KNOW Theatre presents artist Travis Maus

About three years ago, I swore, I wasn’t going to write anymore artist statements. I was fed up with the business of selling art and therefore decided to deny the people the most important thing about any artist: “The Story.”

I had an opportunity to exhibit in a very well known local gallery but, at the time, I felt insulted. It felt like a favor for someone to put my “Pretty Pictures” on their walls. I was a pastelist who thought he was a painter. I wanted people to respect my pastels as a unique way to utilize the medium while making an attractive picture. There was no statement. There was no look over here I have something to say. There was no intrigue. “The Story” was boring. So, in a very selfish way, I was insulted by a particular gallery owner because I did not feel respected. But that wasn t the message at all. The unfinished conversation was…”The Story.” That was something I think the gallery owner knew, that I didn’t, and I wasn’t listening in a way to figure it out. He was right, I was wrong.

Then I quit. I quit showing people my pictures and I started to just pile them up in the basement. One after one, the piles got bigger. I had, for the first time in my life, a successful career outside of the arts and decided I didn’t need to exhibit art any longer like I once did. Then something happened. About two years ago the world began to change. As a young professional in the financial industry, I was standing in a tornado of uncertainty, corruption, pain, greed, etc. I took a new job, moved home, and contacted the one person in the art world I trust. Ralph Hall rescued my artistic career. Ralph has been working with me, as a coach and mentor and manager, for the better part of two years. One day he said to me “You need a purpose.” I had a passion, although wilted at the time, of creating art. My purpose though; it didn’t exist. So, what matters to me? How can I make an impact? How can I make people stop and think? Then it hit me…and I realized I was living the ultimate story and now it is time to share it.

In my professional life there are walls and barriers. There are rules and restrictions. There are things I can’t say; things I’ ll get fired for saying. Every day I help fix peoples investment and insurance problems. Sound familiar? Sound like the perfect storm? Sound like I might have something to tell you? I do! Over the past five years I’ve worked for two top twenty fortune 500 companies. One was a bank company and one is an investment and insurance company. I am proud of my accomplishments and have worked with many great people, but…there is a reason we are where we are. I’m talking about the government, industries, advisors, poor people, rich people and middle class people.

This new work is about the corruption, greed, and suffering of people. My “insiders” opinion of what went wrong and why. This work is also the light at the end of the tunnel. This new work is about us. It’s about People!!!! You and me, the next guy and your employer and the role of government. I intend it to be a direct assault on the cancer that has overtaken even the very innocent and purest of our ideologies. I want to expose the issues through the only voice I have…color. I want people to be bothered. I want people to not like this work and to have a reaction. I’m unique in that I live life everyday hearing both sides of the story and I am willing to document this forever.

Ironically, I am not allowed to make any kind of statement public that may be conceived as investment advice. So, guess what…I cannot tell you what each painting m eans. I cannot tell you how we fix our problems or whether or not these things will get better or worse. But my art can and everyone can hear what they are willing to look for. Each painting is full of symbolism. Each painting is part of a larger conversation and when seen as a group, they will be a unified dialogue.

I am no longer using just pastels. I got bored and cut many of them into little pieces…then painted over them. Ironically, most people can’t tell where the painting stopped and the pastel began.

This will be my greatest social statement and artistic statement.

KNOW Theatre's BENT opens with record breaking audience

"We saw the play on opening night and were spellbound. This is an emotionally powerful production, with performances that are believable, sensitive and moving."

"Congratulations to Know Theater for bringing Broadway to Binghamton."

"A powerful show about one of the saddest points in human history"

"This was a fantastic production! Everyone NEEDS to see this"

"What an incredible cast"

"riveting and powerful"

BENT opened Feb. 5th and the community is responding in record breaking numbers. Over 200 people saw BENT this weekend in KNOW Theatre's intimate 76 seat theatre on Carroll Street. With six performances left, there is still plenty of time to see this ground breaking performance at Binghamton's off-Broadway theatre. To order tickets visit http://www.BrownPaperTickets.com To learn more about the show, visit http://www.knowtheatre.org You can also find us on YouTube, Blogger.com, Twitter and Facebook. Tickets are selling quickly, reservations are strongly encouraged.

