Worldwide Reading of WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ

The Fountain Theatre, in association with the internationales literaturfestival berlin (http://www.literaturfestival.com/news1_3_2_496.html) and the Peter Weiss Foundation for Art and Politics, is coordinating a worldwide reading of WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ (A Cry for 5 Voices) -- set for Monday, March 20, 2006 -- to mark the 3rd anniversary of the invasion of Iraq.

Many voices around the globe, using Simon Levy's stage adaptation of Eliot Weinberger's acclaimed essay, “What I Heard About Iraq,” or the essay itself, will be crying out against the war on the weekend of March 17-20th. The Fountain Theatre's acclaimed production will be performed with the original cast, on Monday, March 20, at 8pm, at the Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles, California.

Amsterdam, Netherlands: Theaterworks Amsterdam and members of Democrats Abroad will read the article WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ at 8:00 PM, Bar Bodega Biblos (Lijnbaansgracht 243, Amsterdam). Free entry, public welcome. Seating is limited so please RSVP to colleen@democratsabroad.nl. For more information write to: donna@theatreworksamsterdam.nl

Athens, Greece: AGRA Publications will have a reading from Eliot Weinberger's article WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ 2004 & 2005, translated into Greek, at Theater of Neos Kosmos at 8pm, Antisthenous 2, Sarikou, Athens. It is free to the public and will be read by Larissa Vergou and Kostas Siradakis. For more information, contact info@agra.gr or svergos@screenlandia.com

Basel, Switzerland: Literaturburo Basel will have a reading of the article WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ at 8pm, Klosterberg 6, 4051 Basel. Susanne Abelein, Susanne-Marie Wrage, Markus Merz und Edmund Telgenkämper will read. Tickets are 10 €. For more information, please write mjenny@tiscalinet.ch

Beirut, Lebanon: The literary cafe, Jadal Bizanti, will host a selection of readings from the article WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ, translated into Arabic, on Friday, March 17th. The text was translated by Iman Humaydan Younes and will be published on March 20th by Assafir daily with an introduction by poet, Abbass Beydoun.

Belfast, Ireland: Mark Chapman and Justice Not Terror Coalition will be doing a short reading of WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ (A Cry for 5 Voices) at the US Consulate, Belfast, Northern Ireland at 10.30am. Mark can be contacted at markchapman@ntlworld.com

Berlin, Germany: Sophiensaele will present a reading of the article WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ at 7pm, Festsaal Sophienstraus 18, 10178 Berlin. Frank Arnold, Margarita Broich, Burghart Klaußner will read. Tickets are 5€. For more information, please go to www.literaturfestival.com or email
whatiheardaboutiraq@literaturfestival.com

Brussels, Belgium: Kaaitheater will have a reading of the article WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ. For more information, please go to www.literaturfestival.com or email

Calcutta, India: Tritiyo Sutra Performance Center will have a multimedia reading of the play WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ (A Cry for 5 Voices) translated into Bengali. It will be held at Gorky Sadan, 3 Gorky Terrace, 7000017 Calcutta at 6pm. Directed by Suman Mukhopadhyay and performed by Supriyo Dutt, Dwijen Bandhopadhyay, Kaushik Sen Seema Mukherjee, Bimal Chakroborty, Debshankar Haldar. Admission is free. For more information, please go to www.tspc.in

Durban, South Africa: Center for creative arts university of Kwazulu-natal will be having a reading of the article WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ on the Opening Night for “Time of the Writer Festival" at 8:30pm, Elizabeth Sneddon, Durban 4041. Eliot Weinberger will be in attendance! Tickets are R10-R20. For more information, please go to www.literaturfestival.com or email Royeoppen@ukzn.ac.za

Frankfurt a.M., Germany: schauspielfrankfurt will hold a reading of the article WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ at 8pm, Glashaus/Foyer des Großen Hauses, Willy-Brandt-Platz, 60311 Frankfurt a.M. Roland Bayer, Oliver Kraushaar, Abak Safaei-Rad will read. Tickets are 8 €. For more information, please go to www.literaturfestival.com or email Marcel.luxinger@buehnen.frankfurt.de

