LUZ Community Outreach Project

Catherine Filloux’s new play LUZ will be produced at La MaMa in New York City, from September 27, 2012 to October 14, 2012.  LUZ exposes the global scale of gender based violence and how collusion between corporate and human rights law practices serves to perpetuate these crimes.   We hope to build a community around the issues raised in LUZ that will help people to connect, to build awareness, to inspire hope and to bring change. 

The LUZ Community Outreach Project is an initiative to engage and connect individuals from all over the world through theater. Interested groups are invited to hold excerpted readings from LUZ, followed by discussions among the participants. It is our hope that these readings and discussions will propel audience members to take action. Actions can range from a research project about a local human rights issue, to writing a letter to a representative concerning a relevant topic in the play, to sharing a personal story, to submitting art, all of which will be posted on LCOP’s blog, as well as in La MaMa’s theater lobby during the production of LUZ. We hope to build a community around the issues raised in LUZ that will help people to connect, to build awareness, to inspire hope and to bring change.  For more information on how to become a participant in the LUZ Community Outreach Project, please contact us at hosting@watsonarts.org

for more info, please visit http://watsonarts.wordpress.com/

 

Study Suggests Alarming Levels of Rape in Haiti Linked to Lack of Basic Resources
Report Documents Continued Insecurity in Camps, Calls for Immediate Action

(New York and Port-au-Prince, January 23, 2012)—High levels of sexual violence against women and girls in Haiti’s tent camps correlate with their inability to find adequate food, clean water, and sanitation, according to a new report released today by the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice (CHRGJ) and the Global Justice Clinic (GJC) at New York University School of Law.  The report—published just weeks after the two-year anniversary of the January 12, 2010 earthquake—reveals that in an alarming 14 percent of camp households surveyed, at least one person had been a victim of rape or sexual assault since the earthquake.  Fully 70 percent said they were more fearful of sexual violence since the earthquake.   
 
The Center’s new report, Yon Je Louvri: Reducing Vulnerability to Sexual Violence in Haiti’s IDP Camps, examines how shortcomings in the humanitarian response to the 2010 earthquake may have made women and girls more vulnerable to sexual violence, and offers recommendations for immediate steps to reduce risks now and into the future.  The title, taken from a Kreyòl proverb about the need for those without safety to sleep with “one eye open,” speaks to the climate of fear in which many displaced women and girls live. The study responds to reports from Haitian women’s rights organizations of an upsurge in cases of rape after the earthquake. It reflects a year and a half of intensive research, which included a survey of 365 households spread across four of Haiti’s IDP camps.  Quantitative analysis of the survey data identified significant correlations between limited access to adequate food, water, and sanitation, and increased vulnerability to sexual violence.  These findings were confirmed by qualitative data from 18 focus groups and nearly 50 interviews with experts in Haiti.   
 
“Our report supports what Haitian women’s groups have been saying since shortly after the earthquake: that women who have difficulty accessing the basic necessities of life, such as clean water, functioning latrines, and adequate food, are especially vulnerable to sexual violence,” said Margaret Satterthwaite, a Faculty Director at CHRGJ and the Principal Investigator for the study. “Humanitarian best practices for preventing and responding to sexual violence need to be implemented immediately in Haiti’s remaining IDP camps.  Simple measures like installing lighting in camps and locks in latrines must be coupled with long-term strategies for women’s economic empowerment.”
 
More than half a million people continue to live in tents or makeshift shelters in IDP camps throughout earthquake-affected zones of the country, the majority concentrated in the densely populated capital city of Port-au-Prince.  Despite the massive humanitarian response to the disaster, living conditions in the temporary settlements are dire and appear to be deteriorating as IDPs face forced evictions and dwindling humanitarian assistance.  Accessing adequate food, water, and sanitation constitutes a daily struggle for camp residents. Tents and other makeshift shelters provide little protection against the elements, let alone against intrusion by assailants. In addition to harsh physical conditions, socioeconomic marginalization and lack of participation of IDPs in governance decisions regarding security and the management of essential resources have heightened the risk that displaced women and girls will experience sexual violence.   

“Many women and girls lost the family and community protections they had before the earthquake, making them particularly vulnerable targets for sexual assault,” said Nikki Reisch, a principal author of the report and a law student advocate with GJC who traveled to Haiti with the investigative team. “Victims of violence not only fear reprisal for reporting attacks; they find themselves re-victimized by a system that often silences them and denies them access to justice. The government of Haiti and the international community need to improve security patrols in the camps and ensure free and immediate access to alternative shelter, medical services, and legal assistance for IDPs who have been sexually assaulted.”
 
