First Person Arts

Martha Kemper, who performed a section of her solo piece Me, Miss Krause, and Joan at the May 14th Salon, talks about her experience:

The graphics on the firstperson arts brochure and website have delighted me since the first time I saw them–the swatches of colors and and the cartoon bubbles. I’ve always thought, “This looks so inviting.” Being at the Salon was like the firstperson graphic: delightful. It was a pastiche of different pieces that worked together. I watched Chris Paquette’s photo journal and began to really feel the depth of what Chris had found in those roadside memorials; I had to step back from that experience in order to step into the life experiences I inhabit in my autobiographical play. I had edited the first segment of the piece so I had about fifteen minutes of material to perform. It was a fun challenge to switch gears from Chris’s photos, and bring the audience into a different time, place and mood. I heard laughter where I hoped to and felt, yes, they’re with me. I loved the question and answer session–getting to go into a little background about the work, hearing people’s interest and curiosity. It was a special audience–so many among them were artists themselves–that made it especially rich. My performance was followed by Matt Davis and his–what– eight? nine? piece band Aerial Photograph, playing original pieces inspired by conversations around Philly. That was so evocative of Philadelphia. And then, Tamesha Hawkins (and friends) with spoken word artistry, poetry that was brave, powerful and compelling. The patchwork on the website really does evoke the flavor of diverse pieces and forms that came together on the little proscenium stage at the Gershman Y. I’m so glad I was part of it.

Martha Kemper, performer at the May 14 Salon

Here’s the introductory clip from her performance at the Salon:

You can see the piece in full at the Fringe Festival in September:

Me, Miss Krause, and Joan
– written and performed by Martha Kemper

Deep personal experience is fertile ground for acting. In this piece Martha reveals what goes on in an actor’s homework, in search of answers to the question, “How would I play Joan of Arc?”

The piece weaves history, autobiography and lore structured around pivotal moments when Martha was in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania learning acting from a brilliant teacher, Alvina Krause. In the story there is the brilliance of Krause and theatre, but there is darkness, too., in the re-living of a rape that takes place on Bloomsburg backstreets, spliced into the trial of Joan of Arc. Through humor and drama, the interwoven experiences depict a powerful personal journey, and suggest a theme: there are things so eternal that no violence can kill, things so real they can never die.

Performances at the Fringe Festival in September will be at the Adrienne Theatre’s Second Stage.
Sunday, September 7 at 4:00 p.m. followed by a talkback.
September 11, 12, 13 at 7:00 p.m.

If you would like any further information about dates, times, cost, etc. please email either Martha (mlk11@psu.edu) or Diane Zieg ( dfz4444@hotmail.com ).