Issued by: Polly Morris
414-372-2077
pmorris2@earthlink.net
Date: March 18, 2002
|
Issued by: Polly Morris Date: March 18, 2002 |
The
UWM Peck School of the Arts Dance Program will present an evening with internationally-acclaimed
storyteller Laura Simms on Saturday, April 13 at 7:30 PM in the Helene Zelazo
Center for the Performing Arts, 2419 East Kenwood Boulevard. Simms, who is artist-in-residence
with the Dance Program this spring, will perform Reconciled in the Book of Secrets
(or How To Find Romania), an evening length work. Tickets are $10 general admission
and $5 for students and seniors. They may be purchased at the Peck School of
the Arts Box Office, or by phone by calling (414) 229-4308.
In Reconciled in the Book of Secrets, Simms takes us on an autobiographical journey that weaves together her outrageous memories of coming of age in Brooklyn with moving tales collected from around the world. Along the way, Simms uncovers tragic family secrets in a poignant personal narrative, draws on Jewish stories ancient and modern, and achieves a reconciliation of sorts between history and fable.
Reconciled in the Book of Secrets was first created with Naomi Newman for A Traveling Jewish Theatre, San Francisco. In the course of the performance, Simms embodies a range of characters including a young Orthodox girl, a Maori elder, the ghost of her Romanian grandmother, a Santeria priest in the Bronx, her rigid dentist-father, and keening Israeli matriarchs. Simms's poignant personal narrative is framed by the story of Rabbah Ben Hannah, a 6th century Babylonian tale from the Jewish equivalent of The Arabian Nights, and culminates in her journey to her ancestral village in Romania where she comes to terms with her previously concealed heritage.
Laura Simms is recognized as one of the leading figures in the storytelling renaissance in America. Simms, a New York native, has been telling her stories around the world for more than thirty years, performing in Europe, Israel, the Philippines, Nepal, North Africa, New Zealand, Taiwan, and throughout the United States. Simms's work ranges from personal narrative and original compositions on modern life to dynamic contemporary retellings of epics, myths, folk stories, and fairy tales from virtually every culture and time period. She is the author of three best-selling books for children and has recorded ten CDs of stories. Simms has been artist in residence at the Lincoln Center Institute for Arts in Education and works with or teaches regularly at New York University, Arts America, the Naropa Institute, and the Shambala Center of New York.
Simms was artist-in-residence with the UWM Dance Program in 1999 and is returning for a month this time to continue her work with students and faculty. Her focus is on the importance of sacred spaces and safe places in our lives in the wake of the events of September 11th. "Laura deepens our capacity to tap both our real life and imaginary worlds," according to Marcia Parsons, director of the Dance Program. "As she says, storytelling is one of the forms of culture that provide a visible means for protecting knowledge and preserving our humanity. As dancemakers, we can use deeply felt personal story as text in our performance works."
The Dance Program is particularly pleased to be presenting Simms's work in the new Zelazo Center, originally a Jewish temple built to house the sacred stories and traditions of its congregation. "We wanted to respectfully honor this history in our first performance in the space," observes Parsons, "and to dedicate it as a safe and sacred space for future generations."
# # #