Stephanie Glass Solomon
California Artist Activist
Will we ever get the wrinkles out?
AMERICAN VOICES: SPIRIT OF REVOLUTION
August 10, 2008, The Eli and Edythe Broad Stage, Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center. Stephanie Glass Solomon and Richard Walker co-authored this new work for chamber orchestra and actors. Stephanie also produced American Voices. Dustin Hoffman and Dale Franzen directed. Kent Nagano, Richard Walker and Dale Franzen served as Artistic Directors.
American Voices: Spirit of Revolution brings to life the events, the passions and the ideals of the Revolutionary period in American history, and demonstrates their relevance today. Meant to inspire and to educate, American Voices uses text and music to show that the greatness demonstrated by so many Americans over the course of our history can be found, today, in each of us.
The music consists of selected short works by the great composer Charles Ives (1874-1954) who wrote many pieces evocative of American themes. Artistic Director and Conductor Kent Nagano led an ensemble of hand-picked musicians in the premiere.
The text is drawn from diverse writings by the nation’s founders and additional voices of the Revolutionary era: African Americans, Native Americans, soldiers, and others who participated in this dynamic period. The readings put into context the late colonial period, the Declaration of Independence, the Revolutionary War and its aftermath, the writing and ratification of the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. To integrate the ideals of the past with the challenges of the present, the Narrator suggests that the American Revolution was not an event that is over, but is ongoing -- that history is alive, in each generation, and that we continue to be revolutionaries, enlarging the promise of liberty, equality and justice for all.
BEING MOVED
Being Moved a two-act play, is a prelude to the Occupy Movement. Set in Los Angeles during the Great Recession, this serio-comedy tells the story of Ellen Stone, an old Berkeley radical, struggling to save herself and a small community of women friends from a foreclosure. When this dynamic activist meets Frank, a Chicano and Vietnam vet sent from the bank, their attraction exposes their deep desire for intimacy. But old wounds from those who fought the Vietnam War and those who protested against it don’t make it easy to get close. Through their volatile exchanges and sexual encounter they unwittingly discover the central role values play in intimate relationships. A constellation of characters coping with fallout from Wall Street’s toxic bubble surrounds the couple, and grounds their intense political and philosophic inquiry in the lives of friends and family. Defying ageist stereotypes and meant to inspire, this play, with its humor, romance, and reconciliation, pays homage to those who have dedicated their lives to the struggle for the greater good.
Meant to awaken civic consciousness, Being Moved explores the question of how activists stay engaged without certainty of just outcomes. With the cast of characters, at the end, videoed and bringing their protest to U-Tube, importantly, Being Moved celebrates the ever-transforming spirit of non-violent activism.
The first reading was August, 2010. It was directed by Jenny Sullivan. The cast included Bonnie Franklin in the role of Ellen, and Castulo Guerra as Frank.
2010: Recipient of the Jay and Deborah Last Fellowship for Creative and Performing Artists and Writers, 2010, from the American Antiquarian Society for American Voices: Spirit of Revolution.
Being Moved
2012: Winner of the Mario Fratti-Fred Newman Political Play Contest, New York City.
August 20, 2012: Reading of the play Being Moved at the Castillo Theater, New York City.
JAZZ, GENDER, and JUSTICE