The Weaver, Part II: Paradigm
The Weaver, Part II: Paradigm
Summary
Premiering at the New Ohio Ice Factory Festival in July of 2022, Paradigm invites the audience into the interpersonal rhythms, routines, and dramas of an American hospital suddenly upended by a racially charged incident. The piece explores the inner conscious responses and decisions of six main characters caught up in the event: Ms.K, the Chief of the hospital; Chaka, a young teen suffering from sickle cell anemia; Beth, Chaka’s attending nurse; Inaya, Chaka’s mother, Kungzan, a contemporary of Chaka’s whose father is gravely ill; Annalisa, a patient with a loose and creative grasp on reality; and Presence, a young, ghostly protagonist emotionally tied to the hospital and it’s characters.
Process
“Delving deeply into their own inner conscious experience, they grappled creatively and collaboratively with the dramatic reality that while there are indeed stereotypical racial attitudes and actions, there are in fact no stereotypical people. ”
The six TÉA Artists who perform Paradigm also came together to devise the play and to give life and depth to its characters. Thanks to support from the Archive Residency with IRT/New Ohio Theatre, TÉA Artistry gathered these multi-talented artists for a set of Insight Artistry Workshops in which they critically explored the personal, social, and institutional dynamics of the event at the center of the play. Delving deeply into their own inner conscious experience, they grappled creatively and collaboratively with the dramatic reality that while there are indeed stereotypical racial attitudes and actions, there are in fact no stereotypical people. There are only individuals who wrestle with their concerns and pursue their aspirations in the context of the social and familial roles that guide and direct – expand and contract – the way they use their minds and hearts.
Paradigm is the fruit of this creative exploration.
Company
Created and directed by
Vieve Radha Price and Chuk Obasi
Devised by
Tara Amber, Annie Hartkemeyer, Joy Kelly, Ima Otto-During, Nalini Sharma
and Miriam Tabb
Script by
Tara Amber and Nalini Sharma
With additional material by
Kimani Fowlin, Tracy Hyter-Suffren, Talya Mar, Sarah Smith
and Nabil Vinas
Sound by
Talya Mar
Stage Manager
Stewart Harrison
Assistant to the Directors
Mieka Stang