J
ulia
Ward Howe's proclamation written to call women to action in
response to the U.S. Civil War. Her action brought about the
Mother's Day holiday and reminds us that the day was not founded
by a greeting card company. The words ring all to true today,
changing only the word "sons" to "children".
Julia Ward Howe's Mother's Day Proclamation -
1870
Arise then...women of this day!
Arise, all women who have hearts!
Whether your baptism be of water or of tears!
Say firmly:
"We will not have questions answered by irrelevant
agencies,
Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage,
For caresses and applause.
Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn
All that we have been able to teach them of charity,
mercy and patience.
We, the women of one country,
Will be too tender of those of another country
To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs."
From the voice of a devastated Earth a voice goes up with
Our own. It says: "Disarm! Disarm!
The sword of murder is not the balance of justice."
Blood does not wipe our dishonor,
Nor violence indicate possession.
As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil
At the summons of war,
Let women now leave all that may be left of home
For a great and earnest day of counsel.
Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate
the dead.
Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the
means
Whereby the great human family can live in peace...
Each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not
of Caesar,
But of God -
In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask
That a general congress of women without limit of
nationality,
May be appointed and held at someplace deemed most
convenient
And the earliest period consistent with its objects,
To promote the alliance of the different nationalities,
The amicable settlement of international questions,
The great and general interests of peace.
Back
to Index
June
2006 Message Board Contents:
Gretchen Hall's Experiences with Habitat for
Humanity in Romania
Linda Ader Bikes in Israeli
BUILDING IN BEIUS, ROMANIA
For a week-plus in September, 2005, we were part of a team
that built a duplex home in Beius, Romania. Beius is a
market town of 12,000 in western Romania, located in an
agricultural region with mountains visible both east and west. It
was the site of the first Habitat for Humanity work in Romania
and remains the national headquarters for the organization. Single,
duplex and apartment dwellings have already been completed,
though the need for housing remains acute. Acquiring land
is one major and expensive challenge.
Our group of 17 North Americans worked in the village of
Miziec, 5 km from Beius. We all stayed with families in
Beius and traveled to the building site by van. We had our
meals in Beius as well, at the (only) local restaurant. You can
picture us getting up in the semi-dark and crawling into work
clothes, then off to breakfast at 7:30, and on to the site by
about 8:30. It rained a lot in Romania this summer, so the
site was muddy with the local clay.
This building site was donated by the village and will
ultimately provide space for 26 homes, rather densely built. However,
village houses in the area are traditionally close together, so
this seems to be culturally OK. About 6 homes on this site
had been largely completed; three awaited electrical and water
connections (done professionally); in one, our team installed
wooden flooring on a rainy day. The homes are small by US
standards, but very well built and insulated: one
living-dining-kitchen room, 1 bath and 1 or 2 bedrooms. Upstairs
loft reached from outside provides storage. At another
locale in NE Romania, the homes are modified with a small front
porch/entry way (to be completed by the owner) and a viable
living space upstairs (again, for owner completion). That
location also had more land so homeowners had garden space as
well.
So we started with a cured concrete slab. Our first jobs
were to prepare all the wooden structures that would be combined
for the “skeleton” of the duplex – walls with the window
and door units and trusses for the roof. Much measuring,
cutting, hammering. We did have the benefit of 3 electric
saws for cutting the lumber – everything else was done by
hand. Two days and some rain interruptions later, the wood
structural units were ready to raise. Obviously we went up
with wall units first, assembling each one flat on the slab then
raising it cooperatively (yes, just like the pictures you’ve
seen of old-fashioned barn raisings). Once the four walls
were up, secure and braced, it was time to hoist (again by hand)
the trusses and nail them into place.
In all of this work we did have professional leadership! Our
wonderful volunteer coordinator, Emil, kept us coming and going
in good order – whether to meals or on jobs at the work site. Habitat
employs about 5 skilled Romanian workers who took the lead at
all the crucial points, such as placing and nailing the roof
trusses. They were all wonderful in working with unskilled
volunteers and endlessly patient with our questions and
mistakes. I learned that a house can absorb a surprising
number of mistakes and still turn out well!
