The University Theater of New Bulgarian University, The Drama League of New York, Art Office Foundation, Peculiar Works Project (New York) and ACT Association of independent theater (Sofia) present
Театрална Разходка - "Водата: Рефлексии"
(Water:Reflections - A Promenade Performance)
Presented Thursday, 25 March 2018 at New Bulgarian University
Conceived by Assoc. Prof. Vazkresia Viharova, Kalina Wagenstein, Catherine Porter, Barry Rowell and Tim Cusack
In March 2018, PWP artistic directors Catherine Porter and Barry Rowell teamed again with New Bulgarian University in Sofia to create an original promenade performance, Water:Reflections. Tim Cusack (Theater Askew, NYC) served as the production dramaturg. A 12-day developmental workshop led by the U.S. team with Associate Professor Vaskressia Viharova (director and director of the University Theater NBU) culminated in a 90-minute performnace in which two tour groups traveled in opposite directions through the classrooms, galleries, and even a construction site at NBU to experience nine gathers young artists' reflections on water and our historical, metaphorical, and biological connection to it.
The project was inspired by the history and the current state of an abandoned mineral bath that is the namesake of Ovcha Kupel (Овча Купел), the neighborhood in which NBU is located. The nine project leaders drew parallels to the ruined building as a representation of the passage of time, the movement of water, the abandoned spaces as metaphor for the dreams and plans of individuals, and the public attitudes toward history and tradition.
Water:Reflections was a continuation of the Bulgarian-American collaboration creating original promenade performance that began at the Varna Summer International Theater Festival in 2014 with Imagining America: a promenade through the American avant-garde. That production was adapted and remounted at the New Bulgarian University in 2016.
Workshop directors: Catherine Porter, Barry Rowell, and Tim Cusack
Project Artist Team Leaders: Blagoy Boychev, Georgi Maglov, Daria Mitusheva, Ivelina Stoyanovak, Kalina Terziyska, Konstantza Gecova, Krasimira Dukovska, Sophia Nikolaos Linardi and Miroslava Zahova
Project Manager: Kathrin Hrusanova
Visual Identity: Teodora Simova
Project Photographer: Yana Lozeva ()
With special thanks to the inspirational photography (figuratively and literally) of Zdravko Yonchev
Water:Reflections was made possible with support by New Bulgarian University, Art Office Foundation, ACT Association for Independent Theatre, Sofia; The Drama League, New York; and Peculiar Works Project with the support of the America for Bulgaria Foundation and the CFCU and Fund Programs Basic Faculty of the New Bulgarian University.
Special thanks to Travis Ballenger at The Drama League; The Trust for Mutual Understanding, The America for Bulgaria Foundation; Albena Tagareva at Art Office Foundation; Nick, George, and the students and faculty at New Bulgarian University.