The 2008-2009 Season is sponsored by The Law Offices of Frederick R. Xlander

Production Co-Sponsor On Point Productions with special support from Tranquil Bar and Bistro

BENT: Lead Actor Shares Some Powerful Thoughts

ON MY SOAPBOX
by Sean Kimber ("Max")

As many of you know, well, actually all of you, since I sent an invite to everyone on my contact list, I'm in the play "Bent" being performed at Know Theatre. If you haven't read the synopsis, it's a play that deals with the overly harsh treatment of homosexuals by Nazis in concentration camps. In fact, according to many reports, they were treated more harshly than Jews. It's a story that many are unaware of, as there weren't many records kept dealing with the treatment of homosexuals. And, in fact, homosexuals continued to be incarcerated after the liberation of concentration camps.

Now, this is the third play that I'm a part of where I play a gay character. Did that give me pause at first? I will admit that yes, it did. That little stronghold of homophobia that I had inside me reared its ugly head and gave me a moment of doubt. And, now I'm ashamed that this was the case. But, as I read the play, and as I took part in the rehearsals, I saw what a powerful story this was about humanity. I saw what a powerful story this was about love. I saw how sadistic people are willing to be and what some people are willing to do just to survive. I took myself out of my own biases for a moment and realized that the human story in this play is one of the most compelling I had ever read and, in fact, needed to be told. And, this helped me grow as a person. That stronghold has disappeared, and I feel no qualms anymore about the part, other than the fear that I might not live up to it.

However, this has also been a very eye-opening experience for me regarding people's reactions. For, anytime I would describe the play, all they would latch onto is the fact that the characters are homosexuals. I had my boss ask me in front of the office, in a very demeaning and openly bigoted manner, "So when does your GAY PLAY start?" Then he rolled his eyes as he looked at my coworkers. I had someone else walk up to me today asking if I was in any more gay plays. And then laughed when I said my character was a homosexual in this upcoming production. When I explained the premise, he didn't find the story of the concentration camp more compelling. Rather, he once again latched onto the fact that my character is, in fact, gay.

I also had someone walk up to me at one point after one of these more recent plays and ask if I was gay because I was playing a gay part.

It's an interesting statement on society to see how openly bigoted people can be. If I had played a cancer victim these past few plays, no one would have questioned whether I had cancer in real life. If I had played a womanizer, no one would have decided that I was a womanizer. But, a homosexual? Well, THAT'S different.

It's also interesting to see how people can't separate the story from the sexual orientation. Many, not all, but many have not been able to look past the character's sexuality to see the underlying horrific statements about society. They don't see what this says about humanity's darker side and what we're capable of. How we're able to attack those that we view as being beneath us. Instead, they allow the stigma of homosexuality to color their opinion without actually seeing the play. Without actually reading the story. Without looking at the bigger picture.

I've never been a huge gay rights activist. I have always believed that they should have the same unalienable rights that heterosexuals have, but it was never a personal cause for me. Now, I suddenly see the true bravery that is inherent in openly homosexual individuals. I see the stigma that they have to deal with on a daily basis. I suddenly understand why so many seem so angry. And I have a whole new respect for homosexuals and their plights - both current and past. And I'm starting to get angry FOR them.

Some say the holocaust could never happen again. People would never repeat the mistakes of the past. But with such open bigotry, I ask you, do you really think this is the case?

I'm stepping off my soapbox now.

BENT: Production Notes

FROM DIRECTOR TIM MOLLEN

BENT was written by Martin Sherman, an openly gay Jew who was born in Philadelphia in 1932. In 1960, he received his BFA in Dramatic Arts from the Boston University College of Fine Arts. Sherman has lived in London since 1980. BENT premiered in London’s West End in 1979, starring Ian McKellen in the role of Max. Later that same year it opened on Broadway, where Richard Gere portrayed Max. That production was nominated for a 1980 Tony Award for Best Play. Sherman also wrote the screenplay for the film version of BENT, which premiered in 1997. The film starred Clive Owen as Max, Mick Jagger as Greta, and Ian McKellen, this time in a supporting role as Uncle Freddie. In 2005, Sherman wrote the screenplay for Mrs Henderson Presents, starring Judi Dench.