The building had heavy wooden composite board on the sides
(over the studs), covered by styrofoam insulation that was
covered in turn by stucco. Every layer was measured and
nailed (or glued) into place by hand, piece by piece. We
had small work groups dedicated to each of these tasks. Meanwhile,
others were moving supplies (tiles, wood pieces, etc.) by hand
or wheelbarrow loads -- no little bobcats on this job to
help.
To give a concrete (excuse the pun) example, I’ll share the
laborious route of the concrete roof tiles. These were
salvaged from another Habitat site by a team that loaded them on
our one-and-only work truck. (loading meant passing hand to
hand down a ladder, stacking on the truck bed). Then at the
work site the entire lot was unloaded, again by a “human
chain,” and stacked awaiting use. When we were ready for
the roof, groups brought the tiles by wheelbarrow to the house
and passed and stacked them inside (again by human chain). We
had one more passing opportunity: taking the tiles one-by-one
from the stacks on the floor and handing them up to the
installers on the roof. These tiles hitch together by
ridges and stay in place because of their weight – no nails or
glue needed. Similar use of unskilled people-power happened
many times to assemble materials at the right place and time.
By the end of our work week (mid-day Saturday), the duplex
was nearly “dried in.” Had we not been interrupted by
rain, the roof would have been completed. I might add that
the two Romanian householders joined us in the building whenever
they could. They were clearly proud and indeed possessive
(smile) of their homes-taking-shape. They had been chosen
from a large group of applicants: about 1 family in 10 is lucky
enough to become homeowners. They had to show need for
housing as well as income so they could pay the modest 20 year
mortgage. In many cases, young families such as these are
living with parents under very crowded conditions.
Our gang of volunteers was a friendly, cooperative group –
no prima donnas, thank goodness! We ranged in age from 18
to late 60s – the average tending more toward our age. Everyone
was willing and ready to work, with skills ranging from
experienced to novice. Fortunately, various jobs were
available for everyone, so you didn’t have to crawl up on the
roof if you prefered to stay on the ground – and that was me,
on the ground.
When we weren’t building or riding back and forth or
eating, we had plenty of hot water for bathing and very decent
living arrangements, mostly two to a room. Some of the
younger set tried out different cafes in the evenings or
ventured to the local internet café where they found many
teenagers playing video games. One night we all went for
dessert at a café founded by Americans who came to Beius to
work with the “orphans.” Another night we were invited
to the home of the man who heads Habitat in Romania. Again,
we were offered coffee, sweets and conversation. Another
day before dinner we visited two orphanages in the town – one
run with state money for about 12 children of varying ages and
one run with US private contributions for about 20 preschool
children. They formerly sent young children to the US as
adoptees. Since international adoption is now prohibited by
Romanian law, this orphanage has a full house of children who
will likely grow up there together. The “orphans” (in
reality, abandoned children) are another whole topic, but I’ll
say here that both these homes were pleasant and appeared
well-run. Many more stories to tell, but not in this
installment!
If you’re seeking an interesting experience somewhere in
the world, try Habitat for Humanity!
Back
to Index
Linda Ader Bikes Through
Israel - May 2006.
Thoughts and Observations.
Record Number of
Bicyclists Arrive in Eilat After a 6-Day Journey From Jerusalem
Fundraising Goal for Arava Institute Exceeded $500,000
Tuesday,
May 16, 2006, Eilat, Israel - Yesterday afternoon, over 125 men
and women from 5 different countries cycled into Eilat,
completing a 265-mile journey that started out in Jerusalem some
6 days earlier. These men and women were participating in the
annual Arava Institute Hazon Israel Ride: Cycling
for Peace, Partnership And Environmental Protection.
Now in
its 4th year, hundreds of people have participated in the Arava
Institute Hazon Israel Ride since its inception. This year’s
Ride included 5 Bar and Bat Mitzvah children riding with a
parent. These young teenagers decided that in lieu of gifts for
their coming of age, friends and family should sponsor their
participation in this remarkable event. The participants came
from Israel, Canada, Brazil, Australia, England, with most of
them coming from 19 different states in the United States. The
riders ranged in age from 12 to 69. There were 15 sets of
multi-generational family combinations, including married
couples, parents with children, siblings, and cousins.
