Event Description:

"WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ"

a theatrical reading, multimedia performance

& artistic act of dissent & vigil~  

The third anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq will be commemorated by Houston actors, artists and activists joining a world-wide performance of, “WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ” on Monday, March 20, 2006, at the First Unitarian Universalist's Church, 5200 Fannin at 7:00 p.m.  Featuring a multi-ethnic cast of actors portraying multiple roles, the public is invited to attend the free staged production. The multi-media version presents astounding historical quotes from politicians, military officials and citizens with music, and media footage.

Los Angeles director and producer Simon Levy adapted Eliot Weinberger's article by the same title, published in the London Review of Books, (3/14/05). Weinberger's text was the most-visited article ever on the magazine's website, linked on some 100,000 other websites and translated in over 20 languages. On March 20, the Peter Weiss Foundation for Art and Politics (International Literature Festival Berlin) are coordinating performances of WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ in over 40 cities.

You can find Eliot Weinberger's article at http://www.lrb.co.uk/v27/n03/wein01_.html

The Community Involvement Committee of First Unitarian Universalist Church, invites the public to also participate in a candlelight vigil on Fannin Street and building a memorial cairn 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. The cairn will be a rock monument to honor those who have died in the war on Iraq.

Director Tanya Lunstroth, of University of Houston with "The Miranda Project", is used to hearing readers and plays. Lunstroth says, "The Voices Breaking Boundaries" theatre project is pleased to participate in this powerful opportunity for actors to speak out and question the war."  This play is neither fiction nor speculation; it takes us into what was said to lead us into this war and after the war began and confronts us with human drama, the human toll." 

Excerpt readings from "WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ " will be broadcast on Friday March 17 on KPFT 90.1 Houston Pacifica public radio station at 11:00 a.m. Michael Woodson, host of Living Art program says, “Houstonians will have opportunity to pause for reflection on the third anniversary of a war that does not represent us. This performance piece is a means to commemorate the suffering and lives effected by reckless political decision-making.”

The Houston production is sponsored by Pacifica Radio KPFT, Voices Breaking Boundaries, the Miranda Project, the Community Involvement Committee of the First Unitarian Universalist Church, Code Pink, and Houston Peace News.

Contacts for additional information:

Director, Tanya Lunstroth  llunstroth{at}uh.edu

Media: Cathy Courtney, ckorrf{at}earthlink.net  713-864-6724

Script & Visuals, Lee Loe, leeloe{at}igc.org  713-524-2682

Peace vigil prior to the performance: Deborah Rothschild, rothschilddeb{at}yahool.com

Video recording: Sherry Glover, slg53{at}sbcglobal.net

Technical crew: Michael.Woodson{at}sjcd.edu or threetrillion{at}yahoo.com

Reviews: 

A review of WIHAI performance: http://www.neworleansvfp.org 

Los Angeles reviews: http://www.fountaintheatre.com/press.html

Europe cities and review: http://www.literaturfestival.com/news1_3_2_48.html

Join us for the Houston premiere performance of "What I Heard About Iraq." Using quotes from politicians, military chiefs, U.S. soldiers and Iraqi citizens, it unfolds the human story behind the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Los Angeles director and producer Simon Levy adapted Eliot Weinberger's article by the same title, published in the London Review of Books in March 2005. It was the most-visited article ever on the magazine's website.

The Fountain Theatre, along with the Berlin Literature Festival, is coordinating performances of "What I Heard About Iraq" in cities around the world.

In Houston, Michael Woodson, English instructor at San Jacinto Community College and host of KPFT's "LivingArt," is producing the show, and actors from the Miranda Project will be performing a reader's theatre version in multi-media.

Event Sponsor:
Code Pink, First Unitarian Universalist Church, co-sponsored by KPFT, Voices Breaking Boundaries, and the Miranda Project

Event Contact Name:
Cathy Courtney (more noted above)

Event Phone Contact Information:
713-864-6724

Event Email Address:
escramble('ckorrf','earthlink.net');">