Frankfurt a.O., Germany: Writers from Frankfurt and Berlin will present a free reading of the article WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ at 7:30pm, Gemeindehaus St. Georg Karl-Ritter-Platz 4, 15230 Frankfurt Oder. Ingrid
Kopielski, Kerstin Welke, Maik Altenburg, Frank Hammer, Gerhard Hoffmann, Henry-Martin Klemt, Frank Viehweg, Reinhard Schülzke will be reading. For more information, please go to www.literaturfestival.com or email klemt@hmklemt.com

Liverpool, England: News From Nowhere Bookshop with be sponsoring a reading of the article WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ from 1:30–3:30pm at the Liverpool Methodist Church, 2nd Floor, 96 Bold Street (above bookshop). For more information, please email johndavies.liverpool@blueyonder.co.uk

London, England: Terry Jones, Vanessa Redgrave, David Calder, Jenny Diski, Andy De La Tour & Tariq Ali will read the article WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ at the London Review Bookshop at 6:00pm, 14 Bury Place, London WC1. Space is limited. Please ring bookshop for tickets: 020 7269 9030.

London, England: UK, Voices in the Wilderness Mobile Street Theatre group doing readings of the play WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ (A Cry for 5 Voices) in Central London ( www.voicesuk.org or 0207 837 0561).

Luxembourg: The Theatre du Centaure will have a free staged reading of the play WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ (A Cry for 5 Voices) in French and English. At 6:30, the play will be read in French by Simone Beck, Sonja Newman, Jerome Varafrain, Jules Werner, and Jean-Francois Wolffea. At 8:30, the play will be read in English by Ann Confort, Claire Thill, Tom Leick, Julian Nest and Daniel Plier. For more information, please go to
www.theatrecentaure.lu/what.html

Magdeburg, Germany: theatremagdeburg will have a free reading of the article WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ at 7:30pm, Studio im Schauspielhaus, Otto-von-Guericke-Str. 64, 39104 Magdeburg. A film will also be presented. For more information, please go to www.literaturfestival.com or email helge.huebner@theater-magdeburg.de

Melbourne, Australia: Melbourne's La Mama Theatre and Reading for Peace in association with PEN Melbourne and Aphids will have a reading of the article WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ at 7:30pm. It will take place at the Carlton Courthouse, 349 Drummond Street, Carlton VIC 3053, Melbourne. Admission is free, donations welcome. For more information, please go to www.lamama.com.au

Nicosia, Cyprus: Theatro ENA, Alpha Square and Rooftop Theatre Group will be having a reading of the play WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ (A Cry for 5 Voices) at Theatro ENA (main theatre) at 8:30pm. It is free of charge and will be read in English. Please contact the Theatro ENA's box office at 00357 2234 8203 or write to info@rooftoptheatre.org or alpha@alphasquare.org

Prague, Czech Republic: divadlo Komedie will be having an installation of text fragments in Czech translation of the article WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ from March 20-25. It is located at Jundmanova 1, Praha 1. For more information, please go to www.literaturfestival.com or email David.jarab@volny.cz

Rome, Italy: Isolapedonale is sponsoring a free multi-media reading of the article WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ on March 19 at 7:30pm at the Café Lo Yeti, open air Via del Pigneto. For more information, please go to www.isolapedonale.net

Sydney, Australia: Sydney Moving Image Coalition, an artist run space, plans to read the article WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ as a vigil with moving images at Official Sydney, 302 Cleveland Street, Surrey Hills at 7pm. All who attend will be invited to contribute to the reading aloud. Please visit www.squatspace.com/smic for more information.

Zürich, Switzerland: Theater am Neumarkt will be having a free reading of the article WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ at 6pm, Neumarkt 5, 8001 Zurich. Silke Geertz, Christoph Rath, René Schnoz, Leopold von Verschuer u.a. will read. For more information, please email dietmar.seiler@theateramneumarkt.ch

Albany, New York: Theatre 88 will perform the play WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ (A Cry for 5 Voices) at Siena College, Foy Theatre, 8pm, March 20th. 518-783-4242 or jbbenitz@aol.com

Arcata, California: Veterans for Peace Humboldt Bay Chapter 56 and the Humboldt Branch of Women's International League for Peace and Freedom in Arcata, California are sponsoring a free reading of the play WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ (A Cry for 5 Voices) by five MFA Students from Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theatre at the D Street Neighborhood Center at 14th and D streets in Arcata, California on Sunday, March 19 at 4:30pm PST. Contact Becky Luening at 707.826.9197 for more information.

