Theater without Borders? Humanitarianism and Representation from Aid Networks to the Théâtre du Soleil
A lecture by Dr. Emine Fisek ‘03
Tuesday, April 3rd, 4:30 pm
301 LPAC
Over the course of the last decade, French theater has witnessed a wide variety of commercial and non-commercial works that portray narratives of exile, displacement, and suffering from undocumented immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers. In this talk my goal will be to place this emergence within the larger context of changing immigration laws, medical humanitarianisms and immigrant social movements. The representative practices of these domains increasingly influence both how artists think about the capacities they attribute to “humanitarian” art, and the explanatory principles they use to position themselves in relation to the suffering they wish to portray. What then does a humanitarian theater, “without borders”, look like?
Emine Fisek ’03 is currently a Mellon Post-Doctoral Fellow in French Literature/Francophone Studies at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. She has completed an M.A. and Ph.D. in the Department of Theater, Dance & Performance Studies at UC-Berkeley. She will join the faculty of Western Languages and Literatures at Bogazici University in Istanbul in Fall 2012. At Swarthmore, Dr. Fisek was a double major in Theater and English Literature.
Emine Fisek’s lecture is co-sponsored by the Lang Center for Civic & Social Responsibility, the Department of Modern Languages & Literatures (Arabic and French Sections), English Literature, and Film & Media Studies.
Sex! Intrigue! Stuffed bunnies! The Swarthmore College Department of Theater the Honors Directing Thesis of Paula Vogel’s THE BALTIMORE WALTZ on Friday, March 30th at 7PM, Saturday, March 31st at 7PM and Sunday, April 1st at 2PM and 7PM in the LPAC Frear Ensemble Theatre. Directed by senior Honors student Michelle Fennell with Alexandra Izdebski, Ben Hattem, and Sam ‘Swift’ Shuker Haines and scenic design by Eric Verhasselt, costume design by Ryane Disken-Cahill, lighting by David Todaro and sound by Mark Valenzuela.
Written by Paula Vogel in 1988 just after her own brother’s death, the play is a farcical envisioning of Anna, a thirty-something spinster and grade school teacher, and her brother Carl’s trip to Europe after one of them gets diagnosed with an incurable illness. They, along with Carl’s childhood toy named Bunny, try to make the most of their vacation, even when a sinister Third Man enters the picture. Part homage to Vogel’s brother, part social commentary, part innuendos, the text is a series of connected and usually comedic vignettes as we tour the stereotyped European countryside.
Will the doctor in Vienna have answers for them? Or is he just in it for the urine samples? Will Anna ever satiate her lust? And what are Carl and the mysterious Third Man doing with those bunnies?
For more information please contact Tara Webb at 610.328.8260 or email lpacevents@swarthmore.edu. Swarthmore College encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you or anyone in your party anticipate needing any type of special accommodation or have questions about the physical access provided, please let us know or contact Susan Smythe, ADA Program Manager at 610-690-2063 in advance of your participation or visit.