{"id":5026,"date":"2022-07-05T16:21:38","date_gmt":"2022-07-05T16:21:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tornspacetheater.com\/home\/?page_id=5026"},"modified":"2023-07-15T12:51:53","modified_gmt":"2023-07-15T12:51:53","slug":"ages","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.tornspacetheater.com\/home\/original-productions\/ages\/","title":{"rendered":"Ages"},"content":{"rendered":"<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t#builder-section-1673038375341 .builder-banner-slide {\n\t\tpadding-bottom: 600px;\n\t}\n\t@media screen and (min-width: 600px) and (max-width: 960px) {\n\t\t#builder-section-1673038375341 .builder-banner-slide {\n\t\t\tpadding-bottom: 62.5%;\n\t\t}\n\t}\n\t<\/style>\n<section id=\"builder-section-1673038375341\" class=\"builder-section  builder-section-first builder-section-banner builder-section-next-text\">\n<div class=\"builder-section-content cycle-slideshow\" data-cycle-log=\"false\" data-cycle-slides=\"div.builder-banner-slide\" data-cycle-swipe=\"true\" data-cycle-timeout=\"6000\" data-cycle-fx=\"scrollHorz\">\n<div class=\"builder-banner-slide content-position-none\" style=\"background-image: url(&#039;https:\/\/www.tornspacetheater.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/20220813_torn_space_ages_teasers-WEB-15.jpg&#039;);\">\n<div class=\"builder-banner-content\">\n<div class=\"builder-banner-inner-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"builder-banner-slide content-position-none\" style=\"background-image: url(&#039;https:\/\/www.tornspacetheater.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/20220813_torn_space_ages_teasers-WEB-67.jpg&#039;);\">\n<div class=\"builder-banner-content\">\n<div class=\"builder-banner-inner-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"builder-banner-slide content-position-none\" style=\"background-image: url(&#039;https:\/\/www.tornspacetheater.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Ages-067-scaled.jpg&#039;);\">\n<div class=\"builder-banner-content\">\n<div class=\"builder-banner-inner-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"builder-banner-slide content-position-none\" style=\"background-image: url(&#039;https:\/\/www.tornspacetheater.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/20220813_torn_space_ages_teasers-WEB-77-1.jpg&#039;);\">\n<div class=\"builder-banner-content\">\n<div class=\"builder-banner-inner-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"builder-banner-slide content-position-none\" style=\"background-image: url(&#039;https:\/\/www.tornspacetheater.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Ages-290-scaled.jpg&#039;);\">\n<div class=\"builder-banner-content\">\n<div class=\"builder-banner-inner-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"cycle-prev\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"cycle-next\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"cycle-pager\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"builder-section-1657037150118\" class=\"builder-section builder-section-prev-banner builder-section-text builder-section-last builder-text-columns-1\">\n<div class=\"builder-section-content\">\n<div class=\"builder-text-column builder-text-column-1\" id=\"builder-section-1657037150118-column-1\">\n<div class=\"builder-text-content\">\n<h1>Ages<\/h1>\n<p><strong>By Torn Space Theater<\/strong><br \/><strong>Written &amp; Directed by Dan Shanahan and Melissa Meola<\/strong><\/p>\n<h4><b>About<\/b><b><i> AGES<\/i><\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ages is an operatic examination of the ages and stages of life. Designed for the parkland lawn around a great cottonwood tree, the audience, pedestrians and picnickers gather to witness the overlapping beautiful and banal moments of life. The shared human moments of independence and co-dependence, love and loss, accidents and miracles, and the here and now play out over the timeline of the universe.\u00a0 Familiar figures in the Torn Space mythology return, presenting the growing family of their multi-generational fictional society. In this time of seemingly ceaseless turmoil, take a moment to reflect on the year\u2019s events in a venue like no other- the space where you are right now.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>The Setting<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Park is the collective space where different ages, economic systems, genders and sexualites co-exist. A park is a Heterotopia &#8211;\u00a0 a concept elaborated by philosopher Michel Foucault to describe certain cultural, institutional and discursive spaces that are somehow &#8216;other&#8217;: disturbing, intense, incompatible, contradictory or transforming. Heterotopias are worlds within worlds, mirroring and yet upsetting what is outside.\u201d They are times out of time, where people can easily and without charge or significant travel, escape, to be alone or alone with someone else, or to practice or to compete or to think differently than in other \u201cusual\u201d spaces of the day. Parks are \u201cdemocratic\u201d spaces. They are a training ground for other more radical notions of equality and therefore are \u201cworlds within worlds &#8211; mirroring yet upsetting what is outside\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>The Poems of Carl Dennis<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Carl Dennis graciously allowed us to use several of his poems that form the basis of our text. These poems draw focus to the quieter moments we all experience or can imagine ourselves experiencing; they draw focus to chance and circumstance and provide a lens to acutely observe the daily activities that make up a life.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stephanie Burt, reviewing Dennis\u2019s <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Callings<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in the New Republic noted, \u201cIt is in the minor efforts, the daily or weekly rewards and tasks that make up most of any life, that Dennis finds his m\u00e9tier. Dennis\u2019s moderate, easy tone\u2014his accessibility\u2014frequently masks a deep sense of nostalgia, loss, grief, and even fear (Poetry Foundation). His level of discursiveness, his ongoing syntax, can become almost scary. If you keep talking intelligibly (the style implies), so that other people understand you, you will have some way to know that you are still alive (Stephanie Burt).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dennis has received numerous honors and awards for his work, including fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. In addition to the Pulitzer Prize, he has received the Oscar Blumenthal Prize, the Bess Hokin Prize, the J. Howard and Barbara M.J. Wood Prize, and the Ruth Lilly Prize (Poetry Foundation).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Movement One: Supported\/Unsupported &#8211; Independence and Co-Dependence<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Someone flies a kite<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A family sets up a picnic on the grass<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mother and child practice walking<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Children play ball<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The child is pushed on the swing<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A plein air painter begins to paint<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The girl swings alone<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The girl swings with a friend<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A man walks by with a newspaper and sits alone<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A beer bottle is broken\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A man walks with difficulty\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Broken glass is swept up<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Movement Two: Accidents and Miracles &#8211; The Impact of Suddenness<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A memorial is set up with