An Evening with JOHN O'NEAL
Founder and Director of Junebug Productions
Co-founder of Free Southern Theater
Presented by StageSource
as a program of the Boston Black Theater Collective
Monday, March 22, 2010
7:00pm
at the Wimberly Theatre, Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA
FREE and open to the public
RSVP required
RSVP by email with your name, number of seats (limit 2) and your email address or call 617.720.6066
(Reservations must be made through StageSource and are not available through the Calderwood box office)
Please join us for an inspiring and remarkable evening with John O’Neal as he presents an excerpt from his performance as Junebug Jabbo Jones, recounts experiences as an activist and advocate through his work with the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee and Committee for Racial Justice, and talks about the Story Circle Methodology. In addition, a portion of the program will include a q&a between Mr. O’Neal and audience members.
StageSource would like to make every effort to accommodate any needs you may have at this event. Please call or email us to let us know in advance if you require an ASL interpreter or any other special needs.
JUNEBUG PRODUCTIONS’ STORY CIRCLE METHODOLOGY WORKSHOPS
The Story Circle Methodology: John O'Neal will lead a workshop have come to understand that stories are a powerful tool for helping people listen and learn. The story circle methodology is a simple workshop in which people sit in a circle and tell stories, often around a common theme or issue. Our story circles are done with listening and equity as guiding principles. The action of listening is more important that the telling. Each person has the same amount of time for their story and there is no interrupting or dialogue during the "round" of stories, thereby, giving complete respect to the story and the storyteller. The stories often build off each other and common themes can be discovered around difficult issues. After the stories are all shared, because the group has listened, learned and connected, the dialogue that follows is very productive.
Stories, as opposed to debate, argument or even dialogue, are a great equalizer. There is not a "right" or "wrong" to a person's story. Stories encourage listening: when we listen we learn. Stories build common goals, and/or consensus among diverse people. Stories break down assumptions, stereotypes and generalities. Stories redefine problems, Stories give us strength from our memory base and our value base. Stories allow us to see possibilities we have not seen before.
What is done after the round of stories depends on the purpose of the workshop; for instance, in theater workshops we work with the participants to create short “performances” from the stories they have just heard; in organizations working on specific issues or making decisions, we help the group build consensus around the stories. There are many applications and uses for the story circle method.
About John O’Neal, Playwright, Actor, Director
Since 1963, John O’Neal has been a leading advocate of the view that politics and art are complementary not opposing terms. His work as a writer, performer and director has taken him to audiences throughout North America and to Europe. He is founder and artistic director of Junebug Productions, the organizational successor to the Free Southern Theater of which O’Neal was also a co-founder and director. He was a field secretary of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and worked as National Field Program Director with the Committee for Racial Justice. O’Neal has written eighteen plays, a musical comedy, a substantial body of poetry and several essays. He has numerous credits as an actor and has toured widely in the character of Junebug Jabbo Jones, a mythic figure who symbolizes the wisdom of common people that was created by people involved in SNCC. John has been a leader in the field of artists working in community and for social justice. Mr. O’Neal has won numerous awards, including the Ford Foundation’s Leadership for a Changing World, the Award of Merit from the Association of Performing Arts Presenters and the United States Artists Award.
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COLLABORATIVE EFFORT SPARKS SUPPORT FOR BLACK THEATER IN BOSTON
Boston, MA, November 23, 2009 – The Trotter Institute at UMASS Boston and The Color of Film Collaborative, Inc., in association with StageSource, The Greater Boston Theatre Alliance, team up to provide programming, financial and technical support to African American theater companies. Under a new initiative, “The Boston Black Theater Collective” (BBTC) area companies will work together in a collaborative effort to produce staged readings and performances under the BBTC and be offered technical assistance to build and grow their companies.
“It’s really exciting to have these theater companies come together to strengthen not only African American theater in the Boston area but their own companies as well,” said Lisa Simmons, of the Color of Film Collaborative, Inc. “It is our hope that the work we have begun will build on the rich history of African American Theater and make way for a full and vibrant Black theater series in the years to come.”
“There is a great deal of talent in Boston, yet it is at risk of not being nurtured. In supporting the four companies, Roxbury Crossroads Theatre, New African Company, TriCord Productions, and Up You Mighty Race, BBTC is shoring up the under-appreciated art that is here, consolidating for the community a consistent expressive outlet. We are determined to be seen and heard across and beyond the borders of this city that birthed a nation through a dramatic act. It is our turn to dump the tea of the past and move forward as performers and creative artists remaking our world under the auspices of a bigger BBTC umbrella," said Barbara Lewis, Trotter Institute Director.
In support of BBTC, StageSource will provide theatre companies with an array of services and support ranging from board development to marketing and financial planning. In addition, StageSource will extend services to a broader network of African American artists and the organizations at which they are working throughout the Boston theatre community.
“We have seen tremendous growth in the Boston theater community in the last decade. The emergence of new African American theater companies coupled with established companies and a wealth of black theatre artists provides us with an opportunity to further Boston as a vital theatre city in America,” said Jeff Poulos, Executive Director of StageSource.
The Theater Collective will support four staged readings, presented by each participating company, in its first year at various venues across the city. With support from an anonymous donor, the companies will receive stipends for their work as well as participate in workshops and lectures on theater management, audience development and hear from noted theater professionals. The purpose of the BBTC is to provide an umbrella organization for the participating companies in order to develop a subscription series that will support the companies collectively as well as individually. Through this new initiative, The BBTC and StageSource are excited about the potential for growth of the African American Theater scene in and around Boston.
CONTACTS:
Barbara Lewis, Trotter Inst.: 617.287.5880
Lisa Simmons, The Color of Film Collaborative: 617.792.6155
Jeff Poulos, StageSource: 617.720.6066
About The Color of Film Collaborative, Inc. The Color of Film Collaborative is a non-profit organization that works to support media makers of color and others who have an interest in creating and developing new and diverse images of people of color in film, video and performing arts. The organization co-produces the Roxbury Film Festival as well as various screening events throughout the year. For more information on the Color of Film Collaborative, contact coloroffilm@gmail.com or 617-792-6155.
About The Trotter Institute The William Monroe Trotter Institute for the Study of Black History and Culture at UMASS Boston was established in 1984 by the Black Legislative Caucus with a community outreach mission. To coordinate and strengthen the voices emanating from urban communities of color, the Trotter is looking to art, technology, and drama as tools of social cohesion, education and communication. For more information, contact the Trotter Institute at (617) 287-5880 or visit www.trotter.umb.edu.
About StageSource Founded in 1985, StageSource provides leadership and services to advance the art of theatre in the Greater Boston region. Our mission is to unite theatre artists, theatre companies and related organizations in vision and goals that inspire and empower our community to realize its greatest artistic potential. Current membership stands at over 2,000 individual theatre artists working both onstage and off. Our membership resides in all six New England states and New York. Our 250 organizational members operate from Western Massachusetts to upstate Maine. Their repertoire ranges from classical theatre to experimental and they range in size from the largest institutional theatres to smaller start-up and community theatre companies. The audiences they serve are as diverse as their repertoire. For more information, contact StageSource at (617) 720-6066 or visit www.stagesource.org.