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The 303 Collective: Cultivating Alternative Theatre & Arts in the Tri-Cities By Robert E. Martin
The
303 Collective hopes to change that situation by serving the community as a
non-profit group working to maintain a venue for progressive art & alternative
theatre.
Located in a large warehouse at 303 Adams Street in Old Town Saginaw,
over the past year the 'Collective' has presented a wide range of arts
activities, including live theatre productions of Burn This by the
Something Blue Independent Theatre Company, To Shining Sea by
Minneapolis' Bedlam Theatre, and the election/Halloween season satire Little
Shop of Whores, written by Marc Beaudin and staged by Jason
Graham.
Recently The Review sat down with several local artists involved with the
303 Collective, including Beaudin, Graham, Deena Nicol, Kellie Schneider
and Lindsay Erben, all staging works for the 2005 season. The
'Collective' began with different people coincidentally using the same space.
"After the CAGE Gallery lost its space, we were looking for a new venue,"
explains Beaudin. "Deena & Jason had met and talked about using the warehouse
for a play and exhibit, so basically it fell into place when a group of us got
together and decided to use it to present different arts events." "I
was using it as floor space for a lot of my sculptures and paying for it," adds
Jason, "so when Bedlam Theatre came into town looking for a place to stage their
play, I saw an opportunity to do other events beyond my initial art exhibit." While
the 303 Collective is membership based and currently applying for its
5013C nonprofit status, it is actively seeking support and help from people
throughout the community to serve on their Advisory Board.
Meanwhile, the group is actively preparing for several events for their 2005
season. Currently an Art Auction/Fundraiser is being held at The Red
Eye Coffeehouse during the month of March that includes 13 pieces of
paintings, photography, prints & sculpture by Lewis, Erben, Graham, Schneider,
Nicol and Bryon Bair. The
first big event to kick off their new season is a theatrical performance of
Fear & Misery of the Third Reich by Bertolt Brecht. "I selected the Brecht play for a number of reasons," reflects Marc. "I wanted something very poignant to kick off the season and Brecht wrote this play when he was on trial in Nazi Germany to warn people of what was happening. "It
wasn't one of his earliest plays, but it was his first overtly political piece.
Basically it consists of short scenes that illustrate domestic life under
totalitarian fascism and each scene is based on an actual event." "As I
read the script I kept seeing parallels to what is happening in America right
now," continues Beaudin. "For example, in one scene, a soldier is killed and
shipped back home only people are afraid to acknowledge that he's been killed
because the government frowns on that. Immediately I thought of how photos are
not allowed of the caskets of dead soldiers coming back from Iraq." "I think this is an important play because we need to remember there was a time where the reactionary side of things got so out of hand that great atrocities occurred. And it all started small, with the government whipping up fear & hatred."
In
terms of visual arts, the 303 Collective will be conducting a Piece &
Portfolio Exhibition on June 2-5 that will be curated by Lindsay
Erben. "Essentially, this is a chance for different artists to introduce
their work to the community," she explains. "It's like a community involvement
outreach approach to art." "Each
artist will display one piece of art along with their portfolio, so people can
get an idea of what the artist's full body of work is like. It coincides with
the dates of the Old Saginaw City Art Fair, so will be a good way to see what
kind of talent is out there and who wants to get involved and what kind of
audience we have."
Artists interested in sending in submissions should contact Erben at
The303Collective@yahoo.com. Next
on the agenda at the 303 will be a play directed by Stasi Schaeffer
titled Free-Wheelin' in the Attic of Whim. Slated for
performance on May 19-22 at 8 PM the play was written by John Francis
Bueche, a former Saginawian now living in Minneapolis. "It tells the tale of
this odd & insular couple that live in an attic apartment teetering on the edge
of the abyss," notes Beaudin. "Their stable life is set on edge when a new
friend with a secret project follows one of the characters home." The
third play slated for production on August 25-28th is The Baltimore
Waltz by Paula Vogel and directed by Deena Nicol. "It's a
brilliant play that tells about the voyage of a woman with Acquired Toilet
Disease, which is an ingenious way of talking about AIDS without bashing people
over the head about it," comments Deena. "It was written in 1989 and is bizarre,
but truly is a great script telling how her brother whisks her away to Europe in
search of a secret cure. While Carl conducts all these routines to procure
medication, Anna indulges in all sensual pleasures as if each day is her last.
The playwright's brother passed away from AIDS, so this work is a very caring
posthumous love letter to him." Back
onto the visual side of life, Jason Graham will be presenting 'Metalworks',
an installation of his new metal sculptures that examines "the impact of our
dependence on the corporate industrial machine" from July 1-31st of this
year. Next
on the agenda for display Aug. 5-31st will be Interpretations of Sight
& Sound, a collaborative project between Matt Lewis & Bryon Bair.
This will consist of paintings inspired by music written by Bryon, music created
by paintings rendered by Matt in a simultaneous creation of dual idioms. Wrapping up the 'scheduled' season, Kellie Schneider will present Cadis & Adelaide, a collection of illustrated stories. "It's not a comic book, but an illustrated novel," she explains. "I don't want to say too much about it except that it's based upon the discordant and curious accounts of two perpetually distracted individuals." This exhibit will be slated from September 9-25th. Given the diversity of their schedule throughout the 2005 season (watch the Review for a complete listing of events as they transpire) what specific niche' to members feel the group fills within the community?
"We offer a lot of space that a lot of artists will be able to use," comments Graham. "It's an artistic soapbox in a way - a breeding ground with the focus on producing artistic events and meeting other people and involving other people eager to do the same thing."
"Part
of our mission is to promote progressive art and provide the community with an
outlet for it," adds Marc. "A lot of good groups are putting on arts events out
in the community, but one area that gets overlooked often is the more
progressive edgy stuff."
"We've noticed when we do a play that some people will think 'that's not what
Saginaw wants to see'; but we pack the place with each performance, so obviously
Saginaw does want to see this type of theater. We've found a huge community out
there that wants things beyond the mainstream, so we're hoping to fill that
void." "It's hard to get things rolling without our non-profit status, but just because we have to wait for a year to become eligible for grants doesn't mean we're not going to do art for a year. Even though our budget is severely limited, enough of a buzz is out there that people want to see this work. A lot of people want to help us out and we're always looking for more."
The
303 Collective in their short & fruitful existence has brought into sharp
and colorful focus sparkling tangents that local originality can take when
shaping a community that is not only supporting the arts, but more importantly,
creating them. To
become involved or for more information on making donations to support the
303 Collective visit the website listed above or write them at P.O. Box
1843, Saginaw, MI 48605-1843 |
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