The GJC Study suggests that those most vulnerable to sexual violence are likely to:

• Be young and female
• Reside in a household with three or fewer members
• Have limited access to food   
• Have limited access to water   
• Have limited access to sanitation
• Live in a camp without participatory and responsive governance structures
  

Yon Je Louvri presents this “Victim Profile” alongside a set of concrete recommendations about how the government of Haiti, the international community, and organizations providing relief and development assistance can reduce the vulnerabilities of those fitting the profile.  Specifically, GJC calls on the government of Haiti and its partners to: provide IDPs who have been sexually assaulted in camps with free and immediate access to alternative shelter, medical services, and legal assistance; expand security patrols in and around camps and install lighting and locks in sanitation facilities in camps; prioritize creation of income-generating activities for women; ensure all IDPs have access to free or affordable clean water; and stop forced evictions of IDPs.

The report is available online at:
http://www.law.nyu.edu/news/SATTERTHWAITE_MARGARET_CHRGJ_GJC_HAITI_REPORT

 

 

Critics are nuts about Brazil Nuts starring Susan Jeremy....

images/nutssj.jpgMontreal Gazette Top Ten Picks! Montreal Mirror Pick!

Read Susan's interview with the Hour's Richard Burnett

The Montreal Hour review! 4 Stars

...Jeremy is a gifted comedienne. She packs a lot of story, a barrage of laugh lines, and a lineup of wacky characters into her shows. Brazil nuts is no exception.

This is a world premiere. And Jeremy, a New Yorker who hasn't played the Montreal Fringe Festival since 2005, is in top form. So get your weekend tickets in advance." -The Montreal Gazette! read Pat Donelly's rave

 

"...Playing multiple characters in this fast paced no holes barred gem of storytelling is Jeremy's forte. Co-written with Mary Fulham it is stacked full of laughs and physical comedy. From pooches called: Britney, Paris and Madonna to a male stripper, a Brazilian lover and what might be a little of Jeremy herself as the character Jackie, among other supporting voices, she is at the top of her game and scores another hit." - Montreal Blogger Dee Arr goes Nuts!

 

...Susan Jeremy shone under Mary Fulham’s direction in the piece they co-wrote, Brazil Nuts, about a gay New York gal who arranges a sham hetero marriage for her Brazilian lover so they can stay together. To stick it to the Man even more, the dude in question is a gay cowboy go-go dancer (with a “nine-inch johnson”). Jeremy played all parts with gusto—Fabiana, Jackie, Ron, a cat, a vacuum cleaner, even an asthmatic pug. Jeremy’s so comfortable on stage, she’ll take a sloppy sound cue and improv it into the story (“Can we keep the music on longer? I just started dancing!”). Beautiful. - Montreal Mirror review

 

...Susan Jeremy is fun to watch and is occasionally hilarious — her portrayal of Brazilian Fabiana is especially mesmerizing! ... elements that evoke moments of absurd joy! - Toronto EYE WEEKLY review

DOG AND WOLF

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- JANUARY 5, 2010

Press contact:  Sam Rudy Media Relations 212 221 8466

 

DOG AND WOLF

a new play by Catherine Filloux

(“Lemkin’s House,” “Killing the Boss”)

to be given world-premiere production

starting February 5, 2010 at 59E59 Theaters

 

DOG AND WOLF – a new play by Catherine Filloux about the unlikely relationship between a political refugee in the U.S. and the American lawyer who wants to win asylum for her  – will be given its world-premiere with previews beginning February 5, 2010 prior to its official press opening February 9 Off-Broadway at 59E59 Theaters (Elysabeth Kleinhans, Artistic Director; Peter Tear, Executive Producer), located at 59 E. 59 St., between Park and Madison Avenues in Manhattan.  Directed by Jean Randich, DOG AND WOLF is presented by Watson Arts.

 

In DOG AND WOLF, when refugee Jasmina -- an enigmatic woman traumatized by the death of family and the experience of mass graves -- suddenly disappears, her wheelchair-bound attorney Joseph travels to Eastern Europe to track her down.  With its underpinnings of psychological and political intrigue, DOG AND WOLF poses the question, “How can you live your life in fear?” The play draws its title from the French expression, “Entre chien et loup,” which describes that time before night, when the light is so dim one can’t tell a dog from a wolf.

 

Featured in the cast of DOG AND WOLF are Nadia Bowers, John Daggett and Dale Soules.

