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THIS IS READING
LIVE PERFORMANCE AND VISUAL MEDIA EXPLORING THE DECLINE AND REBIRTH OF READING, PA.
THE INSTALLATION OCCUPIED THE HISTORIC FRANKLIN STREET RAILROAD STATION IN DOWNTOWN READING IN
THE SUMMER OF 2017, RE-ANIMATING THE LONG VACANT BUILDING. USING AS ITS FOUNDATION, THE HARDSHIPS,
CHALLENGES, AND TRIUMPHS OF PEOPLE LIVING IN AND AROUND READING, PA., THIS IS READING
WEAVED THEIR INDIVIDUAL STORIES INTO ONE COHESIVE AND COMPELLING TALE OF THE CITY.
This Is Reading was co-created by an award-winning team of artists, including Writer/ Producer Lynn Nottage,
filmmaker Tony Gerber, director Kate Whoriskey, Choreographer Rennie Harris, Composer Kashaka,
Projection Designer Jeff Sugg, Set Designer Deb O, Lighting Designer Amith Chandrashaker, Sound Designer Nick Kourtides
and Producers Jane M. Saks, Blake Ashman-Kipervaser, Allison Bressi, Santo D. Marabella and the Labyrinth Theater Company.
The installation developed in collaboration with Reading Film, of Pennsylvania's Americana Region, and local artists,
approached the historic Franklin Street Railroad Station as a collaborator, placing its unique history and architecture
in dialogue with stories collected in Reading, PA.
IN ASSOCIATION WITH MARKET ROAD FILMS, THE LABYRINTH THEATER COMPANY AND PROJECT&
THE WATERING HOLE, an installation
Curated by LYNN NOTTAGE and MIRANDA HAYMON
Directed by MIRANDA HAYMON
The immersive theatrical multimedia project moves audiences through the Signature Theater via a series of 10 installations inspired, in part, from water itself as they flow from all directions into a larger whole. The pieces explore how the Off-Broadway institution can serve artists and communities after the pandemic’s shuttering of theatres and a year of uprisings for racial justice.
Joining Nottage and Haymon to re-activate the Center’s many spaces—its elevator, stairs, stages, lobby, backstage, green rooms, and more—are playwright Christina Anderson; playwright Matt Barbot; costume designer Montana Levi Blanco; theatre director and projections designer Stefania Bulbarella; lighting designer Amith Chandrashaker; performer, choreographer, director, playwright, and educator nicHi douglas; creative producer and dramaturg Iyvon E.; composer, sound design artist, and musician Justin Ellington; scenic and production designer Emmie Finckel; actor, playwright, sculptor, painter, performer, poet, and activist Vanessa German; autobiographical performer Ryan J. Haddad; playwright Phillip Howze; scenic designer Riccardo Hernández; playwright Haruna Lee; Campbell Silverstein, who serves as associate director on the project; playwright Charly Evon Simpson; and
Navajo playwright, filmmaker, director, performer, and producer Rhiana Yazzie. Also participating in the project are
Michael Braun, Francis Jue, Denise Manning, Kenita Miller, Lisa Ramirez, Samy Younes, and Lisa Zayas.
![Picture](/uploads/1/2/4/1/12416138/published/2021-6-25-the-watering-hole-photo-by-lia-chang-496.jpg?1716122768)
The goal was to create a collaborative piece of theatre that invites theatre artists of color to bring the entirety of our imaginations into conversation with each other and see the ways in which we can tell our stories outside the frameworks that are generally imposed upon us. The inspiration and organizing principle of The Watering Hole came about when we, as a collective, began talking about what Signature means to us, and in particular that lobby—how important that communal space has been to us over the years. What does it mean to have lost that nexus point that gives us the opportunity to gather and see disparate people coming together.