In 2007, Dr. Amanda Kemp was a resident artist at a spiritual center working on a play. She was stuck, but neither her own determination nor the input of others seemed to move her work in satisfying directions. Finally, she prayed. From that moment of prayer and the poem that came from it, Dr. Kemp knew she and the artistic group she founded that year were moving into new territory.
That play, Show Me the Franklins, a work that focuses on famous abolitionist Benjamin Franklin’s slaves, was originally to use the historical record and the documents of Franklin’s time as its source material. It was from this material that Dr. Kemp hoped to give voice to those on the margins of history, but like the poem that opens the play, inspiration continued to come from places that were not “footnotable.”
Riding her inspiration one morning, Dr. Kemp free-wrote about a woman and was given a character and a story for her play. “I didn’t want to play this character. She took the play away from the historical record. It was an uncomfortable story,” said Dr. Kemp. Yet, Dr. Kemp was challenged to continue to work with this character despite the difficulty of doing so. “The difficult stuff to do is what is good. That’s where the change is – the transformation.”
Transformation through theater works on two levels for Dr. Kemp. On one level, her work fuels her own transformation. “My art leads me in all areas of development. If I am writing about conflict, my art is meant to teach me something. The best work that I have done has always come back to bite me.”
The second level involves the audience, but first it is essential to create a compassionate space in which people can be both informed and inspired. For Dr. Kemp, this is a We space, not an Us vs. Them space. Within this type of space, she hopes that her viewers see the humanity of her characters, have compassion for them and see the world through their eyes. What would it be like for me? Who has been that person for me? are just some of the questions Dr. Kemp hopes her work inspires. “In the space of compassion and questions, you get revelation. People discover things for themselves. I’m not telling them,” said Kemp. This process of discovery is where the transformation lies.
At a Quaker retreat center some years ago Dr. Kemp sought to determine her life’s purpose. She listened, and found it. “I am here to heal the planet. The way I’m doing this is through theater.”
For more information go to www.dramandakemp.com and www.theatrefortransformation.org
You can see Dr. Amanda Kemp and Theatre for Transformation perform their two one-act plays, Show Me the Franklins, and Sister Friend on Thursday, January 26 and Saturday, January 28 at The Millersville University-Lancaster Ware Center in downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Both performances start at 7:30 pm. The January 26 performance is Pay What You Can and donations will be taken at the door. Tickets for the January 28 performance are $15.
Reservations for the January 26 performance and tickets for the January 28 performance can be purchased by calling the ticket office at (717) 872-3811, by dropping by at 42 N. Prince, Lancaster or going to MUTicketsOnline.com. The Wood Stove House is proud to provide logistical and promotional support for these events.
[...] Friend and Show Me the Franklins Ware Center, Lancaster Jan 26 and Jan 28 7:30 pm Read more… Stitcher Smart [...]