Syracuse University, in association with Syracuse Stage and Ping Chong & Company, will present a workshop presentation of “Cry for Peace: Voices from the Congo” on Tuesday, April 5, at the Beckett Theater at Theater Row, 410 West 42nd St., New York City. The new, riveting piece of documentary theater was first presented in Syracuse in the form of three developmental workshops at Syracuse Stage last December.
“Cry for Peace” was written by internationally renowned theater artist Ping Chong and local playwright and Syracuse Stage dramaturg Kyle Bass, with Sara Zatz, associate director of Ping Chong & Company, in collaboration with the Congolese community of Syracuse. Cyprien Mihigo, a member of the Congolese community, served as dramaturg and cultural consultant for the project, which was part of an SU Chancellor’s Initiative.
The piece is based on interviews with members of the Congolese community, some of whom perform in the workshop. Chong, director of the 2008 Syracuse Stage production of “Tales from the Salt City,” returned to Syracuse to direct the workshops.
“Cry for Peace” is part of “Undesirable Elements,” an ongoing series of community-specific oral history theater works by Ping Chong & Company. Created in 1992, each production draws on the life experiences of the participants who tell their stories in their own words, shaped in rehearsal to create a vivid and compelling theatrical narrative.
“Cry for Peace” aims to promote healing, unity and reconciliation among local ethnic groups and individuals in the Congolese community, as well as peace in the Congo. The ultimate goal of the project is to develop a performance that can one day be presented in the Congo.
SU’s Joseph I. Lubin House, home of the University’s New York City operation, assisted with planning the NYC workshop presentation of “Cry for Peace.”