My first exposure to this remarkable drama was in the spring of 1990. I was spending the latter half of my junior year in SUNY Oswego’s study-abroad program in London. I attended some twenty theatre productions, including two that I would later direct: The Woman in Black and BENT. On February 14, 1990, I spent the evening at London’s National Theatre, mesmerized by Martin Sherman’s masterpiece. Many wouldn’t see that as a romantic way to spend Valentine’s Day, but those “many” are exactly the people who need to see this play. In that revival production, I was lucky enough to see Ian McKellen reprise his role as Max, and his performance was trememdously powerful. When I returned to SUNY Oswego, I saw another wonderful production of BENT, this time directed by one of my mentors, Professor Ron Medici. That production was nearly as moving, which is not only a testament to Sherman’s writing, but to Ron’s directing and my fellow students’ performances.

I have wanted to direct this play since that night at the National almost twenty years ago. When I moved from Washington, DC back to Binghamton in 2002, I began to shop the play around to local theatres. Because of the play’s frank, adult subject matter, I knew it would be a hard sell in a small community like ours. The play and my vision for it finally found a home when Know Theatre opened this beautiful space at Binghamton City Stage. Know’s longtime Artistic Director, Tim Gleason, had the two prerequisites for taking this project on: an open heart and a courageous commitment to works of art that not only entertain but challenge the theatre audience. I am grateful to him for making this long-held dream come true. I am also indebted to Know’s new Executive Director, Matt Edwards, who has come out of the gate with vast resources of new ideas and energy. Thank you to Know’s Board of Directors for their continuing support, and, in particular, Board President Ralph Hall, who has believed in and nurtured this project from the start. Set Designer Tim Borden, Lighting and Sound Designer Gregory Bain, and Stage Manager / Scenic Artist Kat D’Andrea all made vital contributions to what you will experience during this production. This is the very first costume design by Binghamton University student Carolyn Walker, and we are very pleased and proud of her work. Musical wunderkind Santino DeAngelo composed most of the beautiful and evocative music for the show, as well as a stunning new arrangement of Philip Glass and Martin Sherman’s piece, “Streets of Berlin.” I am grateful to the many others who helped with set and costume construction, props acquisition, backstage crew work, and marketing. Finally, I am honored to have directed an amazing group of performers, whose acting and musical skills breathe life into this most human of stories. I know you will find their work to be as moving and inspiring as I have.

Please urge your friends to come see this production. And remember, if you want to keep seeing this kind of intelligent, vibrant work, keep coming back to KNOW Theatre!

BENT: Historical Background

FROM DIRECTOR TIM MOLLEN

Chronology of the Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals

Most of this information comes from Richard Plant’s history The Pink Triangle: The Nazi War Against Homosexuals. Additional information is from Wikipedia and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

• 1871 - Kaiser Wilhelm I of Germany proclaims the Second Reich and his government formally adopts Paragraph 175 of the Prussian Legal Code for the entire Reich. Paragraph 175 makes sexual acts between males punishable. In practice, German courts usually prosecute only those cases involving behavior that resembles “coital acts.”

• Ironically, 19th-century Germany gives birth to the modern world’s first organized gay rights movement. Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld established the Scientific-Humanitarian Committee in 1897. Over the next 26 years, the committee submits many petitions to the Reichstag (parliament) in an unsuccessful effort to overturn Paragraph 175. Signers included Albert Einstein, Thomas Mann, Hermann Hesse, and many other German scientists, writers and artists. In BENT, the character Horst recalls being arrested for signing a Hirschfeld petition in Berlin. From 1899-1923, Hirschfeld edits and publishes the annual Yearbook of Intersexual Variants, which includes essays on medical, legal, historical, and anthropological aspects of homosexuality.

• 1921 – Adolph Hitler merges various, small, right-wing groups to form the National Socialist Workers’ (Nazi) Party. The first SA paramilitary units are formed to act as Hitler’s bodyguards. Ernst Roehm, an openly gay army captain and close friend of Hitler, soon becomes head of the SA.

• 1933 – Hitler is appointed Chancellor of Germany. The burning down of the Reichstag building (by mysterious, unknown plotters) provides the pretext for an emergency decree granting Hitler dictatorial powers. Pornography and homosexual rights groups are banned as the reign of terror begins. Magnus Hirschfeld is fortunate to be out of the country when his Institute of Sexual Research is vandalized, and much of its irreplaceable collection of photos and books are burned in the street. Civil rights are systematically abolished, and Nazi leader Heinrich Himmler oversees the construction and opening of Dachau, the first large-scale, Nazi concentration camp.