Atlanta, Georgia: The 7 Stages Theatre at 1105 Euclid Ave. Atlanta, Georgia will be having a reading of the play WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ (A Cry for 5 Voices). For more information, go to www.7stages.org or call 404-523-7647.

Buffalo, New York: The politically active Subversive Theatre in Buffalo, New York will be presenting a reading of the play WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ (A Cry for 5 Voices). Admission is free. Please go to www.subversivetheatre.org for more information.

Houston, Texas: Code Pink in association with Voices Breaking Boundaries will present a multimedia reading of the play WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ (A Cry for 5 Voices) at the First Unitarian Universalist Church, 52 Fannin (at Southmore), Houston 77004 beginning at 7pm CST. Michael Woodson, English instructor at San Jacinto Community College and a host of KPFT's “LivingArt” is directing a diverse local cast. Free to the public. For more information, please contact Michael.Woodson@sjcd.edu

Indianapolis, Indiana: The Phoenix Theatre at 749 N. Park Avenue, Indianapolis, Indiana will present a free multimedia reading of the play WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ (A Cry for 5 Voices). A freewill offering to benefit the NNPN will be collected. Directed by Bryan Fonseca and read by Rose Kleiman, Sharon McDonald, Bill Simmons, Adam Crowe and Ian Cruz. For more information, please go to www.phoenixtheatre.org or call 317.635.PLAY(7529).

Los Angeles, California: The Fountain Theatre presents a multimedia performance of the play WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ (A Cry for 5 Voices) at 8pm at 5060 Fountain Ave, Los Angeles, California. Directed by Simon Levy and performed by Marc Casabani, Yaphet Enge, Darcy Halsey, Tony Pasqualini, Bernadette Speakes, Ryun Yu. Tickets are $35.00. Proceeds to help sponsor a production at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August. For more information, please go to www.fountaintheatre.com or call 323.663.1525.

Maui, Hawaii: Maui Booksellers will present a multimedia reading of the play WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ (A Cry for 5 Voices) on March 19th at 7:00pm. Admission is free. Please visit www.mauibooksellers.com

New York City, New York: THAW—Theatres Against War, a NYC-based international collective of theaters and theater artists will be reading an extended portion of the play WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ (A Cry for 5 Voices) on Sunday, March 19th at PS 122. The program will also feature excerpts from the last three years of resistance in the arts. Notable artists/activists Kathleen Chalfant, Kia Corthron, Karen Malpede and others will be on hand. For more information please go to www.thawaction.org/

New York, New York: Workshop Theater Company will be reading the play WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ (A Cry for 5 Voices) at 8pm, 312 West 36th Street, Fourth Floor East. A special encore reading will take place at 11:30pm, in conjunction with the "Bring Em Home Now" Concert for Peace at the Hammerstein Ballroom. Admission is free. Seating is limited, admission is on a first come first served basis. Donations will be accepted and earmarked for "Doctors Without Borders" organization. Refreshments will be served at the midnight reading. Please contact Shannon Mayers, Director, for more info@s_mayers@hotmail.com

or whatiheard@hotmail.com

Northridge, California: The Theatre Guild on the California State University, Northridge campus will be presenting a free staged reading of the play WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ (A Cry for 5 Voices) at 7pm in the Music Recital Hall, room 158 in the Music Building. Peter Grego directs.

Oberlin, Ohio: At Oberlin College, 200 students, faculty, staff and community members will read the article WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ at the West Lecture Hall in the Science Center on campus. Please go to www.oberlin.edu (look under Event Calendar).

Portland, Maine: The Portland Stage Company will have a free reading of the play WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ (A Cry for 5 Voices) at 7pm EST at 25A Forest Avenue, Portland, Maine. Go to www.portlandstage.com or call 207.774.1043.

