Kentridge Arts Fest - Three Plays
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“Photographed by Zivanai Matangi”
An Outpost of Progress, Mayakovsky, and A Hunger Artist
FOUNDER & DIRECTOR | William Kentridge
CO-FOUNDER & DIRECTOR FOR THE CENTRE | Bronwyn Lace
ORIGINAL TEXTS | Joseph Conrad, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Franz Kafka
Presented at Broadway Theatre Center in partnership with the Warehouse Art Museum | WAM, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, and produced by the Centre for the Less Good Idea.
November 8, 9, 10, 2022
AN OUTPOST OF PROGRESS
A playful interrogation of Joseph Conrad’s short story An Outpost of Progress, this is a work that merges live performance with tabletop theatre to expand on the relationship between narrator and characters, as well as the themes of power, brutality, and greed inherent in the story. It is a tale of miscommunication, betrayal, servitude, and the crumbling colonial project.
CREDITS:
TEXT | Joseph Conrad’s An Outpost of Progress
PERFORMERS | Neil McCarthy, Antony Coleman & Bongile Lecoge-Zulu
CINEMATOGRAPHER | Duško Marović SASC
VIDEO EDITOR & COMPOSITOR | Žana Marović
COSTUME DESIGNERS | SO Academy Costume Mentees
MAYAKOVSKY
Mayakovsky makes use of the illusory optics of the Pepper’s Ghost to pair the adapted text of Russian playwright Vladimir Mayakovsky’s self-titled verse drama, Vladimir Mayakovsky: A Tragedy with the drawings and animations of William Kentridge. Live performance, narration, and projected puppetry and animation converge to re-imagine the avant-garde tragedy.
CREDITS:
TEXT | Vladimir Mayakovsky’s Vladimir Mayakovsky: A Tragedy
CONCEPTUALISER & DIRECTOR | William Kentridge
PERFORMER | Katlego Letsholonyana
CINEMATOGRAPHER | Duško Marović SASC
VIDEO EDITOR & COMPOSITOR | Žana Marović
COSTUME DESIGNER | Emmanuelle Erhart
A HUNGER ARTIST
A staged interpretation of the Franz Kafka short story, A Hunger Artist, the performance sees actor Michael Mazibuko reciting, with striking sincerity, the tale of Kafka’s fasting showman. Death, art, isolation, futility, and human relationships are some of the central themes of the work. Like many of Kafka’s stories, this is a tale that continues to find resonance in the contemporary world.
CREDITS:
TEXT | Franz Kafka’s A Hunger Artist
PERFORMERS | Michael Mazibuko & Dan Selsick
DIRECTOR | William Kentridge
STAGE MANAGER | Dimakatso Motholo
CENTRE PRODUCTION:
FOUNDER | William Kentridge
CO-FOUNDER & DIRECTOR | Bronwyn Lace
ANIMATEUR | Phala Ookeditse Phala
DIRECTOR OF CINEMATOGRAPHY & EDITING | Noah Cohen
LIGHTING DESIGNER | Wesley France
SOUND ENGINEER | Zain Vally
ADMINISTRATOR & STAGE MANAGER | Dimakatso Motholo
Special thanks to the team at the Kentridge Studio:
Linda Leibowitz, Natalie Dembo, Anne McIlleron, Anne Blom, Chris-Waldo de Wet, Jacques van Staden, Joey Netshiombo, Diego Sillands & Thandi Mzizi Nkabinde
Other Kentridge Arts Festival Highlights
Panels on Apartheid
Oct. 29 & Nov 11 | Varying times, WAM and America’s Black Holocaust Museum. The Apartheid and Jim Crow Panel Series features Bronwyn Lace and Bongile Gorata Lecoge-Zulu from the South African Centre for the Less Good Idea and local artists and educators Dr. Kantara Souffrant, Dr. Rob Smith, Nicole Ridgeway and Reggie Jackson. Topics include organized systems of oppression, the role of art and activism, and supporting community artists while defying gentrification. The event includes a self-guided tour of America’s Black Holocaust Museum with a roundtable community discussion. Information on attending in person or via live stream can be found at WAMmke.org.
Kentridge appearances
Nov 7 | TBD, Broadway Studio Theatre | Milwaukee Chamber Theatre. Kentridge will participate in open rehearsals for the plays. While not open to the general public, the theater community and media are invited to request reservations at info@thewarehousemke.org.
Nov. 8 | 5pm, Milwaukee Art Museum. Kentridge will give a talk titled “Finding the Less Good Idea,” highlighting his art practice and the philosophies behind his art organizations. This programming event is in partnership with the Milwaukee Art Museum. More information at WAMmke.org.
Poetry and Books
Nov. 15 | 5:30pm, WAM. Join WAM for “Pulp, Paper and Poetry” where Eliza Kentridge (artist, writer and sister to William Kentridge) will do a poetry reading followed by an in-depth conversation with Susan Gosin (Founder of Dieu Donné) on their collaborative practice over the years. Free admission. WAMmke.org.
Film and Music
Nov. 16 | 6:30 pm, Milwaukee Art Museum. Pre-concert talk with Philip Miller and Eliza Kentridge on their collaborations and processes. Information on attending in person or via live stream can be found at presentmusic.org/events.
Nov 16 | 7:30 pm, Milwaukee Art Museum. Join Present Music for “Kentridge & Miller: Flat on your back on the dry wintry grass – a cine concert” featuring the iconic animated films of William Kentridge and world premiere performances of newly commissioned scores by Philip Miller. Films that will be showcased include “9 Drawings for Projection,” “Paper Music,” “The Head and the Load Suite” and “Refuse the Hour.” Four settings of Eliza Kentridge’s poetry will also be featured. Music will be performed live by the Present Music ensemble and South African performers Ann Masina (soprano) and Tshegofatso Moeng (baritone).
Information on attending in person or via live stream can be found at presentmusic.org/events.
Visual Arts
Now through Dec. 16, WAM. The William Kentridge: See for Yourself exhibition features 47 years of his work in multiple media with an emphasis on his interactive practice. Guest-curated by Melanie Herzog, the show features over 100 works from the museum’s private collection and several pieces never before publicly displayed. Free and open to the public M-F | 10-4pm. WAMmke.org.
Beginning October 3, the Milwaukee Art Museum will display Portage (2000), a 14-foot accordion folding book in the Monumental Sculpture gallery, K118. mam.org.