• 1934 – On June 24, Hitler and the now-preferred leaders of Himmler’s SS conduct a murderous purge against the SA, which is deemed to be a decadent cabal rife with homosexuals. Between 85 and 300 people are killed, including political opponents not associated with the SA. This event would come to be known as “the Night of the Long Knives.” SA Chief Ernst Roehm, the unofficial “protector” of Germany’s gays, is executed two days later. The opening scene of BENT is set on the morning after the Night of the Long Knives.

• 1935 – Paragraph 175 is amended to outlaw and punish almost any conceivable contact between males that could be deemed suspicious by any other single person. Eventually, it expands even further, to include the mere intention to commit such acts. Local police seek and obtain the help of many German citizens, who supply them with names of suspected homosexuals among their neighbors, family, business associates, and friends. Some gay men find closeted refuge in the German military, which never fully acquiesces to the Nazi authorities.

• 1933 to 1945 – Over 20,000 concentration camps spring up across Germany and its occupied territories. An estimated 6 million Jews (or 78% of the Jews living in occupied Europe) are exterminated. A broader interpretation of the term “Holocaust” includes other groups targeted and killed by the Nazis: Poles, Soviet POW’s and citizens, Roma, Sinti, the mentally and physically disabled, Jehovah’s Witnesses, criminals, political dissenters, clergy, and homosexual men. Using this broader definition raises the death toll to an estimated 17 million.

• 1933 to 1945 – Determining the number of homosexuals persecuted and killed by the Third Reich is difficult, particularly because many of them are identified as members of one or more other groups. Most estimates put the number of German men arrested for violations of Paragraph 175 during the Third Reich at 50,000, and the number who perished in the camps at 5 – 15,000. Non-German gays are not specifically targeted – they are considered to be useful as poisonous agents that undermine their respective races. In the camps, gays are identified with badges in the form of a pink triangle. (In later years, the LGBTQ community co-opts this image and transforms it into a symbol of pride and unity.) In the concentration camps, men with the pink triangle are the lowest rung of the prisoner hierarchy, loathed by guards and fellow inmates alike. Gays are often singled out for the most dangerous work details in the camps, such as the stone quarry depicted in BENT. Some are beaten or murdered by their fellow inmates. Others survive by submitting to homosexual acts with “straight” officers, guards, and prisoners in positions of authority (kapos). In camp “infirmaries,” gay men undergo horrific medical experiments in a supposed effort to develop a “cure” for homosexuality.

• 1945 – Allied troops liberate the concentration camps, but not before countless more victims are hurriedly killed in an effort to complete Hitler’s murderous vision. The end of the war does not mean the end of persecution for gays. Unlike other survivors of the concentration camps, gays in Germany continue to be classified as criminals, and are denied the compensation given by the West German government to members of other victimized groups. In fact, some gays are forced to serve more time in prison; their time in camp is not applied against their sentences. Many hide their orientation and experiences until their deaths, resulting in a scarcity of first-hand accounts by gay survivors.

• 1972 – A German book publisher releases Heinz Heger’s The Men with the Pink Triangle, based on Heger’s interviews of an anonymous, gay survivor of the concentration camps. It is the first published account of its kind.

• 1979 – BENT premieres in London’s West End and on Broadway, introducing the true story of the Nazi persecution of homosexuals to a mass audience.

• 1994 – The last of Germany’s notorious Paragraph 175 laws is finally repealed.

BENT: Cast Details

FROM DIRECTOR TIM MOLLEN

Here is the cast list for KNOW Theatre's February 2009 production of BENT:

Max: Sean Kimber
Horst: Marty Murray
Rudy: Sean Williamson
Wolf/Nazi Officer/Cellist: Joe Petrolawicz
Greta: Michael Marini
Uncle Freddie: Mickey Ray
Nazi Captain: Michael Shephard
Nazi Guard #1: Christopher Zlomek
Nazi Guard #2/Violinist: Joshua Wallenstein
Kapo / Pianist: Charles O'Connor

Part 1 of a 4 Part Series: Why Bent?

