Tempest Reconfigured
Marc S. Miller, producer
Christine Noah, coproducer
In 2019, Boston arts and community organizations collaborated with FPTC to explore the contemporary relevance of Shakespeare’s The Tempest.
Using a variety of art and performance forms, the partners and FPTC created short works drawing on themes from The Tempest, such as the consequences of colonialism, racism, gender stereotypes, immigration, and climate change.
FPTC selected partners based on such criteria as mission, interests, neighborhoods, constituencies, and capacity to collaborate in creating performance pieces. Each partner created a 10-minute vignette drawing on The Tempest and exploring themes of their choosing.
Two citywide performances brought together the works of all partners:
Black Box Theatre at Codman Square Health Center, Dorchester, November 7, 2019
Boston Public Library, November 14, 2019
Community-based performances featured works-in-progress by one to three partners. These took place between August and October 2019 at Midway Studios in Fort Point, Turtle Swamp Brewery in Roslindale, and the Community Music Center of Boston.
Tempest Reconfigured sought to foster connections across partners, neighborhoods, and constituencies—connections that would benefit all participants and the city. The project intentionally embraced diversity of races, genders, gender identities, sexual orientations, ages, abilities, neighborhoods, interests, and socioeconomic levels. A key theme of Tempest Reconfigured, as of The Tempest and of FPTC’s strategic direction, was the transition into a culture that is diverse, inclusive, equitable, intergenerational, and rooted in community.
Partners, Vignettes, and Staff
Documentation Partner: The Loop Lab
Act 1. Luminarium Dance Company: “Into Thin Air”
Staff
Choreographer: Kim Holman
Musician: Mitchel K. Ahern
Dramaturg: Anne Loyer
Lighting Designer: Kim Holman
Performers: Jessica Chang, Devon Colton, and Amy Mastrangelo
Act 2. Fort Point Theatre Channel: “Meet Me on the Brink”
Staff
Playwright: Letta Neely
Director: Christine Noah
Devising Team: Amanda Farrington, Manuel Aquiles Lopez Torres, Anne Loyer, Letta Neely, Christine Noah, & Beatrice Perez-Arche
Dramaturg: Anne Loyer
Rehearsal Stage Manager: Beatrice Perez-Arche
Musician: Mitchel K. Ahern
Costume Designer: Susan Paino
Lighting Designer: Matthew Breton
Video Designer: Greg Kowalski
Performers: Amanda Farrington, Manuel Aquiles Lopez Torres, Letta Neely
Act 3. Artists’ Theater of Boston: “Roslindale Love Canal: A True Story of Survival”
(excerpt from “America’s Dried-Up Well”)
Staff
Playwright, Producer, Director, Performer: Ashley-Rose
Choreographer: Charmaine Santiago
Performers: Ashley-Rose, Kerline Desir, Ericka Florence, Gamiel Lature, Charmaine Santiago, Brian Savage, Christina Bynoe, Beverly Sky, Jon Barry
Act 4. Origination Cultural Arts Center: Scene 1: “Anybody”; Scene 2: “Water”; Scene 3: “Agege”
Staff
Choreographers: Fajr Harris and Britney Wilkerson
Dramaturg: Deen Rawlins
Costume Designer: Fajr Harris
Lighting Designer: Matthew Breton
Music. “Anybody”: Burna Boy; “Water”: Salatiel, Pharrell & Beyoncé; “Agege”: Tekno & Zlatan
Performers: Talib Said-Dibinga; Adari Howell; Autumn Johnson; Malik Mitchell
Act 5. Petrichor Performance Collective: “Mother Knows Best”
Staff
Playwright: J Cottle
Dramaturg: Alexandra Juckno
Costume Designer: Susan Paino
Lighting Designer: Matthew Breton
Performers: Shavonne Brown; J Cottle; Jasmine Garcia; Jamiece Shepard; Greg Wilson
Additional Project Staff
Dramaturgs: Alexanda Juckno, Marc S. Miller, Brenna Nicely, Christine Noah, Deen Rawlins
Outreach Staff: Deen Rawlins, Wanda Strukus
Production Stage Manager: Naomi Ibasitas
Project Associate: Douglas Urbank
Set Designer: Rick Dorff
Set Design Consultant: Anne Loyer
Lighting Associates: Petra Dankova, Amanda Hackney
Video Designer: Greg Kowalski
Tableau Artist: Nick Thorkelson
PR Photographer: Eric Levin
Poster Designers: Mario Avila, Hana Pegrimkova
Walking Stick Carver: Robert Paino
Tempest Reconfigured was funded in part by a Live Arts Boston grant.