balloons<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A civic emergency drill is practiced\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">New relationships are formed<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A couple shares a kiss<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A yoga class begins<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The teenage girl talks selfies with her friends on swing<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The girl shares a first kiss with a boy\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The man on a bench gets bad news<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">People sunbathe<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A science class is given<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Movement Three: The Here and Now<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A couple converses on the bench<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The woman swings on the swing with the man<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The woman sits alone on the swing<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Skygazers ponder Big Questions<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A birthday party<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Circle dance<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Texts used in this performance:<\/b><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Candles<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by Carl Dennis<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Best World<\/span><\/i> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">by Carl Dennis<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Seven Ages of Man speech from Shakespeare\u2019s <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As You Like It<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nobody Knows <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">by Carl Dennis<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stop Light<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by Carl Dennis<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Music used in this performance:<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Erik Satie &#8211; Gymnopedie #1-3 and Gnossiennes #1-6. Reinbert de Leeuw\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Brian Eno- Golden Hours<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Performed by:<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Leon Alston<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deymia Donaldson<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thea Duskin<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Becky Globus<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Justin Leis<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Marshall Maxwell<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jeanvier Nkurunziza<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Matthew Rittler<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Carmen Swans<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kalub Thompson<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Christine Turturro<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sara Wierzba<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Priscilla Young-Anker<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Children\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ford Shanahan<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Vaughn Esme Shanahan<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lucien Vanouse<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Family<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">LarLwe Say<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Eh Wah<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hser Raylod Dah<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tha Dah\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Poets reading in the Park:<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">August 12th Sherry Robbins<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">August 13th Carl Dennis<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">August 19th Mary Richert<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">August 20th David Landry\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Production Team<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Co-Directors\/Co-Writers &#8211; Dan Shanahan, Melissa Meola Shanahan<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Production\/Stage Manager &#8211; Carly Weiser<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Assistant Stage Manager &#8211; Sarah Foote<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Managing Director &#8211; Marisa Caruso<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Technical Directors &#8211; Matthew Divita, Tony Rajewski<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Digital Marketing Manager &#8211; Holly Kirkpatrick<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sound Design &#8211; Justin Rowland<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Costume Design &#8211; Jessica Wegrzyn<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Prop Designer &#8211; Thea Duskin<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Carpenter &#8211; Sean Kulak<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Technical Crew &#8211; Daniel Toner, Andrew Zuccari, Marcus Aiello<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Video\/VR Documentation &#8211; FLATSITTER<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Silo City Management &#8211; Kate Gorman<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Silo City Landscape Ecologist &#8211; Josh Smith<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Box Office\/Front of House Manager &#8211; Kylie Priscilla<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Box Office\/Organizational Support &#8211; Anna Seidl, Jenn Carter<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Special Thanks: Rick Smith, Carl Dennis, Just Buffalo Literary Center, Josh Smith, Kate Gorman\u00a0 and The Adam Mickiewicz Library and Dramatic Circle<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Originally produced for the 2022 <\/strong><strong>INTERSECTION: Performance Series<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Dates: August 12-14, 19-21; Rain Dates: August 18 &amp; 22<br \/>Doors at 7:00pm, Show starts promptly at 7:30pm<br \/>Venue: 630 Ohio St. Buffalo, NY 14203<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ages By Torn Space TheaterWritten &amp; Directed by Dan Shanahan and Melissa Meola About AGES Ages is an operatic examination of the ages and stages of life. Designed for the parkland lawn around a great cottonwood tree, the audience, pedestrians and picnickers gather to witness the overlapping beautiful and banal moments of life. The shared &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5215,"parent":1777,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-builder.php","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tornspacetheater.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5026"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tornspacetheater.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tornspacetheater.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tornspacetheater.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tornspacetheater.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5026"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.tornspacetheater.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5026\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5505,"href":"https:\/\/www.tornspacetheater.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5026\/revisions\/5505"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tornspacetheater.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1777"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tornspacetheater.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tornspacetheater.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}