The funds
raised from this ride go to support the programs of the Arava
Institute for Environmental Studies as well as Hazon in New York
City. The Arava Institute is the premier environmental teaching
and research center in the Middle East, preparing
future Arab and Jewish leaders to cooperatively address and
resolve the region's environmental challenges. Hazon’s
mission is to revitalize Jewish life, to foster new vision and
to encourage Jews, as Jews, to live healthier and more
environmentally sustainable lives.
In
addition to raising much-needed funds for the Arava Institute
and Hazon (this year's Ride is expected to raise
more than $500,000), the Ride raises awareness about the
ways that environmental issues impact Israel and its neighbors
as well as how they can serve as a bridge for dialogue and
cooperation. The message – that nature knows no borders. The
Israel Ride fosters a community that crosses all the national,
religious, and ideological divides. There is a strong
educational component to the Israel Ride; along the route riders
can put their experiences in an historical, environmental, and
religious context through the Ride’s scholars-in-residence:
Rabbi Michael Cohen, Jacob Fine, Nigel Savage, Bill Slott and
Dr. Alon Tal.
The
ideals of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies are
incorporated into the Ride through its staff and crew. Most of
the Israel Ride’s 30 staffers are alumni of the Arava
Institute, coming from Israel, Jordan, East Jerusalem, and the
United States. These Jews, Muslims, and Christians demonstrate
that coexistence and peace are attainable when there is common
ground – in this case, a love of the land. Participants in the
Ride took a week out of their busy lives to make this 288-mile
trek in the name of environmental preservation and
peace-building..”
Two
residents of Southampton Village since 1999, participated.
Sandy Ader (69) was this year’s oldest
rider. Sandy has never
been much of a bike rider, but his wife, Linda (67) is
always up for a challenge. The Aders’four children
initially thought they were crazy for wanting to
participate, but realized how important it is to them. “This
keeps you young. It’s not chronology, but how you feel about
yourself”, he said. They trained on Middle Line Highway, Great
Hill Road and Meadow Lane, as well as rides to East Hampton. You
are attached to the land when you are attached to a bike one
rider exclaimed. The 106 degrees of heat in the desert and the
miles and miles of mountain climbing were so personally
challenging that the total experience was immensely rewarding.
No matter
how many pictures you take or how well you try to describe it,
it will fall short of the actual experience – seeing Israel in
a way that very few Americans have seen it.
For
further information or to participate in next year’s 5th
anniversary ride, please visit http://www.israelride.org.
Five Days on A Bike in Israel - Linda Ader
We rode out through the magnificent city of Jerusalem, past the Western
Wall, past the museums, the Knesset, the Hospitals, The Old City, the
Dome of the Rock, and through the green hills and mountains of the
suburbs of the city, the city of David, and then past the ground of his
battle with Goliath. For two days we rode through greenery, trees
planted in a land that was empty and arid in 1948. And then the desert.
Being in the vastness of the Arava Desert , the complete tan-ness -
bareness of the landscape was awesome in the real sense of that word.
Some of the sand formations- oddly enough- looked like sand sculptures-
perfectly formed as though for a contest. Once in a while I'd see a
camel, and then a herd, and then a shepherd. I'd pass a thousand
ostriches and know I was coming to our destination. We'd be climbing a
mountain and I'd hear the heavy breathing of the rider behind me and
feel his energy mixing with mine. Together we pulled to get to the top
of this enormous climb that seemed to go on forever. And then a
glorious downhill as a reward for our efforts and a lovely shaded pit
stop with friends waiting - cool water and quiet conversation. Once we
rested at a reservoir that supplies water for almost the entire
southern half of the country. We stared across this huge reservoir at
the Gaza Strip and the new "Wall". A huge bear of a General described
to us that 40,000 Palestinians every day pass from Gaza to go to work
in Israel, each of them checked by name, fingerprints and photo.
