PRESS/REVIEWS

NEW!
DC WUSA9
VOICE OF AMERICA (in North Korea!)

NEW YORK PRODUCTION:
NEW YORK TIMES 
HUFFINGTON POST  
DIPLOMACY AND POWER  
NY NEWSDAY
UNHCR
MIDDLE EAST ONLINE
NJ STAR LEDGER 
and AMERICAN THEATRE MAGAZINE 

REGIONAL:

DUKE TODAY
South Bend Tribune 
Winona Daily News 
Winona Post 
David Swanson article 

The List Project Blog 
Burnsville Current

Navigating the Aftermath BLOG

TOUR Diary

6/21/12
Performed at The Kennedy Center last night for World Refugee Day with UNHCR. What an honor. And what a show! We were in the Terrace Theatre---500 seats! And completely sold out. Standing room only! And a standing ovation. People were moved by the stories of these Iraqis. They cried, they told me, even though they didn't want to. These stories and real and heart breaking. We had a lovely post show discussion with Charity Tooze, Director of National Communications for UNHCR, a beautiful reception featuring our introducer and novelist Khaled Hosseini, author of "The Kite Runner"-- bringing into focus the need to protect ALL refugees,  as it is what we should do as HUMANS. VERY moving. We later were invited to a party with a patron who asked Ami and I to share a part of the show and others to share stories. Such simple wonderful stories were shared about how simple and life-changing it can be to help a refugee or 2. It doesn't have to be a million. What a night. Special thanks to The Kennedy Center and UNHCR for making this all happen and bringing spotlight to the 4.7 million displaced Iraqi people. I am honored to share in the event.

11/15/11
Busy October---4 shows! All different! Guest musician David Kanter joined me for the NY Revolution Books performance, bringing his own unique talents to the performance. Next up was a reunion with Amikaeyla Gaston in Champaign-Urbana. What a joy to fall back into our relationship onstage...so easy. Then David Joined me again in the Bronx for a huge student show at BCC. We wrapped up October with a return visit to South Bend, hosted this time by IUSB. I have decided I need to return to South bend every 6 months whether I need to or not. What a wonderful community so responsive to Iraqis. I had the great honor of being reunited with Iraqi musician Karam Salam. It is such an honor to play alongside an Iraqi while telling these stories. The piano brings such a different element to the show, as does his spirit. I hope we can do more together!

7/19/11

Just back from 4 shows in Minneapolis at the Illusion Theater. How great to bring the stories of Iraqi refugees to audiences in Minnesota, a place thousands of refugees call home. We brought the stories to over 200 audience members and filled out hundreds of advocacy postcards as part of the "Postcards to the President" campaign. Now is the time more than ever, after the incidents in Bowling Green have caused legislators to govern with fear and ignorance, holding up the visa process for thousands of Iraqis who worked for US forces. Now is the time to match that with humanization of Iraqis through personal stories, which is what I hope this play does. Special thanks to Illusion Theater, and Center for Victims of Torture and Iraqi American Reconciliation Project for participating in the talk backs after each show.

6/23/11

NEXT UP! Illusion Theater in Minneapolis, MN July 14-17! Amikaeyla Gaston rejoins me onstage for this week of performances in MN. More coming soon on this tour stop!

4/21/11
Just finished an amazing performance at Holy Cross College in South Bend, IN. I went alone this time---sans musician. But it turns out I wasn't alone. Holy Cross hosts 3 Iraqi students as part of the Iraqi Student Project and those 3 students all participated in the performance. One student Karam, is an amazingly talented musician and after only 2 hours of rehearsal he was able to support the play musically onstage. The other 2 students provided the voices I need late in the play. It was so unique and wonderful to perform this play with Iraqis onstage and participating. I can also imagine it was hard for them, as these harrowing stories are THEIR harrowing stories, as well. I am grateful. Yet another version of the show that can exist to help tell the stories...

I also taught a class on ARTS AS ADVOCACY at Clay Magnet High School in South Bend. These students were incredible. I shared my journey of how I was introduced to using arts to create change in the world and then gave them the opportunity through indivual and group activities to be creative and then brainstorm issues that are important to them. By the end we had a dozen ideas for ways to use various artistic expressions of art to change their school, town and world. So amazing.

