Happy Halloween! This month Live Culture offers conversations with two very different Hartford CT. based theatre groups to discuss their current productions at this challenging moment, when social distancing is necessary. Thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic all arts organizations are facing very real survival hurdles as they try to engage audiences remotely.

For the first half I am joined by Taneisha Duggan, Producing Associate at TheaterWorks Hartford which currently offers the innovative RUSSIAN TROLL FARM- A WORKPLACE COMEDY By Sarah Gancher. To make this happen digitally, TheaterWorks joined forces with TheatreSquared in Fayetteville, Arkansas, with additional support from The Civilians—NYC’s experts of theatre “at the intersection of the theatrical and the real”—the collaboration creates a “site-specific work for the internet” inspired by the actual transcripts from the Russian government-backed Internet Research Agency in the run-up to the 2016 election. Zoom theatre has never looked like this. Billed as a unique live theatre experience with “digital magic,” the highly collaborative project is a cross between theatre, film, and multimedia design. Led by directors Jared Mezzocchi (Co-Director, Multimedia Designer) and Elizabeth Williamson (Co-Director, Dramaturg), the live performances will test the limits of digital performance and are the capstone of an intensive period of socially isolated, virtually connected, new play development.

more about RUSSIAN TROLL FARM here

For the second half I will be in conversation with Anne Cubberly and Mellissa Craig,two artists behind the popular puppet and performance based festival Nightfall, which normally takes place in one of Hartford's public parks and this year has been transformed into a movie! Nightfall features innovative giant puppets, music, performers and dancers and is a family-friendly extravaganza that has been going strong since 2012.

Anne is Artistic & Executive Director of Nightfall, and a master puppet maker with over 28 years experience. Her work includes kinetic sculpture, artist-in-residence experiences, installations, and performance.

Mellissa is an artist, educator and activist and an accomplished dancer in Modern, African, and Caribbean folk forms, as well as a trained stilt walker. She along with her collaborative performing group FriendZWorld Music created the opening scene (Invocation) for this year's film version of Nightfall as well as for last year's live performance.

more about Nightfall here
 

DID YOU KNOW?
Past Episodes of Live Culture are available as PODCASTS and have their own convenient PLAYLIST on Soundcloud. The show has featured many fascinating voice, places and projects, and offers a wealth of cultural armchair voyages at the tip of your fingers! click here https://soundcloud.com/wpkn895/sets/live-culture-with-martha
- a user-friendly guide of who/what/where is coming soon....

If YOU have an idea for a future episode please drop me a line- I am always eager to hear what's going on! [email protected]

Live Culture is a monthly discussion about the arts, Hosted by visual artist Martha Willette Lewis and airing on WPKN, Radio 89.5 fm Bridgeport, available online at Wpkn.org. The show airs on the final Saturday of each month from 11-12 noon and is available for two weeks on ARCHIVES and *EVER AFTER* as a PODCAST, for ON-Demand Listening.