Part 1: Why Bent
“You guys are doing Bent!?!” KNOW Theatre Executive Director Matthew Edwards says of all the questions about the show, “why” is probably the most common. Why ask why? To many Bent is considered an edgy play too risky to take on. So why stage it? “KNOW Theatre has a history of doing the productions other companies shy away from” says Executive Director Matthew Edwards. Taking a look at their past productions, its easy to see what he’s talking about. Last season the company produced P.S. Your Cat is Dead and Uncle Bob. This past November they staged Doubt: A parable. They even were on the verge of staging Glenn Gary, Glenn Ross until another professional theatre company snagged the rights without them knowing. “Throughout the history of theatre there has been a debate as to whether theatre should be meant to take people away from reality or put reality in front of them and ask the audience to consider the consequences. Bent tells a story that is real, about real people, real torture, real murder, and real misery. It’s a part of history that most people don’t even know about. In a concentration camp it was better to be Jewish, a gypsy, or a political opponent than a gay prisoner, anything to avoid the pink triangle was better than the fate that awaited you once you wore it. We are presenting Bent because no matter how you feel about the issues of today, most people would agree that no human being deserves what these poor inmates endured.” And so Binghamton’s KNOW Theatre eagerly anticipates the opening of what it believes could be a soul changing event that will be talked about in Binghamton for years to come. For those who are unsure about seeing it Matt recalls the last play that Binghamton audiences shied away from “Doubt was a hard sell, especially in a strong Catholic community, a month after we closed, it hit movie theatres nationwide to critical acclaim, 5 Golden Globe and 5 Critics Choice Award nominations.” Sounds like maybe KNOW Theatre is ahead of the game and the rest of us need to catch up.

BENT: Article in Diversity Rules! magazine

The following article was published in the January/February 2009 issue of Diversity Rules! magazine, serving the LGBTQ community and its friends.

In a small town where much of the art, culture, and entertainment does all it can to shy away from making people uncomfortable, director Tim Mollen isn’t pulling his theatrical punches. Tim’s wanted to direct the play Bent—a tale of gay men during the Holocaust—since he returned to Binghamton in 2002. “I talked to theater companies about directing it, but the answer was always, ‘it’s a little too edgy for our season.’ But then I talked to Tim [Gleason of the KNOW Theatre]. And it’s just a good fit with what they’re doing here.” One need look no further than the last play produced at KNOW to see what he’s talking about; Doubt, the tale of a priest accused of abusing a young boy, played there only a few months ago. But whereas Doubt dealt with a problem in the Catholic community—and therefore had a more visible and obvious audience in the Southern Tier—the cast clearly wonders how much more difficult it will be to get theater-goers in the seats for a play about the gay community during WWII.

Cast member Marty Murray spoke about the problem. “Best friends of mine refuse to come see this show… I would really like those specific people that think that way to come and see the show just to make their own opinions.” The fact that this is a troubling time for the gay community isn’t lost on director Tim Mollen. Even as he researches the play’s era and politics, he continues to be drawn to articles about the battle over Prop 8. “It’s remarkable to me that on the day when we elected our first black president is that the supposedly most liberal state in the country outlawed gay marriage.” He sees the play as an opportunity to educate the Southern Tier on the dangers of continued discrimination. The show opens in a pre-WWII Berlin that tolerates, if not accepts, its urban gay culture. It centers on Max, a well-liked young gay man who doesn’t get along with his wealthy family because of how open he is about his lifestyle. In the opening moments of the play, Max’s one-night trick is killed by Nazis in the apartment he shares with his dancer boyfriend Rudy. Max and Rudy are forced to flee—trying to escape the country before they are discovered and shipped off to a concentration camp. The show is about Max’s transformation as he discovers love under the most oppressive conditions. “I still wonder whether it’s about love transcending evil or love being crushed by evil,” notes Mollen.

One of the reasons Mollen believes that the play is so important is that it helped him with his own “evolution of tolerance.” He grew up attending a school without any openly gay students. He remembers using stereotypical gay humor in his improv comedy troop, and although he never considered himself intolerant, he regrets the choice. “Having a friend come out made me realize that I shouldn’t even be joking in that intolerant way. People aren’t going to know my heart.” If “Bent” can overcome the challenge of actually getting people into the theater, it can hopefully have the same transformative effect on them. After hearing that some of Marty’s friends are refusing to come, Tim interrupts him. “I encourage you to grab a couple of them by the ear and drag them to the show.” Maybe if everyone does the same, the little theater on Carroll Street can make a little difference.

For more information visit http://www.knowtheatre.org