Open to Public
An Enemy of the People: A Theater Project from America’s Hometown
Adapted, directed, and facilitated by Bryan Doerries
Free Event
Sun, Apr 07.2024
An Enemy of the People: A Theater Project from America’s Hometown will present acclaimed actors, elected officials, scientists, journalists, and local community members performing dramatic readings of scenes from Henrik Ibsen’s 1882 play An Enemy of the People to help frame powerful, guided audience discussions aimed at generating connection, understanding, compassion, and positive action. The play tells the story of a doctor who discovers the water supply in his small, rural town has been poisoned by a tannery. Despite his efforts to convey the truth to the public, the doctor fails to save his community from environmental disaster and is ultimately scapegoated for his whistleblowing. An Enemy of the People was first performed in Norway in 1882, and yet it speaks to the present moment as if it were written for our time.
These free, live events are presented by Theater of War Productions, the Public Library of Mount Vernon and Knox County and the Kenyon College Office for Community Partnerships, with support from Ohio Arts Council*, ArtStart Grant, LSTA Competitive Grant Program, National Endowment for the Arts Challenge America Grant, Kenyon Bicentennial Fund, and the Kenyon College Office for Community Partnerships.
Adapted, directed, and facilitated by Bryan Doerries.
Featuring performances by David Strathairn (Nomadland, Lincoln, The Bourne Ultimatum), Elizabeth Marvel(Homeland, Burn After Reading, Love & Death), Bill Camp (The Queen's Gambit, The Night Of, Joker), Matthew T. Starr (Mayor, City of Mount Vernon, Ohio), Julie Kornfeld (President, Kenyon College), John K. Chidester (Library Director at Public Library of Mount Vernon and Knox County), Jon Tazewell (Thomas S. Turgeon Professor of Drama and Film, Kenyon College), Peter Marks (former Chief Theater Critic of The Washington Post), Marjolaine Goldsmith(Company Manager, Theater of War Productions), Osose Omofomah (Student, Kenyon College) and Wendy MacLeod(James Michael Playwright-in-Residence/Professor of Drama, Kenyon College).
These events will take place on Zoom Webinar, broadcast from Knox Memorial Theater in Mount Vernon, Ohio (April 6) and Oden Hall in Gambier, Ohio (April 7). These events will be captioned in English on Zoom. If you choose to join us online, this event can be accessed on personal devices. The event Zoom link will be distributed via email and available to registered attendees starting two days prior to the event.
To register to attend in-person please visit: https://www.mvac.org/theater-of-war or call 740-462-4ART for reserved seats.
All of Theater of War Productions' events follow the same format:
- The performers will read the text.
- Community panelists will kick off the discussion with their gut responses to what resonated with them across time.
- We will open the discussion to the audience, facilitated by Bryan Doerries. To participate in the discussion online, please raise your hand using the button at the bottom center of the screen. If called upon, please accept the invitation to be promoted to speak and you will be visible and heard by the entire audience for the duration of your comments. If you would prefer not to be seen, please disable your video.
About the play
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An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen
First performed in Norway in 1882, An Enemy of The People tells the story of a doctor who discovers the water supply in his small, rural town has been poisoned by a tannery. Despite his efforts to convey the truth to the public, the doctor fails to save his community from environmental disaster and is ultimately scapegoated for his whistleblowing.
Cast Members
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David Strathairn
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Elizabeth Marvel
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Bill Camp
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Marjolaine Goldsmith
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Matthew T. Starr
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Jon Tazewell
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Wendy MacLeod
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Osose Omofomah
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John Chidester
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Julie Kornfeld
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Peter Marks
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This free, public event featured a live, dramatic reading of the “Patient Griselda” story from Boccaccio's Decameron by Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network, Fleishman is in Trouble), Maev Beaty (Beau is Afraid, Mouthpiece), and Araya Mengesha (Tiny Pretty Things, Nobody). Then, in response, Margaret Atwood performed “Impatient Grisleda,” a story that is narrated to a group of humans in quarantine by an alien that looks like an octopus. The readings of both texts was followed by immediate responses by community panelists and culminated in a guided audience discussion, facilitated by Bryan Doerries (Artistic Director, Theater of War Productions).
Co-presented by Theater of War Productions and Toronto International Festival of Authors.
This hybrid presentation took place in person at the Toronto Harbourfront Centre Theatre and on Zoom Webinar on September 30, 2023.