Spark and Moral Chaos From Ensemble Free Theatre Norway

Check out a great blog post about Spark at Ensemble Free Theatre Norway! 

http://www.ensemblefreetheaternorway.com/www.ensemblefreetheaternorway.com/Blog/Entries/2012/9/23_Spark_and_Moral_Chaos.html

This 11 November 2012, in association with NoPassport Theatre Alliance, Ensemble Free Theater Norway will present a reading of Spark by Obie Award-winning playwright Caridad Svich (USA).  Directed by Brendan McCall and presented at the Cummins Theatre (Western Australia), the event features performers from the local community, and will be free to the public.

Ms. Svich says that these free readings of the play are intended to honor veterans of recent wars (Iraq, Afghanistan) and past, and to promote spiritual healing.  At present, theaters across the United States in New York, Boston, Chicago, Albuquerque, and Salt Lake City are confirmed to be participating in the event this November in time with the US Veterans Day, as well as the upcoming presidential elections.  A complete listing of the participating theater companies and venues can be found here.

Mr. McCall, an American who has been living as an expatriate since 2008 in Norway, Turkey, and Australia, is excited to be participating in this reading scheme for a variety of reasons.  At present, EFTN´s reading at the Cummins Theatre is the only venue outside of the US presenting a reading of the play this November.

“There are a number of veterans in the Wheatbelt region, and in Western Australia,” says McCall.  “The recent deaths of 5 Australian soldiers killed in Afghanistan highlights the universality of Spark.  I think this can contribute in a small towards bringing our community together, encountering these issues through theater, culture, and dialogue.”

Mr. McCall also shares Ms. Svich´s views that she shared inan essay published on TCGCircle, the blog of Theatre Communications Group (USA): that there needs to be more plays written about such “unpopular” subjects as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the trauma of conflict on families and communities back home, the (in)visibility of female soldiers and veterans, and more.  He hopes that the awareness generated nationally and internationally by these play-readings will turn into more artists writing and performing these kinds of contemporary stories, and that plays like Spark can be produced and staged for a larger audience.

This free reading of Spark will be at 7pm on Sunday, 11 November 2012 at the Cummins Theatre.