NACL asks questions about American values

By FRITZ MAYER

HIGHLAND LAKE, NY — Michael Rohd believes in getting lots of input from the community before he sets about the task of creating a play. For his most recent work, “The War Project: Nine Acts of Determination” Rohd interviewed soldiers just back from Iraq, as well as anti-war activists and politicians in various U.S. cities.

Then, he distilled and shaped those interviews into a play that was well received in his home base of Portland, OR.

Now, he plans to repeat that process in a much-condensed version at the NACL Theater.

Instead of war being at the center of the story, it will be American values.

Rohd plans to interview up to 20 community members, of all political stripes, and use the material as the basis for a play. He said there will be three main questions: what does it mean to be American, what values and experience shaped your answer to those questions, and how do our differences help define American values?

With The War Project, the process unfolded over many months. This time out, Rohd plans to work a bit faster.

“This is three-week process, in collaboration with NACL. It will be fast and furious, really frantic and a lot of fun”

Tannis Kowalchuk, artistic director of NACL Theater, said she is looking for interviewees representing all shades of the political spectrum. She explained that there has to be a conflict in the material to interest the audience, so it’s important to have a variety of viewpoints. She said “American Values” would “take a fresh look at how we see ourselves, our neighbors and our democracy.”

And speaking of neighbors, any and all members of the community are invited to join the cast and become part of the show. They will perform with members of NACL, Sojourn Theater and The Carpet Baggers’ Brigade, a stilt-walking company.

The performance will be the opening play of the 7th Annual NACL Catskill Festival of New Theatre on July 14 and 15.

If you or your organization would like to be interviewed in late June and early July, please send an email to nacl@nacl.org or call NACL at 845/557-0694.