Carpetbag Theatre to Present Eleven Reflections on September

KNOXVILLE -- The Carpetbag Theatre will present Eleven Reflections on September, an original piece written by Andrea Assaf. This poetry-based, multi-media performance deals with Arab-American identity, Wars on/of Terror, and "the constant, quiet rain of death amidst beauty" that each autumn brings in a post 9/11 world.

Themes include reflections on September 11th, hybrid identity, Wars on/of Terror (including Iraq, Afghanistan, the 2006 bombing of Lebanon, Palestine, and Somalia) airports, loss and the revolutions and uprisings currently sweeping across the Arab world.

Aesthetically, the poems explore the disintegration of language in the face of violence, prejudice, and unspeakable horror; as such, they progress from lyrical to abstract and broken. The witnessing of falling autumn becomes a metaphor for the ever-increasing numbers of human lives lost, on all sides.

"The piece is very much about the difficulty of speaking—the difficulty of finding the words, the gradual deconstruction of language—which can represent censorship."
-Andrea Assaf

While in residency with The Carpetbag Theatre, Inc., Assaf will be performing the one-woman show three times; Thursday, October 6th at 8pm, Saturday, October 8th at 8pm, and Sunday, October 9th at 3pm. Each performance will be followed by a talkback between the audience and the performer discussing the themes and presentation of the piece.

The performances will take place in The Carpetbag Theatre, Inc.'s Black Box Theatre at the Emporium Center (100 S. Gay St., Knoxville, TN; Suite 114). General admission: $12, Students and children 12 and under: $5 Please call (865) 544-0447 for more information or visit www.carpetbagtheatre.org.

For more information on Andrea Assaf, Art2Action, and Eleven Reflections on September, visit www.unitedstatesartists.org.

Published October 4, 2011