Salmon is Everything

2006-05-08T22:21:00.000-07:00

Darcie Black and Mary Campbell in "Salmon
is Everything" All photos: HSU Graphic Services

Our First Staged Production

2006-05-07T17:13:00.000-07:00

Our Cast

(in order of appearance)
Kathy McCovey
Marlon Sherman
Mary Campbell
Jason Reed
Bobbie Perez
Robin Andrews
Phil Zastrow
Mary Risling
Ethan Frank
Darcie Beeman-Black
Beth Weissbart
Jason Tower
Josephine Johnson
Lincoln Mitchell
Talia Sophia Moss
Jacob Fronberger
Kendall Allen, Roberta Chavez (voiceovers)

Our Production Staff

Project Director/Script Developer: Theresa May
Stage Co-Directors: Jean O'Hara, Theresa May
Cultural Consultant: Kathy McCovey
Lighting Design: Emily Blanche
Film Montage: Christa Dickman
Film Footage: Klamath Media Collective, Michael Hentz
Scene Design: Lila Nelson
Stage Manager: Katherine Bickford
Assistant to the Stage Manager: Delayne Medoff
Faculty Advisors: Marlon Sherman, Phil Zastrow, Theresa May
Technical Director: Jayson Mohatt
Set Construction/Painting: Lila Nelson, Ian Caliendo, TA 106 Class
Light Board Operator/Master Electrician: Delayne Medoff
Sound Board Operator: Joe Castro
Poster Design: Johanna Hembry
Publicity: William Kowinski
Production Photography: Kellie Brown

Script Development

Those who have worked on the development of the script include: Theresa May, Holly Couling, Heather Hostler, Lauren Taylor, Nikolai Colegrove, Jessica Eden, Ron Griffith, Christina Perez, Aaron Waxman, Kendall Allen, Robin Andrews, Darcie Beeman-Black, Emily Jean O'Hara, Marlon Sherman, Phil Zastrow. Thanks to Margaret Thomas Kelso and Larry Fried for their dramaturgical assistance.

Special Thanks

to: Sue Burcell, Judy Risling, Marlette Grant-Jackson, Suzan Logwood, Debra-Ryerson, Margaret Kelso, Sharon Butcher, Nicole Frank, Tara Moss, Paula Allen, Julian Lang, Lyn Risling, Shaunna McCovey, Brian Colegrove, Jessica Eden, Dale Ann Sherman, Christina Accomando, Gwen Robertson, Larry Fried, Jandy Bergman, Glen Nagy, Denice Helwig, Rollin Richmond, Jayson Mohatt, Russell Zook, Emily McPeck, Will Seltzer, HSU Depts. of Music, Theatre, Film & Dance; NAS and ITEPP, the Klamath Media Collection. And in particular to the members of the Chadwick Klamath Stakeholders Working Groups under Alice Kilham.

Salmon is Everything is a project of the Klamath Watershed Institute, in collaboration with the Department of Theatre, Film & Dance; Native American Studies and Indian Teacher Program. Partially funded by Klamath Watershed Institute, HSU Foundation, the President's Office, HSU Diversity Grants and HSU's Instructionally Related Activities Fee. Thank you!

Advance Press for Opening Tonight!

2006-05-05T10:44:00.000-07:00

In advance of the first performance of Salmon is Everything tonight at 7 pm in the HSU Studio Theatre, articles appeared Thursday in the Eureka Reporter and the Eureka Times Standard.

Salmon is Everything will be performed Saturday, and for the last time on Sunday, both at 7pm in the Studio Theatre.

First Staged Production! May 5-7, 2006

2006-04-27T04:40:00.000-07:00

The Klamath Theatre Project, a group of Native and non-Native participants, presents their community-based staged docudrama about the intimate and profound relationships of people, culture and the Klamath, Salmon is Everything, on May 5, 6, and 7th at 7pm in the Studio Theatre at HSU. It's free, but seating is limited.

2006-04-27T04:09:00.000-07:00

Josephine Johnson and Mack Owen in "Salmon Is Everything"
at HSU

From the Community

2006-04-27T03:51:00.000-07:00

Salmon Is Everything is a play developed from interviews and personal stories and insights of Tribal people who have been directly affected by the 2002 fish kill on the Klamath River, and farmers and ranchers in the upper Klamath basin.

Salmon Is Everything communicates the intimate, profound, and ecologically critical relationship between people, land, river and biotic communities, drawing on theatre's power to open dialogue, grow compassion and build consensus around the complex issues of the Klamath watershed.

The performance is an interdisciplinary, community-university collaboration, and includes Karuk, Hupa, and Yurok actors, as well as students, faculty, staff, and community members.

This production also features multi-media film footage by the Klamath Media Collective. Local filmmaker and HSU Student Film Festival winner Christa Dickman has created a visual landscape for the performance. Jean O’Hara (director of Machinal) is co-director. Sets are by Lila Nelson, and lighting by Emily Blanche.

