Iron Age Theatre Commemorates Howard Zinn’s Death With A Tribute 1/27

The Centre Theater's Independent Voices Festival includes a special event this week.

To honor noted radical historian Howard Zinn on the one year anniversary of his death,
Iron Age Theatre, will present a 20 minute celebration of Zinn's ideas and life including readings from his work, songs, a video, actual audio of Zinn and more. This event is included in the entrance to the Independent Voices event "Apologies are for the Living" by Tiffany Joyner.

The event features Bob Weick, John Doyle, Lisa Doyle, Maria Weick, Adam Altman, Joe Papryzcki, Tiffany Joyner, and Kate Altman.

The event will include "Walk on" Bob Weick's song to the memory of Zinn first performed after his death at a memorial and then again at the Moonstone Arts Centre Memorial. Additionally, there will be a group reading from Zinn's book "Artists in Times of War." The evening will include several excerpts from Zinn's talkbacks after performances of Marx in Soho. Zinn's potent and thoughtful voice will ring out again during the event. There will be a short video about Zinn's life, including a segment from "The People's Speak." There will be a light reception after the performance.

Iron Age Theatre began their relationship with Zinn in 2004 as the company began its national touring production of Marx in Soho. Zinn called the companies production of the play his favorite and often attended performances. That show has recently completed its 200th performance for thousands of people. Last year Iron Age had a scheduled event with Zinn two weeks in Los Angels which became a memorial event as a result of Zinn's untimely death.

Anthony Arnove, a activist and close member of Zinn's staff, has asked organizations across the country to celebrate Zinn in action and word on the anniversary of his death. Iron Age asked The Centre Theater if there could be an additional event during Independent Voices Festival and the Centre agreed. The memorial will take place before the January 27th performance of Tiffany Joyner's "Apologies for the Living."

Howard Zinn, the author of the best seller "A People's History of the United States", is a historian, political scientist and social activist well-known for his involvement in progressive causes. Zinn was born on August 24, 1922 in Brooklyn, New York.
Zinn is a playwright: His most famous play, "Emma", based on the life of anarchist Emma Goldman, has been staged five times since its initial production in 1986. His most recent play, "Marx in Soho" (1999), is still being performed in small theaters throughout the United States. He died at the age of 87 on January 27, 2010.

"A People's History of the United States provides other perspectives on American history. The text depicts the struggles of Native Americans against the European and American conquests of their land, of slaves against slavery, of unionists and labor against capitalists, of women against patriarchy, of allegedly "free" African-Americans against racism and for civil rights, and of others who were disenfranchised and whose stories are not often told in mainstream histories. A classic of populist history, "A People's History" has been assigned reading both as a high school and college textbook. The most widely known example of critical pedagogy, "A People's History" sold its one millionth copy in 2003.

Iron Age Theatre has produced plays ranging from Cocteau to Sam Shepard, the company regularly produces at the Philly Fringe, The Centre Theater and around the Philadelphia region. Iron Age inaugurated Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site with the production of TUNNEL in 1994. Iron Age's production of MARX IN SOHO has been performed over 200 times to more than 100,000 people as part of its continuing national tour and is in development for a film. The company has produced the Philadelphia premiere of seven plays in the past three years including CITIZEN PAINE and THE LIFE OF John Henry. Recently Iron Age has spawned its alterNative Theatre division, The Special Operations Executive for more experimental work. The company is developing a play about Emma Goldman by Chris Braak, RED EMMA premiering in February. Iron Age was nominated for a Barrymore Award for Outstanding Ensemble for TERRA NOVA and for Outstanding Performance by an Actor for THE ELEPHANT MAN. The performances take place at The Centre Theater at 208 DeKalb Street, Norristown, PA in the 4th floor theatre.

Tickets can be purchased by calling 610-279-1013 or online at http://thecentretheater.ticketleap.com/ All performances are $15.

The Independent Voices Festival runs January 7 through February 6. More than 20 performances span the five week festival from 11 different companies. The events range from Improv Comedy to classical performance, from inflammatory African American theater to Comedia mask performances. The Centre Theater has been involved with the project to develop an arts district in Norristown. The theater is the anchor for the arts in Norristown for more than15 years. The theater is located at 208 DeKalb Street one block from the Norristown Transit Station, the street that has become "Norristown Arts Hill". The facility is undergoing a massive renovation including the development of a new larger theatrical space.

The Centre Theater is in the Montgomery County Cultural Center at 208 DeKalb Street in Norristown. It is easily reached via routes 202, I-76, I-476 and Ridge Pike. There is plenty of free parking and the theater is one block from Septa's Norristown Transit Center on the Manayunk/Norristown line.

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