'Rebel Voices' Heard at Culture Project, Begins Nov.10

Culture Project has announced that it will produce Rebel Voices, a stage adaptation by Rob Urbinati of Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove's acclaimed book "Voices of a People's History of the United States" (Seven Stories Press).  Performances begin on November 10 with an official opening night set for Sunday, November 18 with special guest Howard Zinn.  Tickets are now on sale for performances through December 16, 2007.

Performance poet Staceyann Chin and acclaimed musician Allison Moorer will lead the permanent cast of Rebel Voices, which will also feature a host of rotating special guest performers.  Among those already confirmed to appear are Wallace Shawn, Lili Taylor, Ally Sheedy and David Strathairn.  

"This fall, Culture Project stands with activist scholar Howard Zinn, asserting that the world is topsy-turvy and that things are all wrong.  That the wrong people are in power and the wrong people are out of power, and that civil disobedience is not only necessary, but required.  At a time when voices of dissent have been relegated to 'free speech zones' and diminished in the mainstream media, Rebel Voices brings to life inspirational and challenging stories of protest from US history – and today.  The play seeks to combat hopelessness by igniting the forces responsible for arousing change and celebrating the indomitable human spirit," explain press notes.

Rebel Voices is an important testimony to the strength of the individual voice, as told through first-hand accounts from people who have shaped the course of U.S. history, often struggling against seemingly insurmountable odds.  The Rebel Voices include Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass and Malcolm X as well as lesser-known figures like Maria Stewart, a pioneer Black abolitionist from the early 1800s, Stella Nowicki, a union organizer in the 1930s and contemporary voices such as Iraq war resister Camilo Mejía and Patricia Thompson, a survivor of Hurricane Katrina.

Howard Zinn is professor emeritus at Boston University.  He is the author of the classic A People's History of the United States, "a brilliant and moving history of the American people from the point of view of those … whose plight has been largely omitted from most histories" (Library Journal).  Zinn is the author of numerous books, including The Zinn Reader, the autobiographical You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train, and the play Marx in Soho.  His most recent books are Voices of a People's History of the United States (with Anthony Arnove) and Original Zinn, a new collection of interviews with David Barsamian. Zinn has received the Lannan Foundation Literary Award for Nonfiction and the Eugene V. Debs award for his writing and political activism, and is a member of The Dramatists' Guild.

Performances are Saturday at 9PM, Sunday at 5PM and Tuesday at 8PM.  Tickets are priced at $40 and are available by calling 212-352-3101 or visiting www.cultureproject.org.  Tickets for all preview performances are priced at $20.

Culture Project has also announced the creation of an education pilot project with communities in and around New York, to create an interactive educational theater curriculum to accompany performances of Rebel Voices.   Culture Project will work with participating student groups and classes before and after attending the performance and provide teachers and group leaders with materials for continuing dialogues.  For more information, visit www.cultureproject.org.

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