We stopped once alongside the Egyptian border and watched the Israeli
soldiers pulling their barbed wire sand scrapers alongside the Israeli
border. These are used as telltales for footprints of breaches of the
borders up and down the entire length of the country. And then in the
middle of all this desert- acres and acres of palm trees, and pine
trees and grass- kibbutzim. The shock of this to my eyes and my mind
was beyond words, but brought tears. My- what a people with a goal can
do ! It's Hadassah- It's Arava- It's Hazon- It's Ketura.- It's JNF-
It's Young Judea- It's every group that started with an idea and a
handful of believers. It's all those Chalutzim that created a
habitable land out of dust and rocks. I remember thinking - my
goodness- how could this have happened without the blood and sweat and
tears of so many young and old. Their wars. The loss of so many young
boys fighting for this land that I'm riding through. And here I am
experiencing the magnificent completion of their toils...a kibbutz-
dark green in the midst of a vast desert. And the war goes on.
And as we rode on toward the sea, more desert, 106 degrees, more
animals, more physically challenging climbs than this 67 year old
thought was possible to do. And then- we gathered -all 120 of us for a
7 mile 20,000 meter descent into Eilat- the end of the journey-288
miles- and a jump into the sea. An unforgettable experience - bike and
I- one with the land. And what a Land !
Back to Index
Last month Pat Kennedy Ascher retired from
her position as “West
Coast Senior Major Gift Officer” for Mount Holyoke College.
Curtis Smith and I attended a wonderful reception for
her where her colleagues praised her loyalty,
her
charm and her flexibility.
I might add that she was credited for having raised 60
million dollars for Mount Holyoke during
her 18 years in this position.
Pat quoted Mary Lyon saying:
“This
institution is a great intellectual and moral machine, and
if you will jump in you may ride very fast.
Do something--teach—have a plan—live for some
purpose.” To
“roar along” in the spirit of Mary Lyon seems like good
advice especially if we remember she had never seen an airplane
or an automobile!
Pat
was also honored at a reception in Sonoma and the photo of her
with Kay Jester Byerly was taken there.
Click to enlarge
Back to Index
Dear classmates,
Space in our Quarterly
column is so limited, I’ve taken to publishing particularly
interesting but long news items on this, our class Message Board. The first comes from Jo Amanti Piltz and recounts what life
was like during and immediately after the big earthquake that struck
Hawaii in mid-October.
This is followed by exciting news from Carol
Mack and Judy Rogers Vicary Swisher.
If this is your first visit to the Message
Board, please … keep reading.
You’ll learn about cycling through Israel and Habitat for
Humanity in Romania and come away with an even greater appreciation
of 1960’s
“uncommon” women.
Sheila
Jo
Amanti Piltz on October’s big
Hawaii earthquake:
(Sun. Oct. 15) “It
was an impressive earthquake, but no one was hurt.
Some people in the east side of Waimea had some structural
damage to their homes but we were lucky.
Guy & I just froze while it rumbled and shook, shook,
shook. And we know
better. This is not our
first big earthquake , but we haven’t had such a big one in a long
time. Some mess to
clean up in the kitchen, but even that was minimal.
Our electricity was back on in about 6 hours.
(At the time Jo was writing, several days later), it was
still off on Oahu and Maui.
We are still getting aftershocks, and yesterday at 5:30 a.m.
(Tues. Oct. 17th), a 3.2 mag was my alarm clock.
Everyone in town still tells the tale as we stand in lines at
the bank, the grocery store, the post office, etc.
The funniest happening was the night of the earthquake when
the local market opened after a long day of clean up.
They would only let customers in one at a time, and we each
had an employee as an escort because there was some structural
damage and they worried about liability.
Kind of fun having a shopping partner.
We chatted as I pickup up milk and eggs and his story was
like everyone else’s.
(Fri., Oct. 20) We’re
still getting little aftershocks, but that’s not unusual.
So all is well. We
must be fine because CNN and FEMA are not interested in us at all.
How nice. Lots
of people had minor damage and a few folks had big damage, but no
one was seriously hurt. A
major relief.
