Art on Purpose: Current and Past Projects

In conjunction with the concurrent exhibition Speaking of Silence III, three plays that explore silence and the role it plays in shaping who we are and how we relate to the world.

Sponsored by Suzanne F. Cohen, with additional support from the William  G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund.

Location

Creative Alliance at The Patterson
3134 Eastern Ave.
Baltimore, MD 21224

Art

Decoding Silence
What are the things we do not talk about? Based on interviews from Art on Purpose’s Speaking of Silence project, Decoding Silence is a new play written by Run of the Mill Theater’s Barbara Bryan and Christopher Graybill. Silence in its many aspects: cosmic silence, spiritual silence, the silence of the streets, of secrets, of peer pressure. The results explode with dramatic action, images and sounds. Directed by Vasanth Santosham.

The Stronger and Rockabye
Two classic plays focusing on women and silence by Art on Purpose’s Resident Performing Artist Gina Braden. In The Stronger by August Strindberg, two women meet in a gallery cafe on Christmas Eve. One never speaks. Suspicions arise. Who is the stronger?  In the spellbinding Rockabye, Braden will portray Samuel Beckett’s famous woman in a rocking chair communing, in darkness, with the past while keeping the silence at bay. Directed by Tony Tsendeas.

Purpose

An opportunity to bring to light the power silence has in our lives, for better and worse.

Map/directions to this location

Gina Braden in scene from "Rockabye". Photo courtesy of Terry Lansburgh.