PCTC produces the premiere of film highlighting diverse voices
Peppermint Creek Theatre Company is proud to announce the first event in their 2020 -21 season, the three-day showing of the original film, Hear Our Cry, adapted for the screen by Kathleen Egan and Chad Swan-Badgero.
“Hear Our Cry”, running October 22 - 24, 2020, will bring audiences together in a classic drive-in movie style set-up in downtown Lansing for a film created both centuries ago and yesterday. Lansing community members suggested texts from diverse voices across American history, and those were coupled with modern authors’ responses. PCTC then filmed actors from across the United States reciting these seminal and provocative texts to ask audiences to reflect on just what it means to be American.
“Peppermint Creek’s 2020-21 season will not only challenge our audiences to engage in some timely and thorny topics, but it’s also going to challenge US as a theatre company as we explore new and radical ways to connect with audiences during a time when gathering together in a theatre building as we typical do isn’t permitted,” said Chad Swan-Badgero, Artistic Director of PCTC. “And yet, this couldn’t be a more important time for us to be producing theatre that stays true to our mission. There are so many issues that we are grappling with as a society right now that demand dialogue and exploration. We are excited to offer four different events that will allow audiences to do just that.”
In May, PCTC put a community call out for diverse texts from across American history to be used in this production. The theatre received over 25 suggestions that were narrowed down to seven. Voices included in the film event are Harvey Milk, Langston Hughes, Cesar Chavez, Hillary Clinton, Ruth Margaret Muskrat, Emma Lazarus, and a house resolution bill recognizing the significance of Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month. PCTC then contacted living authors from across the country to choose one of the historical pieces as the inspiration to then write their own response. Authors who have contributed to the film event with their own piece include Diane Glancy, Shawntai Brown, Brittany Rogers, Marianne Chan, and Sandra Seaton. More information about the authors can be found on the PCTC website, www.peppermintcreek.org.
Actors from across the country then performed the text on camera and the theatre company has edited all of the pieces together into this premiere film event focusing on the diverse voices that comprise America. Actors represented on screen include Deb Vaughn, Chris Swope, Zurich Dawson, Eloy Gomez Orfila, Jeffrey Omura, Aiden Kakela, Jennifer Rupp, Sarah Hendrickson, Meghan Corbett, Greg Hunter, Briana Lofton, Maegan Murphy, Samantha Le, Sharriese Hamilton and Susan Oetgen.
“Peppermint Creek is thrilled to be highlighting the voices of such a diverse array of Americans, especially at a time in our country’s narrative when so much is working to divide us,” Swan-Badgero says. “Our hope is that by spending an evening absorbing the powerful voices of the authors in the production will help our audiences appreciate that more connects us than divides us”.
The film will be shown in a drive-in movie style presentation where attendees will watch the film from their vehicles and listen on their radio. The event will take place in the surface parking lot on the corner of S. Capital Ave and Washtenaw in downtown Lansing and will run Thursday, October 22 – Saturday, October 24. The film will begin at 7pm each evening and is free, though RSVP’s are suggested at mailto:[email protected].
Peppermint Creek Theatre Company
Chad Swan-Badgero, Artistic Director, 517-927-3016; [email protected]