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The winner is YOU if you VOTE!
photos by Styrous®
except where indicated
Minoo Hamzavi staged her interactive "happening" at the Gray Loft Gallery last weekend on Saturday, September 17th. It was a great success!
Masks were recommended and most wore theirs with grace and dignity . . .
Minoo's team had transformed the gallery into a "voting booth" . . .
Architect, Arvin Yazd & Minoo Hamzavi, one of Minoo's "stage hands" . . .
photo by Jan Watten
Minoo
urged us to drive, walk, run, get out your walker, crawl, do whatever
you had to do to get out and VOTE as if your life depended on it;
because it does!
There was a pre recorded reading of works by author Patrick Dwyer.
Minoo Hamzavi setting up for the Dwyer reading
Suzanne
Olivia Davis read her writing on being an African-American and the
shocking efforts of legislators to block and limit the ability to vote
in the United States, the "Land of the Free."
This
was followed by a performance of the Plein Air Ensemble, comprised of
Claire Lavery on flute, Kristin Brooks Davidman also on flute and Donna
Wiley playing bassoon. I love the bassoon; Bernard Herrmann used it a lot in his scores for films.
Claire Lavery warm up prior to the performance
Hamzavi introducing the trio
The Plein Air Ensemble taking a well-deserved bow
The
attendees were encouraged to participate in the "interactive" portion
of the event by Minoo Hamzavi. The "interactive" was the attendees
writing on the paper-covered walls of the gallery how, what or whatever
they felt about the vote, voting, politics, race, religion, you name it.
It was there to do as they pleased. And they did!
Jodi Lee "interacting" with the set of The Vote
I had to get into the act and wrote on the wall as well
There were flowers and refreshments for the writers to enjoy . . .
photo by Jan Watten
w/Minoo Hamzavi & Suzanne Olivia Davis
photo by Greg Davis
Kyung Lee & Daniel Baum
Suzanne Olivia Davis & Greg Davis
Suzanne Olivia Davis
I fell back on my 60 plus years
of theater experience to design a "soundscape" befitting the
theme of the event. Voting
encompasses more than just the act of voting. Besides the politics:
greed, graft, avarice, backbiting and just plain lying and cheating,
there is religion. There is race: whites, blacks, indigenous Americans,
Asians, etc. Then there is the horror of war and destruction. But there
are many who hope for peace. All those issues were reflected in the array
of humorous and provocative songs I included.
The "soundscape" opened with a cover by Keith Richards of the song, Get Up Stand Up by Bob Marley and Peter Tosh and ended with a cover by Clarence Bekker of the 1971 song Imagine by John Lennon; both from the sensational group, Playing for Change. I had heard a senator had proposed reinstating the draft, so, I had to include the Draft Dodger Rag by Phil Ochs. There were many humorous songs as well; one was The Country's In the Very Best of Hands sung by Peter Palmer (his birthday is this month) with the original cast in the Broadway musical, Li'l Abner.
The Gray Loft Gallery
2889 Ford Street
Third Floor
Oakland CA
94601
Viewfinder links:
Net links:
YouTube links:
Clarence Bekker ~ Imagine
Phil Ochs ~ Draft Dodger Rag
Peter Palmer ~ The Country's In the Very Best of Hands
Wonderful job, everyone! And thank you Max for this excellent blog post!
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