Performances will be followed by a discussion about the ecological and environmental justice issues of the Klamath Watershed led by Karuk Cultural Resources director, Ron Reed, NAS faculty, Marlon Sherman, Kathy McCovey, and the cast.

2006-04-27T03:07:00.000-07:00

Darcie Black and Mary Campbell

The Project's History

2006-04-27T02:47:00.000-07:00

Initiated by Theresa May, faculty in Theatre, Film and Dance, along with Marlon Sherman of Native American Studies, and Phil Zastrow of the HSU Indian Teacher Education Program, the Klamath Theatre Project is a group of concerned students, community members who are working together to use the power of theatre to promote awareness and action for the health of the salmon of the Klamath watershed.

The headlines of the 2002 salmon die-off, along with the surrounding narratives and emotions of various stakeholdersin the Klamath Watershed are the stuff of local and national news. Both science and politics have been polarizing for those who live in the watershed, and have seemed to deepen the divide rather than render understanding, much less generate the political will for change.

The need for new pathways is clear. This Project taps theatre's power to touch the human heart by developing a performance drawn from the personal stories and insights of Tribal people who have been directly affected by the salmon crisis.

The goal of the Project is to develop a performance piece, written and performed by members of the Tribal communities, which will effectively move the hearts and minds of those who may not perceive the magnitude of the current crisis. Performed for all interested audiences, the culminating theatrical work will communicate the intimate, profound, and ecologically critical relationship between Tribal people and the Klamath River.

Growing out of the conviction that the people who know the Salmon and the River are best suited to tell their own story, the Project used a collaborative process throughout, maintaining respect for the communities involved, and seeking out the counsel of community members and culturalresources when appropriate.

Students enrolled in a special class called Klamath Theatre Project (THEA 393) or in Independent Study with Professor May. The group organized a first "Community Meeting" about the project at which time students could listen to Tribal community concerns and ideas about the project.

Approximately 20 people attended this meeting andseveral of those community persons have continued to be regularly involved in the project. The students then met regularly with Professor May throughout the semester to study the natural and cultural history of the Klamath; understand the spiritual and cultural significance of the Salmon together with the ways contemporary Tribal people participate in salmon ecology; and gathered first-person stories from people who live on and depend on the Klamath River.

The process of inquiry and the interview questions were designed to give rise to "stories of the heart" rather than political positions. Students conducted interviews in the community, both Tribal and non-Tribal, visited the mouth of the Klamath and sacred sites. In addition, students were given creative writing assignments that expressed their own connection with place, community and traditions.

In May 2004, Professor May shaped the interview material and creative writing into a 50 page work-in-progress script, given the working title of Salmon Is Everything. With added input from students, faculty and community, this script has grown into the present performance.

2006-04-27T02:15:00.000-07:00

Back: Josephine Johnson, Jason Tower, Mack Owen, Darcie
Black, Beth Weissbart. Front: Mary Risling, Ethan Frank,
Robin Andrews, Mary Campbell.

Public Readings of Work-in-Progress

2006-04-27T01:38:00.000-07:00

Like the Community Meeting that launched the project, the public readings of the work-in-progress have been a critical part of the project by engaging the community in the process of play development so that the final productrepresents their interests, concerns and aesthetic. In addition, the readings demonstrate to the students and the community that the work they are doing matters. The discussions following the readings have helped shapethe final script.

On September 26, 2004, a revised Salmon Is Everything was read at Dell'Arte Theatre as part of Earth Matters On Stage: Ecodrama Playwrights Festival. Once again, the discussion following the reading lasted a long as the reading itself. This time the discussion focused primarily on visual and theatrical ideas that the community had and could imagine seeing onstage.

Another public reading of a further developed script was presented on November 8, 2004, as part of HSU's Week of Dialogue on Race. Other readings have taken place during HSU's Education Summit and during the recent California Indian Conference. After each reading, members of the community have helped draw out new aspects of this story.

2006-04-27T01:11:00.000-07:00

Darcie Black and Beth Weissbart

First Production

2006-04-27T00:35:00.000-07:00

On May 5, 6, 7, 2006, at 7 pm, Salmon Is Everything will have its first staged production. Students, faculty, staff and community members are acting in the play. In addition the Klamath Media Collective has provided film footage that have been used to help make this a multi-media performance. Local film-maker Christa Dickman (HSU Student Film Festival category winner) has composed a visual landscape for the performance.

Lila Nelson (singer-songwriter) has designed the set; Jean O'Hara (director of Machinal) is co-director; and Emily Blanche has designed lights.

Salmon Is Everything is a project of Humboldt State University Klamath Watershed Institute, the department of Theatre Film and Dance, ITEPP and NAS. Sponsored in part by funds from Associated Students, HSU Foundation, HSU Diversity Grant; Associated Students; and the Klamath WatershedInstitute.

2006-04-26T22:19:00.000-07:00

Mack Owen and Josephine Johnson

2006-04-26T22:16:00.000-07:00

Darcie Black and Mary Campbell