Savage Theatre Report

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On Tuesday, October 6th, I attended the First Generation Performance Project. The performance was held in the Augustus Savage Theatre at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Inside of the theatre, the event took place in a small, bright white, room. The room had a minimalist decor scheme with about seven, African inspired, paintings gracing each wall. Inside of the room, the temperature quickly increased due to the overcapacity of attendees. At around 6:30pm, eight performers confidently lined up across the stage. Varying in height, weight, gender, and race, it was apparent that this was a culturally diverse group of young adults. Each student wore their own casual apparel making it apparent that the stories and the voices of these young …show more content…
Judging from his appearance, he was about twenty years old. He told the audience a short story about his unsettled childhood. Although he calls Massachussetts his home, he was constantly moving to Orlando due to family problems, money issues, and personal interest. He captured the attention of the audience by telling his story through rhythm and a stomp dance routine. As his story increased in intensity and emotion, the stomps, claps, and shouts got louder. Throughout the softer and sadder times in his story, the movements got smoother, the shouts turned into whispers, and the stomps were now just gentle taps. Although his life was filled with constant movement, he spoke of one woman to whom he considered his rock. This was his “Naima”. When he spoke about his Naima a delicate smile grew across his face and his body became relaxed. His Naima made his intimidating voice quickly feel soft and comforting. The fluctuations in volume, strength, and emotion in the young man’s voice created the movement in his performance. It captured the audience on an emotional …show more content…
The performers introduced the audience to the many cultural struggles they have been through. On stage the faces got tenser, the music got louder, and the emotion grew. A young man stepped forward and began speaking Arabic. The translator mimicked the performers tone and his mannerisms while sharing the story about the terrible relationship between the government and the people of Sudan. He spoke about how the government was “torturing” and “killing” their own people. You could hear the fear he had for his country in his shaky voice. The performer talked about his helplessness, and how there is nothing he can do. Following his performance, each student told an emotional story filled with hardship. They ranged from coming out as a gay man in a very conservative family to experiencing violence in the slums of high-crime cities. Each monologue gave me chills that were bone deep. The performers had an amazing way of captivating the audience with song, dance, and raw
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