At a time in history when most people have access to flashy videos on their phones, it might come as a surprise to find that live amateur theater can still command our attention and speak to our emotions. Working with a musical group called the Wonderground Singers, the UPRISE Creative Collective performed on the downtown mall. Narrator Mecca Burns told of people living in another time and place.
“Saturday mornings in the town square people gathered but most did not see the rising threat of greed and exclusion. They didn’t hear the language that was amplifying violence and division. They thought, ’It’s not so bad.’ Some thought perhaps it would save the country – make them powerful and wealthy. Then ...’’
Their performance drew a large crowd of people ready to participate.
"What say you? Yea or Nay?" shouted a town crier. "Nay!" the crowd replied.
Founder Mary Stewart says she first discussed the idea with her friend, Alexandra Kedrock.
“Alexandra reached out to me, and I was having the same idea in the back of my mind. She was really interested in getting kind of a street activist theater group going, and there are a lot of creative people around here, and some of us are very, very concerned about what’s happening in our world and want to put our creative energy and our heart into collaborating and just showing up.”
And her daughter, Maya Stewart-Silver, was happy to join.
“It’s creating a whole other landscape that people can see and even participate and be involved in, because we’re not professional actresses. We are just fellow humans who feel impassioned, and we want to welcome and invite others to join us – let that spark within us help light the other sparks in others.”
Their friend Michelle Kisliuk was also on board.
“Mary and I saw each other at one of the recent protests, and we were talking about how we need more than just standing with signs and screaming.”
They use two giant puppets to attract attention – one an evil leader.
“It roars with garbage tin cans on it," Kisliuk says, rattling a tail of tin cans. "It’s supposed to be scary and have a deathly ghostly feel to it but not be so scary that it scares people away.”
Another puppet represents Mother Earth.
They performed in front of the federal building in Charlottesville with an actress dressed as the statue of liberty – falling to the ground, in need of revival,
“What do we do?" worried one actor. "Resist!” shouted another.
And they organized a dramatic protest after UVA President Jim Ryan was forced to resign. Professor John Kluge read a statement in the voice of Thomas Jefferson.
“Let us stand as one as we have times in the past to shield our universities from the grasp of federal power and preserve them as sanctuaries of knowledge, not pawns of political machinations. Lift your voices against this injustice. This hour, today, demands action. Write to your representatives, and proclaim that Virginia will not bend to federal intimidation.”
UpRise is networking with other universities, hoping to collaborate with students and to express their protest with performances again this fall.
