Three women, each from a different era in Arizona history, sit around a table playing cards and swapping stories.
One of them — Elizabeth Hudson Smith — says she was instrumental in shaping Wickenburg’s culture at the turn of the century, but shunned when the town’s economy went south.
The card game never happened, but the tales the women tell are true.
Their stories, as well as those of other lesser-known Arizonans of the past and present, are illuminated in “Untold Stories/Unsung Heroes,” a play put on by Arizona State University’s School of Theatre and Film. The show is part of Arizona’s centennial celebration.
To pack 100 years of history into the play’s 90-minute run time, its creators had to conceive a creative format for the show.
“The basic concept was the traveling wagon theater companies that would go into towns in Italy, and they would perform little skits,” says Michael Kocher, a student actor. “We’re trying to do a modern version of that.”
Themes throughout the play are explored using different styles: dance, song, monologue, even shadow puppets.
Though the play is factual in nature, Pamela Sterling, its director, emphasizes that it’s not dull.
“It’s still very physical and very playful, and at times very funny,” she says.
The play also delves into contemporary issues, often linking them to the past. Kocher’s favorite scene has to do with SB 1070.
Another is about a young man packing up a wagon to head west to Arizona.
“We juxtaposed that with a story from an elder, living now, who talks about moving here in 1953 and packing up their trailer and moving here from Missouri because of her daughter’s asthma,” says Sterling.
Another part focuses on the contributions of Apache warriors and relates back to Lori Piestewa, the first Native American woman to die in combat on foreign soil.
You will learn about Borislav Bogdanovich, an artist and relative of film director Peter Bogdonavich, and George W. Parsons, a Tombstone lawyer and banker, who had a bird’s eye view of the gunfight at the OK Corral.
The show was created in a class taught last fall by Sterling, also a professor. Students dug through archives of Arizona’s history, interviewing sources and researching residents of the Grand Canyon State.
One of the difficulties for everyone involved was theatrically representing non-fictional people and events.
“It’s a different kind of interpretation, and actually, I think it calls for more honest acting,” says Sterling. “You’re not allowed to comment on the character. You just say the words.”
Staying faithful to history even challenged student set designer Kristin Blatchford.
“It’s definitely left me with a greater appreciation as far as Arizona goes,” she says.
“For people that are not a native of Arizona they’ll be able to view new parts of Arizona and go, ‘Yeah, that’s why I moved out here.’ Or people that are native can be like, ‘Yeah! I remember when that happened,’ or, ‘I remember seeing that.’ Everybody that sees it will be able to connect and will be reached on at least one level or another.”
• Preston, a junior studying journalism at Arizona State University, is an intern for the East Valley Tribune. Contact him at (480) 898-6514 or tribintern@evtrib.com
Leon Ceniceros posted at 3:33 pm on Fri, Feb 10, 2012.
This play is nothing more than the same Liberal/Progressive propaganda. It's ASU students and faculty preaching ...."feminism", "anti-Whitey rhetoric" and from what is shown in the interviews....an "anti-male" dialogue thrown in for good measure.
Heck, you don't have to dress up and drive to the ASU Lyceum Theater and plunk down $8-$16 bucks........just turn on ...MSNBC...or the View...or CNN......for free.
If anyone had any doubts about the Liberal philosophy of ASU.......go see this this play. If this is how you want your son or daughter indoctrinated.........ASU is your school of choice.....UofA is worse and NAU is slightly....very slightly more to the center.
Rational Human posted at 10:38 am on Sat, Feb 11, 2012.
But I thought only republicans use propaganda to mold young minds? Yes people, learn to hate the Whitey Males who built this country on the backs of the brown man!
Sing along all you little comrades.
Who is our 44th President?
Obama is our 44th President
Who is a DC resident?
Obama is a DC resident
Resident, President
Who’s favorite team is the Chicago White Sox?
Obama’s favorite team is the Chicago White sox
Who really thinks outside the box?
Obama really thinks outside the box
Outside the box, Chicago White Sos
Resident, President
Who really likes to play basketball?
Obama really likes to play basketball
Who’s gonna answer our every call?
Every Call, Basketball
Outside the box, Chicago White Sox
Resident, President
Who’s famous slogan is Yes we can?
Obams’s famous slogan is Yes we can
Who do we know is the man?
Barack Obama is the man
He’s our man, Yes we can!
Every Call, Basketvall
Outside the box, Chicago White Sox
Resident, President
Who won a grammy for “Dreams of my Father”?
Obama won a grammy for “Dreams of my Father”?
Now can you guess who’s a famous author
Barack Obama is a famous author
Famous Author, Dreams of my Father
He’s our man, Yes we can!
Every Call, Basketball
Outside the box. Chicago White Sox
Resident President
Who wants to go to college at Yale?
Malia & Sasha will go to college at Yale
Who’ll make sure they won’t fail?
Barack & Michelle know they won’t fail
They won’t fail, they’re going to Yale
Famous Author, Dream of my Father
He’s our man, Yes we can!
Every Call, Basketball
Outside the box, Chicago White Sox
Resident, President