FACE IT!
THEATRE COMPANY
PAST PRODUCTIONS
Past Performance: Lash, a radio drama
Face It! Theatre brought live radio drama back to the Binghamton airwaves in 2019. In this original work by J. Vaclav Michalec, Face It! teamed up with the production crew at WBDY (99.5 FM) to broadcast the story of an Upstate soldier who ships out to Afghanistan. On the sands of Afghanistan's Desert of Death Lt. Van Hoven quickly discovers he knows little about Afghans and their muslim culture. In a contest of wills a tragedy occurs that will haunt Van Hoven long after his tour is finished. Performing live along with live sounds was thrilling for the cast, giving everyone a taste of radio as it was once broadly performed across America. The May 14th broadcast is available on SoundCloud on WBDY.
Past Performance: Fully Staged Production of "The Fertile River"
Following the successful readings of The Fertile River, Face It! moved Vincent Durham's play into full production. In September 2018 five performances took place at the First Congregational Church on Main Street in Binghamton, New York. Durham's play on the eugenics program of North Carolina and its true cost in a racist atmosphere kept audiences spellbound. The excitement and material of this production pulled in diverse audiences from all over the Binghamton area, packing the house and proving that theatre willing to engage in tough issues is highly relevant.
Past Performance: Reading of Vincent Terrell Durham's "The Fertile River"
The State is knocking at the door. They have an interest in your most prized possessions.
Never subtle in the quest for the most perfect citizens, governments can be rather direct in how to create them. The Spartans left the feeble on the hillsides, the Third Reich sent them to the camps. North Carolina tried something different. Beginning in 1919 it created the Eugenics Board to decide cases of physical and mental impairment and what to do with with those deemed unfit. Unfit to do what?
Past Performance: "Printed Matter"
Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift . . .
Ah, yes, the swift completion of their appointed rounds. These noble words from the pen of Herodotus echo down the centuries to the very post box hanging on our door. Why, it seems only yesterday the mailing of a letter was as easy as eating apple pie - and it was. A trip to the post office today is a rather different experience, one more associated with a visit to the Department of Motor Vehicles. Printed Matter takes a seriously funny look at just how cumbersome mailing something can be in the Age of Fear as politics and the postal system collide in an Upstate post office. An original work by J. Vaclav Michalec.
Past Performance of "A State of Denial"
Ferguson, New York City, North Charleston. Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Walter Scott. Places and names that evoke the racial divides of communities and the institutionalized practices of policing authority. From out of this cauldron of mistrust and misunderstanding comes A State Of Denial, a short play by J. Vaclav Michalec about community racial tension that might characterize any community in Upstate New York – or the United States. Where are the lines drawn on proper policing? Who decides who is a threat, and on what basis? Is there a solution to racially motivated policing? If so, where? Within the world of students, parents, and police, A State Of Denial challenges audiences to question not only community policing policies and practices, but where racial discrimination begins and ends as a function of power. An original work by J. Vaclav Michalec.
