March with OWR: Ifa is coming back!
Is there a more invigorating time of year? Who doesn’t feel a bit giddy at the anticipation of warmer weather and longer days? Spring is truly the most refreshing time of the year.
Upcoming Events
The Oberlin-Wellington Rescue Theater Project
in collaboration with
Lorain Community College
Invites you to join in an exciting event
Update from Playwright Ifa Bayeza
and Deepening Community Connections
Presentation, Conversation, Refreshments
Thursday, April 7
4:30-6:30pm
Stocker Arts Center’s Lakeland Community Foundation Cinema Hall
Lorain County Community College
1005 North Abbe Rd., Elyria, OH 44035
RSVP by Thursday, March 31
Debra Wise, Producing Artistic Director
Send name, affiliation (as relevant), and email address to:
dwise@undergroundrailwaytheater.org - 617-645-2046
If you cannot come, let us know if we can have a conversation with you about the project!
Click here to see the full invitation
Spring has arrived!
March is here; Spring has sprung! With the change in the season, there comes a renewed sense of purpose, vigor, and hope that permeates all we do. What better time to approach life with a newfound zeal than in this time of natural rebirth? The cycle starts anew, and with it, another chance to do…(I’ll leave it up to you, the reader, to finish that optimistic thought!)
image description: Green crocuses are popping up through the brown leaves and sticks.
For the Oberlin-Wellington Rescue Theater Project, this month also marks a milestone in our journey towards the summer of 2023, when we hope to premiere our work. Our playwright, Ifa Bayeza, will be back in town in residence to continue developing the script.
She and fellow artistic collaborators will be able to see, hear, and read the first pieces of our in-process work. Our show will take its first tentative and teetering steps into being! While story & script development will comprise the majority of what we do during the week, we will also continue to support Ifa by helping to further her research needs, tour local historical sites, and we will have a small reception that all of you, our supporters, are invited to! Information is at the top of the newsletter.
Linked below are some of our past events, if you missed them.
I hope you all have an excellent April, filled with good work, good friends, and a few moments outside to enjoy the season!
-Eric Steggall, Producing Managing Director
Past Events
Oberlin-Wellington Rescue Theater Project: Historical Narrative on Stage
Playwright Ifa Bayeza and Dramaturg Caroline Jackson Smith of the Oberlin-Wellington Rescue Theater Project Creative team share their progress on researching this in-process-play. They are oined by members of the Oberlin African-American Genealogy & History Group (OAAGHG) to brainstorm and answer some important questions:
How might we together research historical figures from Oberlin? How can we research links between past and present?
What events can we design to inform, inspire, and invite reflection on why this history should be told here and now?
Debra Wise also shares a brief update about upcoming events in April and June.
Youngstown's History Across the Humanities Conference: Wilson Bruce Evans Home Historical Society
Phyllis Yarber Hogan, Dr. Gary Korblith, and Dr. Carol Lasser discuss the history of the Wilson Bruce Evans home in Oberlin and their efforts to preserve this significant landmark in African American history.
Stay involved!
We're asking for your help growing this project and our community. If you have any suggestions or are otherwise interested in helping during this period of research, please reach out to us!