Can we handle love? What was it like for Helen of Troy to have caused a war? And why was the FBI so scared of the Black Panthers? These are the themes to be explored by three master storytellers for the spring Storytelling Series at NYU Provincetown Playhouse.
We want love, but can we really handle it? And why was the FBI so scared of the Black Panther movement? And what was the experience of the Trojan War like for the lady whose face launched a thousand ships?
These are the themes of three up-close an personal stories told by master storytellers for the spring Storytelling Series at NYU Provincetown Playhouse, one of the most well-known and beloved professional Storytelling Series in New York City. The annual series is sponsored by the Educational Theater Program at NYU’s Steinhardt School.
Produced by internationally acclaimed storyteller Regina Ress, the spring series kicks off as usual with a Valentine's-themed concert performed by Ress, accompanied by Larry Roland on bass, on February 12, followed by Michael D. McCarty’s stories of life as a Black Panther in Chicago in the 60s on April 17. Finally, on May 1, Megan Wells delivers her unique perspective on Helen of Troy and the narratives behind justifying warfare.
“Storytelling connects us to each other and to the deepest part of ourselves,” said Ress, adjunct professor at Steinhardt’s Educational Theater program. “It embraces all ages and all peoples in its wide and wise arms. It takes us on journeys to the far reaches of our world and deep into our own imaginations and hearts.”
Dates and descriptions are as follows:
Friday, February 12, 8 p.m.
Regina Ress & Larry Roland “Love: Can We Handle It?”
How is it that something we all want is, at the same time, something so many of us run from? Bassist/poet Larry Roland joins storyteller Regina Ress as she brings love stories that travel from ancient Egypt to NY's East Village to a cafe in Napa, California with lovers-real and imagined-who ponder the question: LOVE, CAN WE HANDLE IT?
Sunday, April 17, 3 p.m.
Michael D. McCarty, “Happy Panther: My Experience in the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party
J.Edgar Hoover declared, “The Black panther Party represents the greatest threat to the internal security of the country.” What made the BPP so dangerous? Not the guns – but the Free Breakfasts for Children and other survival programs that BPP initiated. Michael D. McCarty was a member of the Illinois Chapter of the BPP and colleague of Deputy Chairman Fred Hampton, who was assassinated by the Chicago police under the direction of the FBI. Later is was discovered that this was part of COINTELPRO, Hoover’s program of deception, lies and skullduggery that would destroy many lives. Michael became a target of COINTELPRO after leaving the Party. He has stories to tell.
Sunday, May 1 3 p.m.
Megan Wells, Helen’s Troy
Helen of Troy is forever remembered in poetry as the face that launched a thousand ships. What must it have been like to live behind a face like that? After intense research into the history, literature, and mythology of the legendary Trojan War, Megan Wells crafted an epic that illuminates the complex choices of a Spartan woman of power. Resonant to our modern age, politics over territory bend circumstances to incite ot incide mighty conflicts. Megan is a Jeff Award-winning theater artist, a national award-winning touring artists artist, and a regular guest artist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
All shows are free and open to the public, and take place at the historic Provincetown Playhouse at 133 MacDougal Street in Greenwich Village, one block south of Washington Square Park. Shows are appropriate for adults and children 14 years and older. Box office opens 1 hour before the show.
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