September 26, 2005
Media Contact: Anne Halsey (312) 799.8016; ahalsey@poetryfoundation.org

The Poetry Foundation Presents

10 BRECHT POEMS

A DYNAMIC 2 WOMAN BRECHTIAN VAUDEVILLE

CHICAGO — The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine, is pleased to announce the Chicago premiere of 10 Brecht Poems at Theatre Building Chicago, 1225 W. Belmont Ave. This is the third production in the Foundation's new Poetry on Stage series and runs from November 10-13.

What: 10 Brecht Poems presented by The Poetry Foundation
When: November 10, 11 and 12 at 8:00 pm; November 13 at 3pm
Where: 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Theatre Building Chicago
Tickets: $15 general admission/$10 seniors and students
For reservations, call Theatre Building Chicago (773) 327-5252.

10 Brecht Poems is a dynamic, two-woman theatrical piece created and produced by Strike Anywhere Performance Ensemble and NaCl Theatre. Making use of their extensive training in physical theatre, music, visual art, and storytelling, New York based actors, Tannis Kowalchuk (NaCl Theatre) and Leese Walker (Strike Anywhere) bring to life 10 powerful poems by Bertolt Brecht, the renowned German playwright and social critic.

Deemed "poignant" by the Village Voice, Kowalchuk and Walker use satire and a variety of performance styles to examine the horrors of war, the importance of solidarity, and the need for dissent. In addition to tight vocal harmonies, precise movement, and powerful text, the performance also features hand-painted slides and shadow puppets created by the pair.

10 Brecht Poems toured to the Goethe Institut in Washington DC following an extended run at NYC's Brecht Forum in March-April 2003. 10 Brecht Poems was featured at the 2003 KO Festival of Performance, the 2002 and 2003 Catskill Festival of New Theatre, and it will tour to Jakarta in 2006.

"We are pleased and excited by the enthusiastic response to the Poetry on Stage series," said Stephen Young, Program Director of The Poetry Foundation. "These lively productions have helped further the Foundation's goal to bring the best poetry before an ever-wider audience."

Subsequent productions in the Poetry on Stage series include Molière's The School for Husbands, and Archibald MacLeish's JB.

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The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine, has embarked on an ambitious plan to bring the best poetry before the largest possible audience. In the coming year, the Foundation will sponsor a national recitation contest in the schools, a major new poetry website, and an unprecedented study to understand poetry's place in American culture.

The Strike Anywhere Performance Ensemble and NaCl Theatre create original, experimental theatre in New York City. Strike Anywhere is a collective of world-class jazz musicians, modern dancers, actors, designers, and video artists celebrating its 8th season in NYC. The company creates original performance pieces through improvisation.

NaCl was founded in 1997 by Brad Krumholz and Tannis Kowalchuk. The company has toured the U.S., Canada, Italy, Romania, Serbia, and Bulgaria and operates NaCl Catskills, where they produce the Catskill Festival of New Theatre.