10/23/19
NORTH ADAMS, MASS. — The Berkshire Cultural Resource Center (BCRC) at Massachusetts
College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) is pleased to announce that Dan Froot and Company will
bring “Pang!” to the College Sunday, Oct. 27–Friday, Nov 1.
“Pang!” is an adventurous, 90-minute triptych of live radio plays, performed for theater audiences, and based on oral histories of three families from around the country who are facing the challenges of contemporary life in America — hunger, gun violence, foreclosure, and anti-immigrant bias — with love, humor, and intelligence. The piece aims to raise awareness, decrease stigma, and promote cross-class dialogue around circumstances faced by families living below the poverty line.
The plays are produced, written, and directed by Dan Froot, in collaboration with the ensemble — Natalie Camunas, Donna Simone Johnson, and Christopher Rivas — and dramaturge Bobby Gordon. Dan Froot and Company will be on campus and out in the community during their stay.
The main event, held on Friday, Nov. 1, at 7 p.m. in the CSC Auditorium, is a full performance of “Pang! Unplugged.” This version is staged in a stripped-down, low-tech, intimate, and interactive manner. The performers break the “fourth wall,” engaging audience members directly in lively dialogue. The evening is part performance, part podcast listening party, and part community dialogue. An opening reception, beginning at 5:30 p.m., will feature student artworks created in reaction to their experiences working with “Pang!,” MCLA Associate Professor of Art Melanie Mowinski, and the Berkshire Food Project throughout the week. It is free and open to the public.
