DIGITURGY

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The Broadway Life of Hillary Clinton

Imagining what goes on inside Clinton’s head has been a national pastime for at least two decades. The latest person to attempt it is the playwright Lucas Hnath, in his new work, “Hillary and Clinton.”

Soft Power

Hillary Clinton is an avid theater goer, which makes it all the more brave and intriguing for writers to channel her into their writing. Lucas Hnath write her as a character in his play, Hillary and Clinton, and Jeanine Tesori and David Henry Hwang writer her as a character in Soft Power. 

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Joni Mitchell-Urge for Going

This is an earlier version of Joni's hit, Urge for Going, sung in a live performance on Oscar Brand's Canadian TV show, Let's Sing Out.

The Vagrant Trilogy

The title of the third part of The Vagrant Trilogy was in part inspired by Joni Mitchell’s “Urge For Going”. In it, Mitchell sings about change, displacement, and ambition, all of which are central themes of Mansour’s trilogy.

“I'll ply the fire with kindling now I'll pull the blankets up to my chin I'll lock the vagrant winter out and I'll bolt my wanderings in I'd like to call back summertime Have her stay for just another month or so

But she's got the urge for going So I guess she'll have to go She gets the urge for going When the meadow grass is turning brown All her empire's falling down”

- Joni Mitchell

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Palestinian refugees in Lebanon denied many rights

Millions of Palestinians live around the world, waiting to return to what is now Israel. Life in exile has been particularly hard in Lebanon, where refugees ...

The Vagrant Trilogy

Living as a Palestinian refugee in Lebanon is particularly difficult, as they are denied some of the most basic rights like job opportunities.

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The Vagrant Trilogy

Barghouti, a celebrated Palestinian poet, won the Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature for this account of his return to Ramallah in 1996 after a 30-year absence.

Mona Mansour, writer of The Vagrant Trilogy, writes that the book is “a beautiful evocation of, when he’s crossing the bridge, all these feelings that come back to him. I read it because I was trying to research what it is like to be Palestinian, post-1948, pre-1967″

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Syrian refugees in America: The forgotten psychological wounds of the stress of migration

In the seven years since civil war erupted in Syria, refugees have fled the violence and destruction. But starting over in a new country after such experiences is much harder than it may seem.

The Visitor

Today, many Syrian refugees in America cope with PTSD and depression due to the stress and turmoil that comes with escaping a country with such a complicated political climate

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Amazing Street Doumbek(Goblet Drum) Kid drummer

Amazing Street Doumbek(Goblet Drum) Kid drummer Doumbek (goblet drum) is a single head membranophone with agoblet shaped body used mostly in the Middle East,...

The Visitor

In The Visitor, Tarek teaches Walter how to play the drums. In this video, a young boy plays the Doumbek, or Goblet Drum, which is native to Egypt and many other regions in the Middle East.

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Hudson Valley Town Is a Playwright’s Home and Template

The playwright Richard Nelson’s cycle of plays features real places in Rhinebeck, N.Y., where he lives.

The Gabriels:

The Gabriels aren’t the first family that Richard Nelson has imagined in his hometown of Rhinebeck - he spent four plays with the Apple Family and some of their haunts (and those of the Gabriels) are explored here in this New York Times profile.

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The Michaels

Playwright Richard Nelson returns again to his Hudson Valley home -- revisit this piece to familiarize yourself with the town as we prepare to meet another family: The Michaels.

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Dancers Overcome Language Barrier to Choreograph Piece

“It’s the first time I’ve ever experienced anything like this… It made me feel like dance is its own language.” We brought in two international dancers to ch...

The Michaels

Dance is what brings together all the characters in Richard Nelson’s The Michaels. Each character has a different relationship with dance, but they all are able to connect and disconnect through the art form. In this video, dance allows two people to overcome one of the hardest barriers for communication.

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Suzan-Lori Parks Remembers Ntozake Shange's "Range of Ferocity"

"Even to say she was fierce and funny and kind is limiting," says Parks on Shange

For Colored Girls

“There’s a moment where words are so limiting. To say Ntozake Shange […] was a playwright, novelist, poet and activist is limiting”. 

Suzan-Lori Parks writes that the only way to understand Shange and her legacy is to read her work. 

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For Colored Girls

These images are from a 2014 New York Public Library exhibition entitled: “i found god in myself: The 40th Anniversary of Ntozake Shange's for colored girls”

“Turning to the choreopoem not simply as an engaging work of text or drama but as a well of social, political and deeply personal issues affecting the lives of women of color, the exhibition [featured] 20 specially commissioned pieces in honor of each individual poem, additional non-commissioned artworks on display at satellite locations that address the work’s themes and archival material donated by Shange.“

 -NY Public Library

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In Mainstream American Theatre, Diversity is a Goal, Not a Necessity

NEW YORK, February 5, 2019 — In a conversation at Asia Society, theatre artists David Henry Hwang and Bartlett Sher discuss where progress has been made when...

Soft Power

David Henry Hwang, author of Soft Power, and Bartlett Sher, director of the 2015 revival of The King and I, discuss diversity and representation in the American theater. Hwang was heavily inspired by Sher’s production of The King and I when writing Soft Power. 

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Why nations should pursue "soft" power | Shashi Tharoor

http://www.ted.com India is fast becoming a superpower, says Shashi Tharoor -- not just through trade and politics, but through "soft" power, its ability to ...

Soft Power

What does the title of Jeanine Tesori and David Henry Hwang’s musical mean? Shashi Tharoor talks about the significance of the term “Soft Power” in the context of India.

“Soft Power is something that really emerges partly because of governments, but party despite governments.”

- Sashi Tharoor

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Rambert School: White Heat by Dan Wagoner

Choreography by Dan Wagoner, restaged by Paul Liburd MBE, performed by Rambert School students. Extract from rehearsal in March 2017. Costumes designed by Wi...

The Michaels

The choreography performed in Richard Nelson’s, The Michaels, is inspired by real-life choreographer, Dan Wagoner!

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Hillary Clinton: American Democracy Is in Crisis

"Our democratic institutions and traditions are under siege. We need to do everything we can to fight back."

Soft Power

In Soft Power, the characters of Hillary Clinton and Xue Xing sing about the state of America’s democracy. In September of 2018, the real Hillary Clinton gave us her take on the state of America’s democracy in this article.

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Seven Flames Kindled by the Focused Fire of Ntozake Shange

Theater artists who carry on the tradition of “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf” honor their inspiration.

For Colored Girls

Ntozake Shange inspired countless contemporary playwrights and actresses, many of whom are women of color, to find their voices in the theater.

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Timeline: U.S. Relations With China 1949—2018

Since 1949, U.S.-China relations have evolved from tense standoffs to a complex mix of intensifying diplomacy, growing international rivalry, and increasingly intertwined economies.

Soft Power

The relationship between the US and China has a complex history, given that they are two of the world’s most powerful countries. We’ll forgive you if you’ve forgotten the salient details but here’s a chance to brush up on your history, from the end of World War II to the present.

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The Time I Got Stabbed in the Neck

The playwright David Henry Hwang thought he had been hit on the head by a random attacker. Then he noticed the blood.

Soft Power

We can all remember the day we heard this story, that our friend and colleague (and Soft Power bookwriter) had been attacked here in New York. The story does have a happy ending, in that David is okay and still writing, but that doesn’t make it any less harrowing a read, so please be aware that the subject matter may be triggering.