The Meeting, a new work by accomplished playwright Brian James Polak, produced by veteran company Theatre Unleashed will be presented at Thymele Arts in Los Angeles from June 14-28 as part of the Hollywood Fringe Festival.
In The Meeting, five former performing artists convene a meeting in a fascist future, when all forms of art (and even the utterance of any art-related words) have been banned. These artists discuss what a person is to do in a world when one’s purpose in life has been eradicated. During the discussion both the artists and attendees (aka “audience”) of The Meeting sit in a circle together … over time they begin to learn even the most fascist society can never stop people from being who they truly are.
“I’m not going to lie; I have woken up almost every day since last November with a sense of loss, and of dread foreboding for our future, and the future of our country. I’ve felt powerless and unsure about what to do in response to the current administration and the existential threat it presents to the American way of life, our society, and our values,” Theatre Unleashed co-founder and producer Gregory Crafts. “So I’m doing what I know how to do––make art that will make people think, make people feel, give them hope, and motivate them to take action.”
Producers felt that not only was there a need for this kind of work, which is being presented as a full workshop presentation, but that Fringe was the perfect place for it.
“When I first heard the concept of this show, I honestly didn’t even want to read the script,” said producer and TU co-founder Jenn Crafts. “It’s just too real right now. But I think that that’s the thing that really makes it unique. This play is truly written so beautifully that audiences will really feel like they’re just in a meeting with other concerned citizens. It’s what we all need right now.”
The Meeting is a newer work by Polak (The Call List, This is the Subtext, Take Me). The production features a diverse cast of Fringe pros––Veronica Matthews, Julia Plostnieks, Kristen Bennett, Marcela Barrientos and Mitch Lerner. It is being helmed by actor and director Richard Piatt, who most recently directed the successful Three Can Keep a Secret in both L.A. and New York, among several others.
“The show imagines a world where the arts are banned and the practice of any of the arts is punishable by law. For those of us who are makers of art, it doesn’t seem like too much of a stretch at this moment in history,” Piatt said. “I think audiences at Hollywood Fringe are already looking for innovative and boundary pushing theatre, so this should be right up their ally.”
Along with The Meeting, Theatre Unleashed is also offering a free workshop on Augusto Boal and Theatre of the Oppressed on Saturday, June 21st at 10 a.m. in Joyce Hall at Thymele Arts. The workshop is being taught by Piatt, who is also a former college professor who specialized in teaching the subject. The pairing of the workshop with the production is an opportunity for patrons to learn…and to fight!
“This is what art is for; to inspire,” Greg Crafts said. “That is exactly why art is suppressed and artists are silenced under dictatorships. And that is why we have to do this show, right here and now.”
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