We were very lucky. Things
can be replaced, but people are precious.
Too true.”
Aloha nui loa, Jo.
(Thurs., Dec. 7)
Judy Rogers Vicary Swisher has just published her first
children’s book, entitled The Last Ornament. She’s
marketing her work online and through an ad in The New Yorker. In the
spirit of the holiday season, Dana, Sue and I thought it would be
nice to applaud and encourage our classmate’s efforts.
You can see (and read) Judy’s promotional material by
clicking on to her website: www.thelastornament.com.
Judy’s story is charming and so is her ad!
Enjoy!
(P.S. Buy
now and put books aside for grandchildren next year.
One can never be too prepared for the holidays …)
Kudos to …
Many Shining Lights, Inc., a powerful new theatrical event
developed by (among others) our own Carol
Mack, has just won an important theater competition and is now
looking for financial support.
Since this is a play by women that showcases the
extraordinary struggles and achievements of women around the world,
Dana, Sue and I thought all of you would be interested to read about
it and, perhaps, some of you might be interested in helping to back
the production.
*****
(Sat., Dec. 2)
Carol Mack wrote, “We WON!”
Carol, in partnership with a consortium of
award-winning playwrights (Paula Cizmar, Catherine Filloux, Gail
Kriegal, Ruth Margraff, Anna Deavere Smith and Susan Yankowitz), has
developed a theater project which just won its competition. Each
woman (each writer) will create a monologue derived from personal
interviews and oral histories of seven extraordinary women from
around the globe. The
narratives will be woven together to dramatize the struggles,
courageous journeys and achievements of these remarkable people
whose work benefits the citizens of their diverse cultures: Russia,
Pakistan, Nigeria, Northern Ireland, Afghanistan, Guatemala, and
Cambodia.
I was introduced to
Vital Voices Global Partnership when invited by a friend to join the
Connecticut Chapter of Vital Voices which started as a government
organization under Clinton and was founded by Melanne Verveer, and
for the past 3 years has been an NGO. It is an international women's
organization that supports and trains women leaders from the entire
world and believes that it is women who will change the world. At
this gathering a woman refugee from Afghanistan spoke about her life
and I was very moved by her story but, as a playwright, felt that
her narrative could be experienced by audiences if, in her words,
but based on interviews, a writer were to depict her life. I
asked 6 other noted playwrights to join me. Vital Voices chose the 7
women subjects and each of us has interviewed and worked with one
amazing woman. We are just now weaving the narratives together to
create an evening of theatre that we hope will illuminate
fascinating stories from around the globe.
Here below is a reprint of the production’s
Mission Statement. Note:
Donations to
Many
Shining Lights, Inc. are tax deductible, and should be made
payable to Vital Voices Global Partnership, earmarked for Many
Shining Lights, Inc., and sent to:
Melissa Peterson
Vital
Voices Global Partnership
1150
Connecticut Avenue, NW, suite 600
Washington,
D.C. 20036
www.vitalvoices.org
MISSION
STATEMENT
MANY
SHINING LIGHTS, INC.
MISSION
STATEMENT
"...no
one ends at himself,
each
one is an all
in
another all,
in
another one.
The
other is contained in the one,
the
one is another:
we
are constellations..."
Octavio Paz
Seven
award-winning playwrights, Paula Cizmar, Catherine Filloux, Gail
Kriegel, Carol K. Mack, Ruth Margraff, Anna Deavere Smith and Susan
Yankowitz, have joined together to create a collaborative work for
the theatre. Each
writer will create a monologue derived from personal interviews and
oral histories of seven extraordinary women from around the globe.
The narratives will be woven together to dramatize the
struggles, courageous journeys and achievements of these remarkable
people whose work benefits
the citizens of their diverse cultures:
Russia, Pakistan, Nigeria, Northern Ireland, Afghanistan,
Guatemala, and Cambodia.
These
women are quietly (and not so quietly) changing our world. By creating a powerful theatrical event, Many Shining Lights, Inc. hopes to illuminate their extraordinary
acts and common humanity in the face of injustice and violence and
to inspire audiences throughout the United States and abroad.
