Copyright 2011 FloozySites
FarmNoir
4 Men - 6 Women
Running Time: ~2 hours (plus intermission)
Photos from workshop production of FarmNoir
CalArts 2009
Running Time: ~2 hours (plus intermission)
Photos from workshop production of FarmNoir
CalArts 2009
Inspiration for FarmNoir
I grew up on a farm near Brookings, SD. I spent long summers creating mythologies on the same land where my father grew up. The farm had a constant feeling of present and past at the same time. The garage, basement and various sheds were full of things old and new.
We'd been preparing my parents to move from the farm into town and came across several old photos. I began collecting these images of early South Dakota settlers...many of them my distant family. From these ideas/images and my own complicated feelings about the farm, my family, my own mortality...FarmNoir was born.
I grew up on a farm near Brookings, SD. I spent long summers creating mythologies on the same land where my father grew up. The farm had a constant feeling of present and past at the same time. The garage, basement and various sheds were full of things old and new.
We'd been preparing my parents to move from the farm into town and came across several old photos. I began collecting these images of early South Dakota settlers...many of them my distant family. From these ideas/images and my own complicated feelings about the farm, my family, my own mortality...FarmNoir was born.
FarmNoir is part cautionary tale, part homage to my hard-working ancestors who built their homes in Eastern South Dakota. It is also a tribute to my immediate family and the love I feel for the home where I was raised. My play clashes two families represented by two writing styles: a classic, rugged family of the 1930s and a sultry, noir family of the 1980s.
Synopsis
Two families (distant relations) named Jorgenson...one living in the 1930s, the other in the 1980s...discover they are living and farming the same 400 acres of land. As the families move closer together and adapt/conflict with the presence of the others, the children are forced to understand the true meaning of sacrifice as best taught by two distinct sets of parents.
Two families (distant relations) named Jorgenson...one living in the 1930s, the other in the 1980s...discover they are living and farming the same 400 acres of land. As the families move closer together and adapt/conflict with the presence of the others, the children are forced to understand the true meaning of sacrifice as best taught by two distinct sets of parents.
"Don't get cocky..."