The teacher at the school sent this: "I just wanted to thank you again for visiting Clay and inspiring our students to use their art to make a difference.  You have ignited a fire in them and they are anxiously talking of fundraisers they want to sponsor next year. Please believe me when I say that you truly moved these kids. Your show was extraordinary, and I feel we gained so much from you coming here.  First, your inspiring work with the refugees; second, getting the message out about these 'forgotten' yet truly dignified people; and finally, demonstrating the power of art to move people to take action"

Lastly, at the reception at the end of the show, a little Iraqi boy came up to me. He had lost both of his parents in the invasion and ensuing violence. Heartbreakingly he asked me , "Were your tears real or were they fake?" I told him there were real, because these stories made me sad. He looked at me quizzingly not understanding or believing. He has certainly cried enough real tears for a lifetime.

3/19/11
Performed at Busboys and Poets in Washington, DC this weekend. In this performance, I had the pleasure of working with a new musician, Intersections' own Fred Johnson. He created and performed all the music and sounds and voices I need in the play to create the life and heart of the play. We had no other tech elements but the two of us. Such a different experience from the NY off-Broadway run. No tech really, just he and I and the stories. Powerful. And simple. The stories speak for themselves.

P.S. performed for Ralph Nader, as well. Wooh.

VIDEO of the artists on the process, project and play

Press/ Production PHOTOS

Photo credit:
Annabel Braithwaite/Belathée Photography (production photos)

and Laurie Sales (press photos)

EXCERPTS of the play with CityDance

Prior to the NYC run, Intersections International asked Kim Schultz and IVAP artists Paul Emerson and Kathryn Pilkington of CityDance to perform excerpts of their individual pieces for a special gala evening. The artists uniquely blended their work together for this special evening. The dance is called "Wishes of the Sailor" and the text is from "No Place Called Home" performed as part of Intersections Internationals 2010 Awards Gala.

Amplifying the voices of Iraqi refugees

ChangeTheStory.net discussion on Feb 4, 2010 at Intersections International

Production HISTORY

Ondarte Artist Residency, Akumal, Mexico, August 16, 2012
The John F. Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C. June 20, 2012
York College, Queens, NY April 26, 2012
Groton School, Groton, MA, April 3, 2012  
Winona State University, Winona, MN, March 1, 2012 
University of Minnesota Morris, Morris, MN, February 24, 2012
Illuminated Metropolis Gallery, NYC, NY, January 19, 2012, excerpt
Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, January 8-9, 2012
Indiana University South Bend, South Bend, IN October 20, 2011
Bronx Community College, Bronx, NY, October 18, 2011
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL, October 14, 2011
Revolution Books, NY, NY, October 2, 2011
Illusion Theater, Minneapolis, MN, July 14-17, 2011
Holy Cross College, South Bend, IN, April 15, 2011
Busboys and Poets, Washington, D.C., March 17, 2011

NEW YORK OFF-BROADWAY RUN
The Cell, NYC, October 27-31 2010
Mile Square Theatre, October 20-24 2010
3LD Technology Center, October 13-17 2010
The Wild Project, October 6-10 2010

The play was developed with readings at The Lark Play Development Center, Alwan Center for the Arts and Intersections International, as well as a residency at Groton School in Groton, MA.

The play was commissioned and produced in New York by Intersections International

How the PLAY came about...

Artist Bios

Kim Schultz

Originally from Minnesota, Kim Schultz is an actress, writer, comedienne and reverend (Yes, reverend). Nationally, she has worked at The Guthrie Theatre, Childrens’ Theatre Co. and Theatre de la Jeune Lune. She has performed at the Chicago Improv Fest, The Brave New Workshop and in a HBO Comedy Showcase in LA. Internationally, she wrote and performed a show for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and improvised on the Disney Wonder Cruise ship. Currently residing in New York, Kim has performed for The Hamptons Shakespeare Festival, Oberon Theatre, Themantics Group, Midtown International Fringe Festival and The Zipper Factory Theatre, among others. She has performed stand up/improv at Stand Up NY, Comix, HA! and NYCC. She also created, produced and acted in a regionally televised comedy improv show called Comedy Hotel - which aired on ABC-KSTC. Kim wrote and performed a critically acclaimed autobiographical solo show performed off-Broadway called, The F Trip. In addition, Kim is also an improviser and runs her own improv school called Kim Schultz Improv. www.kimschultz.net

