In celebration of its 10-year anniversary, Pivot Arts is presenting “The Memory Place” at The Edge Theater, a project that aims to tell stories of cultures, individuals and groups that are often untold.
Audiences will be led through the theater to see a variety of performances about cultural memory and hidden histories. Writer Marisel Vera and her daughter Alyssa Vera Ramos will use live music and theater to tell stories about Puerto Rican women in “You Can’t Cover the Sky with Your Hand.” IS/Land, an Asian American Pacific Islander group, will present a dance piece about Japanese internment camps called “Invisible Embrace.” Tap dancer and choreographer Davon Suttles will combine original gospel music, tap dance and mixed media to explore religion and queer relationships in “Past the Heavens.” Lucky Stiff, a trans and nonbinary director, writer and performer, will go on a journey of identity and gender exploration in “Jesu Maria.” Polish director Wojtek Ziemilski will show “The Grounds,” a video that takes a look at his apartment building and history.
The whole project was created by Pivot Arts Director Julieanne Ehre and freelance director Eli Newell with lighting design by Connor Sale, scenic design by Matthew York, sound design by Daniel Etti-Williams and Andrew Ashley Alexander as production stage manager.
“The performance is both a celebration and living monument of memories from groups that have too often been left out of the public narrative about our collective past,” Ehre said in a news release. “‘The Memory Place’ will create a powerful collective experience through stories, dance, music, and interactive events.”
Other events tied to the 10th anniversary include a fundraiser at the Bridgeview Bank Building (May 24), a bus tour of the Edgewater and Uptown neighborhoods with urban historian Shermann Dilla Thomas (June 6), a free discussion called “Cultural Memory, Monuments and Memorials” at The Edge Theater (June 7) and a walking tour with director/writer Faith Hart about the untold stories of sanitation workers (June 10).
“The Memory Place” runs June 1-11 at The Edge Theater, 5451 N. Broadway; tickets are $35, $20 for students at pivotarts.org