 

DOG AND WOLF is Ms. Filloux’s newest play about human rights and genocide, subjects she has been addressing on stage as a strong advocate for social justice for 20 years, having worked in Bosnia, Morocco and Cambodia.  Her play LEMKIN’S HOUSE concerns Raphael Lemkin, the Polish lawyer who invented the word "genocide" and dedicated his life to having it declared an international crime.  LEMKIN’S HOUSE debuted at 78th Street Theatre Lab and was re-mounted by popular demand Off-Broadway at McGinn-Cazale Theatre.  Ms. Filloux’s play EYES OF THE HEART – set in Cambodia amidst the reign of genocidal terror under Khmer Rouge – debuted Off-Broadway in 2004 in a production by National Asian American Theatre Company.  As well, she is the author of KILLING THE BOSS, again set in a country with a history of social injustice, which debuted at Cherry Lane Theatre.  Her numerous other works include, THE BEAUTY INSIDE, book and lyrics for WHERE ELEPHANTS WEEP, and libretto for THE FLOATING BOX:  A STORY IN CHINATOWN. 

 

Director Jean Randich marks her fifth collaboration with Ms. Filloux with DOG AND WOLF.  New York credits include LEAH’S TRAIN by Karen Hartman (NAATCO); KILLING THE BOSS, THE CONSTANT COUPLE by George Farquhar, (Pearl Theatre); THE DISPUTE by Marivaux, (NAATCO); LEMKIN’S HOUSE, COMMEDIA DELL SMARTASS by Sonya Sobieski (New Georges); ANTIGONE by Sophocles, (NAATCO); THE FLOATING BOX, an opera by Hwang/ Filloux (Asia Society); DRAWN TO DEATH by Art Spiegelman and Phillip Johnston (St. Ann’s, NYC); Karen Hartman’s GIRLS UNDER GRAIN (Winner: Best Drama, NY International Fringe Festival 2000); HE WHO SAYS YES, HE WHO SAYS NO (NAATCO); THE GOLDEN DOOR (Tenement Theater, NYC); J.P. MORGAN SAVES THE NATION by Jeff Jones and Jonathan Larson, (En Garde Arts).

 

Nadia Bowers has appeared on Broadway in THE FARNSWORTH INVENTION, DOUBT, METAMORPHOSES. NYC:  JULIUS CAESAR (NYSF); ROMANIA, KISS ME!; NOT WAVING, EYES OF THE HEART and others. 

 

John Daggett’s credits Off-Broadway include KILLING THE BOSS, LEMKIN’S HOUSE, TEAHOUSE OF THE AUGUST MOON,  Pan Asian Rep; ROME and PORTRAIT OF A PRESIDENT,  FringeNYC; AN ARTIST’S LIFE, Dawn Powell Festival; and THE WITCHES OF TRIPTYCH, Idle Hands (OOBR Award). 

 

Dale Soules made her Broadway debut in the landmark musical HAIR.  Other Broadway includes WHOSE LIFE IS IT ANYWAY?, THE MAGIC SHOW, Richard Eyre’s  THE CRUCIBLE and most recently covering and playing Edith Bouvier Beale in GREY GARDENS. 

 

DOG AND WOLF producer MARY FULHAM is the Artistic Director of Watson Arts, a resident company of La MaMa E.T.C. that develops and presents theater with a particular emphasis on women. She has produced, written and directed several award-winning play productions for Watson Arts: WAS THAT MY 15 MINUTES? And P.S. 69, both of which won the Montreal Fringe’s Just For Laughs Award; DEVOTION (Montreal English Critics Circle Award); and HERCULES IN HIGH SUBURBIA, NYC Fringe Overall Excellence Award for Best Score. Watson Arts’ productions BALLETTO STILETTO, TROPHY WIFE and COMING, APHRODITE were nominated for multiple Innovative Theatre Awards. Off-Broadway she produced Warren Leight’s play NO FOREIGNERS BEYOND THIS POINT with Ma-Yi Theatre Company.  

 

The Drama Desk Award-winning 59E59 Theaters is the number one Off Broadway destination in New York City. Nestled just around the corner from the famous Delmonico Hotel (now the Trump Park Avenue), 59E59 Theaters is a spectacular modern theater complex with three stages and a lively bar on the mezzanine level. Owned and operated by the Elysabeth Kleinhans Theatrical Foundation, a not-for profit foundation, 59E59 Theaters brings new, innovative and invigorating work to East Side audiences. 59E59 Theaters presents Off Broadway productions by not-for-profit companies from across the United States and around the world, including an annual festival of new British theater called Brits Off Broadway and a preview of shows going to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe called East to Edinburgh.

 

DOG AND WOLF has scenic and video design by Anna Kiraly, lighting design by Michael Chybowski, costume design by Alixa Gage Englund, and  sound design by Robert Murphy.

 

Scheduled through February 21, DOG AND WOLF will perform Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 7:30, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:30, and Sundays at 3:30 with an added matinee on Saturday, Feb. 20 at 2:30.  Tickets are $18 ($12.60 for 59E59 Members) and can be reserved by calling Ticket Central at 212 279 4200 or online at www.ticketcentral.com. For more information, visit www.59e59.org.