The
women represented are:
Inez McCormack, Northern Ireland:
a dynamic civil rights leader who played a major role in the
1998 Good Friday Peace Accords. She has led organizations devoted to
fair trade and fair labor practices. Her humanitarian work has
concentrated on the twin concerns of economic development and of
peace.
Mukhtar Mai, Pakistan:
gang raped by four men and forced to walk home almost naked
in retribution for an alleged ‘honor crime,’ this harrowing
story grabbed headlines across the world.
Rather than commit suicide, Muktar decided to bring her
rapists to justice and improve the condition of women by building
schools and becoming an ardent advocate for education in her
country.
Annabella De Leon,
Guatemala: raised
herself and her family out of poverty by educating herself.
She has been a Congresswoman since 1995 and, despite death
threats (she has 6 bodyguards appointed by Human Rights Watch), is a
fearless fighter against corruption and for the rights of the poor,
particularly women and indigenous people.
Sochua
Mu, Cambodia:
the former Minister of Women’s Affairs in Cambodia, she was
recently co-nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for her work
surrounding sex trafficking in Cambodia.
Sochua, who plans to run for political office in her country,
lost her parents in the killing fields.
Marina
Pisklakova-Parker, Russia: founded
ANNA, the first organization in Russia to provide crisis and
counseling services for abused women.
She is working to engage her government and embassies around
the world in educating potential trafficking victims and, when
necessary, repatriating them.
Farida
Aziza,
Afghanistan: A
founding member of Afghan Women's Network and the Corporation for
Peace and Unity, she has gained asylum and now lives in the United
States with her two children and works on women's rights and
peace-building in Afghanistan.
Hafsat
Abiola, Nigeria:
From
a family of courageous fighters for freedom and justice, her parents
both lost their lives in the struggle.
She has founded and directs KIND (Kudirat Initiative for
Democracy) that aids women in their attempts to advance democracy in
Africa and has created skills-training opportunities for young women
across Nigeria.
All
the above named women have been empowered and supported by a
remarkable NGO called VITAL VOICES GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP based in
Washington, D.C.. VITAL
VOICES "invests in
emerging women leaders--pioneers of economic, political, and social
advancement in their countries--and build the capabilities,
connections, and credibility these women need to unlock their
potential as catalysts of global progress."
Descriptions of their transformative work can be found on the
web at www.vitalvoices.org
The
seven playwrights have pledged to give half of their royalties to
VITAL VOICES GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP for the projects and women it
supports and to the seven individuals
represented in this theatre piece.
The playwrights are:
Paula Cizmar: Paula Cizmar’s plays have been produced off-Broadway, in
London, and in regional theatres from Maine to California--including
Portland Stage, American Place Theatre, The Women’s Project (NY),
San Diego Rep, Passage Theatre (NJ), Playwrights Arena, Jungle
Theater (Minneapolis), and (short plays) at Actors Theatre of
Louisville. She has attended the O’Neill National Playwrights
Conference and Sundance Theatre Lab. Among her many plays are: Street Stories, Candy &
Shelley Go to the Desert, Still Life with Parrot & Monkey, The
Death of a Miner, Venus in Orange (written with Laura Shamas),
and Bone Dry. Also a screenwriter, Paula was a staff writer
for two seasons on the PBS series “American Family.” For more
info, please visit www.paulacizmar.com
Catherine
Filloux:
Plays by award-winning playwright, CATHERINE FILLOUX, include:
LEMKIN’S HOUSE (McGinn-Cazale Theatre, 78th Street Theatre Lab,
NYC & Kamerni Theatre, Sarajevo) has just received the
PeaceWriting Award from Omni Center for Peace; THE BEAUTY INSIDE
(New Georges/InterAct); EYES OF THE HEART (NAATCO); SILENCE OF GOD
(Contemporary American Theater Festival); MARY AND MYRA (CATF &
Todd Mountain); PHOTOGRAPHS FROM S-21 (shown around the world).
Filloux’s libretti include: THE FLOATING BOX (Composer Hwang), New
World Records and WHERE ELEPHANTS WEEP (Composer Him Sophy),
Cambodian Living Arts. Plays published by Playscripts, Inc. and
others.
