A Vang, a Hmong farmer of Des Moines. Photo by Dennis Chamberlin.
ORANGE CITY – Poet Laureate of Iowa Mary Swander, Pulitzer Prize winning photographer Dennis Chamberlin, and ACT Kennedy Center award-winner Matt Foss collaborate to create a drama called Vang (meaning “garden” or “farm” in Hmong). The production will be presented at the Northwestern College DeWitt Theatre on Saturday, May 4 at 7:30 pm, sponsored by the Orange City Arts Council.
More info: http://orangecityarts.net/2013/04/touring-production-of-vang/
The show will also be presented at the Betty Strong Encounter Center/ Sioux City Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center May 4 at 2:00 pm, and at the Estelle Siebens Science Center 126, Buena Vista University, Storm Lake Sunday, May 5 at 7:00 pm.
Swander and Chamberlin documented recent Iowa immigrant farmers, then Swander wound their words together to form a verbatim play that captures the immigrants’ journeys to the States. Hmong, Mexican, Sudanese, and Dutch immigrants all speak of their struggles, survival skills, and their intense desire to return to the land. Chamberlin took stunning photos of the immigrants in their greenhouses, farms, and dairy barns. Foss added his theatrical brilliance to the production, bringing Vang to life on the stage. And Michael Ching, past executive director of the Memphis opera, composed music to underscore the play’s message.
The immigrant farmers in this production came from four continents, speaking over six different languages, with multiple experiences of the world. In their own ways, they adjusted to life in America. Some of these immigrants came to the U.S. as refugees from war-torn parts of the world. Others came fleeing poverty in their homelands. Still others came with money, invited to join agribusiness ventures. Many of these immigrants landed in the U.S. and took the only jobs they could find—in meat-packing plants and auto repair shops. But all of these immigrants had grown up on farms and wanted to once again assume the livelihood that they had known in the past, the work that had formed the foundation of their cultural roots.
The play features two actors, Matt Foss – a native of Orange City, a graduate of Northwestern College and currently a theatre instructor at Iowa State – and Annie Feenstra – a native of Sioux City and ISU theatre student. The two take on the parts of all eight immigrants. Dennis Chamberlin’s photos of the immigrants are projected on the walls of the theatre, bringing both artistic grace and reality to the performance.
With the aid of a grant from the ISU CEAH, Swander, Chamberlin and Foss hope to tour the play not only throughout Iowa, but across the U.S. and to Europe.
Tickets will be available for sale in mid-April. For more information, contact the Orange City Arts Council, 712-707-6514 or ocArts@orangecityiowa.com.
Dorine & Jan Boelen, Dutch dairy farmers of Brooklyn, Iowa. Photo by Dennis Chamberlin.
Bios:
Dennis Chamberlin:
Photojournalist, and Pulitzer Prize winner, Dennis Chamberlin’s photos have appeared in such prestigious places as The New York Times Magazine, National Geographic, The Economist, and Newsweek. Chamberlin is an associate professor in the Greenlee School of Journalism at Iowa State University. He holds an M.F.A. in photography from Indiana University. He lived much of his adult life in Poland.
Matt Foss:
Matt Foss’ production of Six Characters received 5 Kennedy Center ACT Festival Awards in 2012 including: National Outstanding Production of a Play, Outstanding Director, Outstanding Lighting Design, 3 Distinguished Performance Awards, and Distinguished Production and Performance Ensemble Award. Foss studied theatre at Roosevelt University in Chicago and in Moscow. He received his Ph.D. from Wayne State University in 2013. Currently, he is a lecturer in theatre at Iowa State University.
Mary Swander:
Mary Swander is the Poet Laureate of the State of Iowa. She has published over thirteen books of poetry and non-fiction, in addition to plays, radio and television scripts and magazine articles. She has appeared in such places as The New York Times Magazine, National Public Radio, The New Yorker, and Poetry Magazine. Swander’s plays Driving the Body Back and Farmscape have toured the U.S. Swander is a Professor of English and Distinguished Professor of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Iowa State University. She holds dual citizenship in the U.S. and Ireland.
Annie Feenstra:
Originally from Sioux City, Iowa, Annie Feenstra is an award-winning Iowa State student actor. She has had major roles in Alice in Wonderland, Rent, and Street Car Named Desire.
