Car Rides Around the Block & Buses Going Nowhere
Writer’s Note
“Car Rides Around the Block & Buses Going Nowhere” is a collection of of poems that chronicle snapshots of the lives of its characters and capture a collective experience in, and shortly before, quarantine.
Designer’s Note
Reading these poems for the first time was an incredibly emotional moment. The way that the words flow within the poems and the way the poems thread together are beautiful. The entire team and I have worked so hard to bring those threads together. Personally, my goal with this piece was to bring distinct characters and lives to these poems, to put a story to Ava’s words. Themes of isolation, loneliness, and renewal all contributed to a series of pieces that are both separate and unified. Each element of design– the visuals, the costumes, the lighting– put together a story that needs to be told. The collaboration between the team was so exciting to be a part of, and the exchange of ideas created a piece that brings a new kind of life to poetry.
Stage Manager’s Note
This project attempted to take eight beautiful poems, written while in quarantine, and give them solid form. Actors Jane MacLaughlin and Phoebe Turner offer voices and personas to the poems, each with its own unique qualities. Director Ayibatari Owei, designer Reina Makimura, stage manager Kadin Kristjansson, and writer Ava Silverman collaborated with the actors at each rehearsal to organically develop the setting and character of each poem. Through the combined efforts of the whole team, each poem comes alive in its portion of the video. Taken all together, they tell a story of loneliness, frustration, remembrance and growth to overcome the myriad challenges of modern day.