Parliament of Worlds Religion 2004 Barcelona

Author(s): Parliament of the World’s Religions
Publisher: USA Parliament of the Worlds Religions

Page 140

Program Descriptions
Friday, July 9, 2004 LUNCH BREAK 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Theater (12:30 P.M. - 1:30 P.M.), English Artistic Performance
Rebecca Sokoll began studying dance when she was three years old and continued to hone her performance skills of several professional theatres in the Michigan area. Her New York credits include Chronicles of Hell with the award-winning Theatre Et Al Rebecca currently teaches Yogo and Meditation in NYC.
In this work, a group of village idiots during the European plague (16th century) are forced to enact their own mass due to the sudden death of their beloved pastor. Though it sounds grim, the piece is full of buffoonery and comic audience participation. This, along with choral singing of sacred hymns and chants from the 8th through the 17th centuries, combine to create a work that travels from the ridiculous to the sublime.
Bob Strock (Dramaturge) has a BA in Sociology from the University of Chicago. He has acted in a variety of classics and performed in vocal and early music ensembles. Bob is currently developing the scenario and music for Ragnarok, Dzieci's upcoming adoptation of the Nordic Myths and is Dzieci's technical "wizard."
Matt Mitler originally trained in Humanistic and Existential Psychology and later discovered the healing potential of theatre. He studied with such masters as Jerzy Grotowski, Carl Rogers, and Jean Huston. In 1997, he merged psychotherapy and theatre to found Dzieci, a theater group with a higher purpose. He is a founding member of the ISDAC (InterSpiritual Dialogue) Service Council.
Rachel Whitman earned a BA from Bennington College under the self-designed major "The Body as a tool for Performance. She has studied puppetry with the Kashinoki Theater in Tokyo, directing at the Studio Theatre in Washington, D.C., Acting with Tim Phillips, and Voice with Anna Bergman. Rachel is a member of Alice Farley Dance Theatre
LUNCH BREAK 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Jason Anthony has a BA in Theatre and Ancient Greek from Pomona College and studies performance at RADA. He wrote, directed and performed a trio of plays based on Dante's Divine Comedy as an exploration of "sin and redemption in America". Jason is currently enrolled in the Columbia School of Journalism
One With the Soul of the Earth Mother Tongue
Yvonne Brecht, founding member of Dzieci, was born and raised in Basel, Switzerland. She moved to New York in 1994 and has since played such roles as "Nina" in The Seagull, "Electra" in Clytemnestra and "Jeanne des Anges in Dzieci's The Devils of Loudun at LaMama Theatre.
TBA, English/Spanish Artistic Performance
Cosey Groves has had his one-man play, Damien (which explores the life of the missionary priest who lived with lepers in Hawaii in the 1800s), performed Off-Broadway and at the Cathedral St. John the Divine in New York City. He holds an MA in Spirituality and teaches acting with New York City Parks and Recreation.
In a celebratory ritual performance weaving together music, dance, song and story, MotherTongue brings to life the joy of living in rhythmic harmony with one another, ourselves and the earth. With its passionate evocation of the Pagan spirit, the group draws in audiences of diverse traditions to celebrate the sacred interconnection of all life.
Martha Hoffman has written on the creative process, the traveler as storyteller and the early modern Spanish court. Storytelling hos always been at the heart of her work as a writer, teacher and actor. The ability to hear, experience and enter into other people's stories is the essence of human compassion and understanding.
Mother Tongue is the ritual performance group of Earth Spirit, one of the largest and oldest Pagan organizations in the United States They have recorded and performed across the USA to wide acclaim. Mother Tongue performed at the 1993 Parliament of the World's Religions and are excited to be returning to this year's Parliament
Wendy Mapes graduated from the New Actors Workshop where she worked with Mike Nichols, George Morrison and Paul Sills. She has a Masters in Theatre from Antioch University and currently teaches Acting and Filmmaking at St. Jean Baptiste High School. She also studies Zen with Roshi Kennedy at the Morning Star Zendo.
Trembling Before God Sandi DuBowski
Room 111 (1:15 PM - 2:45 PM) Film Festival
John Norman (Music Director) earned his BA in Performing Arts from Oakland University. He has taught vocal technique and acting at all levels and played leading roles in critically-acclaimed regional productions such as The Rocky Horror Show, Othello and Angels in America. Performing since age three, John has recorded five albums with four different ensembles.
Michael Richardson/Wilson has appeared in such performances as South Florida's premier mascot "Pete the Panther" and in the New York City premiere of Devil's Lake with Mabou Mines in 2000 Michael finds peace and happiness in the endless juggle of life practices and his holistic health and yoga studies.
Trembling Before G-d (2001) is an unprecedented feature documentary that shatters assumptions about faith, sexuality, and religious fundamentalism. With intimately-told personal stories of Hasidic and Orthodox Jews who are gay or lesbian, the film portrays a group of people who face a profound dilemma - how to reconcile their passionate love of Judaism and the Divine with the drastic Biblical prohibitions that forbid homosexuality. (84 min.) In English with Spanish subtitles.
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