The Days of the Commune

[Forwarded to OwA by Greg S.]:

Hello:

I an artist and filmmaker. I plan  to work with group of performers on scenes from  Bert Brecht's play "Days of the Commune". The play will not be performed all at once in its entirety.  Instead I see it unfolding as an ongoing series of "days" rehearsed and performed on weekends in Liberty Square. My idea behind the project is to create a structure that superimposes the past over the present; the Paris Commune of 1871 where working people occupied their own neighborhoods and todays occupation movement. Each "day" will be documented on video and distributed online - these episodes will build towards a larger work.

I am looking for performers both professional and non professional. The most important thing is enthusiasm and the willingness to see the project through to the end. You can find the casting call here
http://daysofthecommune.com/casting-commune.pdf

My budget is very small because I feel that it is a timely intervention and I don't want to wait …. however i do think it can reach a wide audience, both live and online. I am already interesting galleries in Europe about a show of the completed work.

I have also contacted the OWS performance Guild but in case anyone on this list is interested in participating, please let me know. Feel free to circulate this widely.

The website is just beginning to take shape -  thedaysofthecommune.com

Thanks
Zoe

[From The Days of the Commune website]:

Citizens join us! Every Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 1.30pm, March through May, we come to Liberty Square (Zuccotti Park) to work on The Days of the Commune, a play by Bert Brecht. Each scene in the play denotes one day. Each day is documented and posted here.

The Paris Commune of 1871 was the first example in modern history of an occupation where working people took over their own neighborhoods and practiced direct democracy. Many different left groups worked together and women played an important part defining and demanding feminist principles that paved the way for our future. Times have changed, OWS faces pepper spray, the Communards were confronted with live ammunition but their belief in taking their future into their own hands, in standing up to the wealthy in leading by example instead of by force is as relevant today as it was then.

☆Next Performance: March 3, 2012☆

Contact: zoe@zoebeloff.com

La Commune de Paris is the first example in modern history of an occupation where workers take take control of their own city and form a progressive democratic assembly of the people. It lasts from March 18 to May 28, 1871 before being brutally destroyed by the French Government.

Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956)