Amikaeyla Gaston

Proclaimed one of the "purest contemporary voices in the jazz, world and folk industry since Eva Cassidy" by National Public Radio, powerhouse performer, and master percussionist Amikaeyla Proudfoot Gaston embraces the best of many types of music. With her soulful style, sultry ballads, & enchanting, passionate sincerity, she is a dynamic performer and is in the midst of an amazing musical journey. While the dazzling vocalist from the Washington, D.C. area draws on a dizzying array of influences, from Bel Canto, Funk and Bossa Nova to Blues and Soul, her sensibility is pure jazz. "I view myself as a roots jazz artist, because jazz feels so all encompassing," says the newly transplanted Bay area based singer. Her debut album Mosaic received national acclaim, winning a staggering 12 Music Awards, including Best Jazz Vocalist, Best Urban Contemporary Vocalist, Best World Music Vocalist, and Best Debut Artist. Additionally, she was named DC's best Female Composer in 2006 and again in 2008 for excellence in original composition. http://www.amikaeylacollective.com

Sarah Cameron Sunde

Sarah Cameron Sunde (Director) is a New York-based theater director specializing in new work and plays in translation. Her directing credits include premieres of: The Diary of a Teenage Girl by Marielle Heller (with Rachel Eckerling at 3LD Art & Technology Center), The Amish Project by Jessica Dickey (Rattlestick, Fringe et al.), What May Fall by Peter Gil-Sheridan (Guthrie Theater), The Asphalt Kiss by Nelson Rodrigues (59E59 Theaters), and her own translations of Night Sings Its Songs, deathvariations and Sa Ka La by Norway’s Jon Fosse (Oslo Elsewhere at 59E59 and 45 Bleecker). Sunde is credited as being the first director to bring Norwegian playwright Jon Fosse’s work to the U.S. He considers her “his American voice,” and her translations have been published by Performing Arts Journal. She is Associate Director of the award-winning downtown theater company, New Georges and Co-Founder of Oslo Elsewhere. Awards include an American Scandinavian Society Artist Award, Hermitage Foundation Residency, a NYtheatre.com Person of the Year Award, and a Princess Grace Directing Award.

Designed by Jeanette Yew and Jian Jung

Stage Managed by Sarah Izzo

Supplementary WORKSHOPS Offered

Refugee for a Day

3 hours

Students work with the playwright/performer on learning what it is to live as refugee. Activities include a slide show and background on crisis, warm-up improvisational activities for group bonding and listening, and refugee experiential story work through real refugee monologues. Each student will have a chance to choose and perform an excerpt of an actual Iraqi refugee, giving them a further, literal opportunity to experience refugee life. This workshop can also be focused on acting skills as well, if theatre students are involved. Students will leave the workshop with a greater understanding of the Iraqi refugee crisis, a better idea of what it is like to be a refugee and hopefully the empathy and inspiration to take steps to help.

[Full day workshop also available, ending in student performance of monologues with discussion following.]

Creating a Solo Show

6 hours

Workshop designed for theatre students on the art of creating a solo show. Students will engage with the playwright/performer on the challenges and joys of the form, working on their writing/performing skills, defining their voice and walking with first steps taken on a solo show. Excerpts of Ms. Schultz’s current solo show will be read and discussed for form, content and voice.

Improvisational Acting

2 hours

Play in the world of improvisation! Make it up as you go along! By working the improv skills of listening, moment to moment living, organic listening, bravery, teamwork and play, through exercises, games and scenes, students will walk away with skills useful both on and off the stage.

Arts as Activism

2 hours

This lecture/discussion features playwright/performer Kim Schultz as she shares her journey into the world of using arts as activism. Through pieces of her play, slides, historical examples and personal reflection, we learn how and why arts has always been and is the perfect way to create change on an issue, as we journey through the Iraqi refugee crisis, as an example. Then students will brainstorm and identify their own passion issues and through activites, both individual and group, come up with potential arts projects to make a difference in their school, community or world.

additional sessions available...

CONTACT INFO

For more information and/or pricing:

Contact
Playwright/Performer
Kim Schultz
kimschultz1@gmail.com
646-642-6957