I was intrigued by the description of The Water Project in the press release I received: “Live theater joins forces with the Pioneer Valley’s thriving independent music scene in this original immersive production. … Immerse yourself in the currents of time in this story of the flooding of the Quabbin Reservoir.”
I was interested by the project’s provenance: adapted by Emma Ayres from her original play, which itself was inspired by Jane Yolen’s children’s book Letting Swift River Go, about the damming of the Swift River to create the Quabbin, seen through the eyes of a little girl. Ayres’ first version premiered at last summer’s Full Disclosure Festival in Greenfield, where it was described as blending “the history of the disincorporation and destruction of four towns, in April 1938, with our present conflicts with power, politics, and natural resources, in a unique view of man’s impact upon the environment.”
I was attracted to the endeavor’s ingenious creative partnership. The piece is a co-production of Theatre Truck, a peripatetic troupe dedicated to “crafting mobile and site-specific performance, sustainably and playfully,” and the Swift River Valley Historical Society in New Salem, on whose property The Water Project is performed this weekend.
I was fascinated by co-director Brianna Sloane’s description of it:
“This immersive show takes characters from the Swift River Valley – the Doubleday family and 14-year-old Edith – and pits them against the outsiders, a wealthy contingent of Bostonians who arrive in nightmare form to take away the ancestral home in the name of Boston’s need for drinking water.
“The play unfolds inside the structures and on the grounds of the Historical Society, which is itself composed of relocated buildings and artifacts from the drowned towns. For the first hour, audiences are free to explore on their own and encounter what they will. Rooms and halls and outdoor installations are occupied by tableaux and largely non-verbal scenes exploring metaphors of home and loss, the powerful against the powerless. The whole thing is underscored by a feeling of time running out and mounting anxiety.
“The Rumors of the flooding of the towns are embodied by an ensemble of glamorous musical city folk who turn into nightmares; there is a storyteller focused on tales of the displacement of native people from the Valley in centuries past; an old Edith struggles with memory and is visited by visions of her past; and the whole thing is buttoned up with a town meeting including all the characters and audience members, and finally a farewell ball, as historically took place with the disincorporation of the towns.”
And I was riveted by Emma Ayres’ captions for the photos she sent me (see above):
Christine Stevens as “Mirror Mother” being lowered into a nightmare of “the flood” by the Bostonian Rumors: Olivia Holcomb, Tonz Hall and Jayme Winell.
Jane Williams as “Mother,” in deep despair over the loss of life as she knows it.
A little nest one of our youngest cast members, Phoebe Silliman, builds as a talisman of protection.
The cast totals 14 performers, including Ivy the Dog, and those “glamorous musical folk,” playing an original score in various corners of the property, are Amber Wolfe, Eli Ayres (of Calico Blue), Garrett Sawyer (of The Gaslight Tinkers), Mamma’s Marmalade and Wishbone Zoe.
The Water Project performs this Thursday–Saturday, Sept. 22-24, at 6:30 and 8:30 p.m., at 40 Elm Street, North New Salem. Tickets at Brown Paper Tickets, $20 ($15 students & seniors) in advance, or $25 ($20) cash only at the door. Info at http://www.thetheatretruck.com/
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