Ain Gordon, Vermont Performance Lab Artist, Researches Local History for "Not What Happened"

http://www.vermontperformancelab.com

Obie award-winning theater artist Ain Gordon is diving into the hidden history of southern Vermont's forgotten cellar holes and stone walls as he researches and develops his newest work, Not What Happened.

Gordon, a Brooklyn-based writer/director/performer, is in the thick of a year-long residency with Vermont Performance Lab, a nonprofit in Guilford, Vermont, that absorbs accomplished artists into rural Vermont communities as they create new works in contemporary performance. Gordon is using the overlooked histories of hamlets like Guilford, Marlboro and Newfane as inspiration as he writes the screenplay for Not What Happened, a fictional two-character event that is rooted in the politics of historical reenactment.

Gordon's residency occurs as both Marlboro and Guilford are celebrating their 250th anniversaries.

Gordon's research is aided by Marlboro's Town Lister, Forrest Holzapfel, a native-Vermonter with an intimate knowledge of local history. Also an accomplished photographer, Holzapfel will contribute images that will be incorporated in the scenography for Gordon's theatrical production.

A collaboration with Marlboro College has Gordon working closely with professors of American History, anthropology and theater to teach a class called, "Presence of the Past." This seminar course uses local semiquincentennial celebrations to frame and explore the topic of commemoration in relation to local history. They will draw on materials and methods from anthropology, history and performance studies to ask such questions as: How do people and places inscribe and perform their own history? Which stories are remembered as institutionalized public events, and which are forgotten, relegated to the private spaces of attic trunks? While Gordon conducts his own research, students will create their own immersive historical experiences, commemorating some aspect of local history.

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Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• ain gordon
• Vermont Performance Lab
• not what happened
• vermont
• vt
• marlboro college
• history
• art
• theater
• forrest holzapfel