, white women working full time earned 84 cents and Hispanic women earned 61 cents for every dollar earned by white men. * The UMKC Gallery of Art is pleased to present 84/61: Women’s Work curated by UMKC graduate students, Deborah Baxter and Silvia Arellano Fernandez. The exhibition features artwork by fourteen locally and nationally recognized artists: Autumn Breon, Stasi Bobo-Ligon, Mona Cliff, Rachel Ann Connell, Manuela Viera Gallo, Jay Lynn Gomez, Michelle Hartney, Linda Jurkiewicz, Holly Ballard Martz, Nancy Morrison, Michelle Pred, Valentina Trinidade Sonia, Robin van Hoozer, Vanessa Viruet, and Ellen Weitkamp.

The exhibition includes painting, sculpture, collage, textiles, and video works. Themes include explicit political calls for equal pay and reproductive freedom, domestic labor, care work, and low-wage labor performed disproportionately by women of color and immigrants: family and cultural histories of women’s labor and activism, and interogations of power systems and the American Dream.

The exhibition and related programming aim to prompt discussions about how art can promote solidarity and sorority among working class women, students, and artists.

*wage statistics from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research

UMKC Gallery of Art, Fine Art Building 203, 5015 Holmes St. KCMO

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