Gail Kriegel: Playwright,
librettist, composer, GAIL KRIEGEL was Artist-in-Residence at the
Tribeca Performing Arts Center,2005-6. She’s presently developing
her musical, SWEETIE, and a children’s operetta, RAINBOW JUNCTION. Gail has been
widely produced. Her film FRAGMENTS won top awards at five film
festivals and for her prize winning play, ON THE HOME FRONT, she
received a Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship, One World Arts Grant,
NYFA grant, the Ruby Lloyd Apsey Award and was a finalist for the
Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. Gail was Visiting Artist at The
American Academy in Rome, 2005. A member of the BMI Musical Theater
Workshop, her work has been published by Smith & Krauss,
Heinemann Press and is included in the Archives at Lincoln Center.
Carol
K. Mack: plays by Carol K. Mack have been produced
Off-Broadway, in Scotland and many regional theaters across the
U.S.A. . A recipient in 2005 of a grant from the National Foundation
for Jewish Culture, she has just completed THE VISITOR. Premieres
include: THE ACCIDENT, American Repertory Theatre; IN HER SIGHT and
AFTER, Actors Theatre of Louisville.
Awards include the Stanley Drama Award, Julie Harris/Beverly
Hills Theatre Guild Award, Playwright Forum Award and a Rockefeller
Foundation Fellowship. Her plays have been selected for three
editions of Best Short American Plays. For more information please
visit: www.carolkmack.com
Ruth
Margraff:: (Playwright/Librettist)
just received her 4th Rockefeller Foundation commission
with Big Red Media/Apollo Theater, a McKnight
Commission/Residency, and a Fulbright new opera award to
Greece. Her work has been developed and produced by
Hourglass/Century Ballroom, BAM Next Wave, the Apollo, CAMI,
HERE/Harp, Public, Cooper Union, Lincoln Ctr, Kitchen, NYTW,
Guggenheim Museum and regionally throughout the U.S.A. from
Louisville to Seattle as well as internationally in Russia, Greece,
Japan, India, Croatia, Serbia, Czech Rep., Hungary, Romania, Turkey,
Great Britain etc.. She is published in a new textbook from Kendall/Hunt,
and in Backstage Books, American Theatre, Theater Forum,
Dramatist, Johns Hopkins, Manchester, NuMuse
Anthology/Brown, Chain/Temple, Epoch/Cornell,
Conjunctions/Bard, Autonomedia, etc and is a co-leader of
a Theatre Without Borders initiative on peace-building and
coexistence. http://www.RuthMargraff.com
Anna
Deavere Smith:
an actor, teacher, playwright and creator of unique one woman plays
based on interviews, Anna Deavere Smith has won two Obie Awards, two
Tony nominations for TWILIGHT: LOS ANGELES, and a MacArthur
Fellowship. A Pulitzer
Prize finalist for her play: FIRES IN THE MIRROR, Ms. Smith is
founder and director of the Institute on the Arts and Civic Dialogue
at New York University. As
an actress she has appeared in many films and on the television
series WEST WING. Her
new book, LETTERS TO A YOUNG ARTIST, has recently been published by Anchor Books.
Susan
Yankowitz:: plays by Susan Yankowitz include PHAEDRA IN
DELIRIUM, TERMINAL,
1969 TERMINAL 1996, A
KNIFE IN THE HEART, NIGHT
SKY; and bookwriter/lyricist for TRUE ROMANCES with Elmer Bernstein,
SLAIN IN THE SPIRIT with Taj Mahal and CHÉRI with Michael Dellaira.
She is a 2006 resident artist at HERE with puppeteer Ralph
Lee. For more information please visit www.susanyankowitz.com
Donations
to our project are tax deductible, and should be made payable to
Vital Voices Global Partnership, earmarked for Many Shining Lights,
Inc. and sent to:
Melissa Peterson
Vital Voices Global Partnership
1150
Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 600
Washington,
D.C. 20036
www.vitalvoices.org
Back
to Index