Purchase, New York: Manhattanville College will have a free reading of the play WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ (A Cry for 5 Voices) at 7pm in the West Room, Reid Castle. Please visit www.mville.edu

Saint Leo, Florida: A free multi-media reading of the play WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ (A Cry For 5 Voices) will be performed at 5pm in the Selby Auditorium on the Saint Leo University campus. Produced by Cassie
Millhouse and Charles Grimes of Saint Leo Theatre; featuring Carol Moon, Jacqueline Kinsey, Misty Floyd, David Velazquez, Lori Perrault and Paul Peterson. Please call 352 588-8401 or email charles.grimes@saintleo.edu
for more information. No need to reserve tickets. See directions at www.saintleo.edu

San Francisco, California: Bird & Beckett Books & Records in the Glen Park District at 2788 Diamond St, San Francisco, CA 94131 will be hosting a free reading of the article WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ at 7:30pm PST. Please contact Eric Whittington at 415.586.3733. For more information, please contact http://www.bird-beckett.com

Santa Barbara, California: Dramatic Women produces and Peter Lackner directs a reading of the play WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ (A Cry for 5 Voices) at 8pm PST at the Center Stage Theatre Paseo Nuevo Center, (Intersection of Chappala and De la Guerra Street}, Santa Barbara, California. Free to public, donations welcome. The performance will benefit the Iraq Veterans Against the War. Go to www.dramaticwomen.org for more information.

Santa Maria, California: A reading of the play WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ (A Cry for 5 Voices) by five students from the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts in Santa Maria, CA will be presented at the Severson Theatre at the Allan Hancock College. The performance will benefit No More Victims. For more information please contact Trystan Reece at 503.515.8730.

Seattle, Washington: Poets West sponsors a free reading of the article WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ hosted by Trinity United Methodist Church (in Ballard) at 6512 23rd Ave NW at 7:00pm. Special appearance by activist and humanitarian Bert Sachs . The public is invited to attend. Those who wish to participate in the actual reading should contact J. Glenn Evans at 206.682.1268 or info@poetswest.com For more information see the news link at www.poetswest.com

Tucson, Arizona: Lyric Arts will present a reading of the play WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ (A Cry for 5 Voices) at 7:30pm, the Temple of Music (the cabaret space), home of Arizona Theater Company. Proceeds to benefit a Coalition for Homeless Veterans and Veterans Against the War. For more information, please contact Ken Tesoriere at lyric61arts@yahoo.com

Venice, CA: Our Voice In The Wall will have a reading of the play WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ (A Cry for 5 Voices) at 7:30pm at Venice Peace With Justice at the Arts Center, 2210 Venice Blvd. William H. Bassett, John E. Farrell, Lee Boek, David O'Shea, Heidi Swedberg, Christina Linhardt will read. For more information, please contact Eric Vollmer at voiceinthewall@hotmail.com

Washington, DC: Extreme Exchange produces and John Vreeke directs a free reading of the play WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ (A Cry for 5 Voices) at the H Street Playhouse, home of Theatre Alliance, 1365 H Street NE, Washington, DC at 7:30pm EST. Jen Mendenhall, Tim Getman and Anu Yadav perform.

Radio Broadcasts

Everett, Washington: PoetsWest will present a reading of the article WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ on KSER 90.7 at 4:30pm PST on Friday, March 17 and Friday, March 24. The performers include Nancy Dahlberg, J. Glenn Evans, Murray Gordon, Karen Havnaer, Thomas Hubbard, Michael Magee, Jean Musser and Pieter Zilinsky.

Houston, Texas: A 15 minute excerpt of the play WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ (A Cry for 5 Voices) will be performed live at 11am during Pacifica's LivingArt program on Friday, March 17.

WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ utilizes actual direct quotes from politicians, military chiefs, U.S. soldiers and Iraqi citizens to explore the unfolding human story behind the U.S. invasion of Iraq. By revealing what was said and what is being said about our involvement in the war, both the truth and the lies are unmasked.

Says director/adaptor Simon Levy: “The play is neither fiction nor speculation; it takes us into the war and confronts us with the human drama, the human toll. This is not about history or about something going on ‘over there.' This is about what's going on here, in America, now, and its affect on the rest of the world.”

Featuring a multi-ethnic cast of five actors portraying multiple roles, the fully-staged production at The Fountain Theatre also interweaves multimedia sounds and images from real news footage. Levy has written three additional renditions of the piece – including a version for Voices only – which the Fountain Theatre has made available to theatres, schools, advocacy groups and human rights organizations worldwide.

For additional information on the worldwide readings, or if your organization would like to participate, please contact Simon Levy at the Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles, ftheatre@aol.com.

THE FOUNTAIN THEATRE COORDINATES

Radio Broadcasts