This episode of Let Me Ascertain You is the second of three recordings of the 2019 Lobby Projects, created by The Civilians in Residence with New York City Center. The Lobby Project is a series of pre-performance events featuring a musical theater performance based around the themes of each Encores! Off-Center production.
Notes Not Written, Then/Now was created using The Civilians’ signature investigative approach, utilizing interviews with Essie Borden, Lee Guilliatt & Dan Lipton. Along with the music of Rev. Al Carmines and an original song by Hannah Fairchild, the show explores the vibrant world of Carmines, María Irene Fornés & the Judson Poets Theater. Their trailblazing work helped to establish the off-Broadway movement of the 60s and 70s.
Notes Not Written, Then/Now
Written by Nicholas Kaidoo
Based on interviews by The Civilians
Cast: Troy Anthony, Jennifer Fouché, Lauren Molina and Vanessa Robinson
Musical Numbers:
“Dummy Juggler” by Rev. Al Carmines
Performed by: Troy Anthony
“Ordinary Things” by Rev. Al Carmines
Performed by: Lauren Molina and Vanessa Robinson
“Go Back” by Rev. Al Carmines
Performed by: Jennifer Fouché and Vanessa Robinson
“The Odd and Offbeat” by Hannah Fairchild based on interviews by The Civilians.
Vocals and Guitar by: Lauren Molina
Director: Lico Whitfield
Music Director: Steven Cuevas
Stage Manager: Megan Webb
Producer: Amy C. Ashton
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Author
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The Civilians is a company that creates new theater from creative investigations into the most vital questions of the present. Through a number of artistic programs, the Civilians advances theater as an engine of artistic innovation and strengthens the connections between theater and society. An artist-led company, the Civilians creates and produces new theater and pursues its artistic mission through programs serving artists and the public. The company’s work is grounded in investigative theater, an artistic practice rooted in the process of creative inquiry that brings artists into dynamic engagement with the subject of their work. Artists look outward in pursuit of a question, often engaging with individuals and communities in order to listen, make discoveries, and challenge habitual ways of knowing. The ethos of investigative theater extends into production, inviting audiences to be active participants in the inquiry before, during, and after the performance. Since its founding in 2001, the Obie Award-winning company has supported the creation of 14 original shows, and its work has been produced at many theaters in New York, nationally, and internationally. Last season saw two highly successful shows: "Mr. Burns: a Post-Electric Play" at Playwrights Horizons, which was included in eight Top 10 of 2013 Lists, and "The Great Immensity" at The Public Theater. The Civilians’ work has been published by Dramatists Play Service, Oberon Books, Ghostlight Records and Playscripts, Inc.