Join us Saturday, November 19 from 11am-1pm ET for a free online experience led by C1 Director of New Work Ilana M Brownstein with special guest artist Valyn Lyric Turner.
This season, our Open Circuit programs — Field Work and Open Write — are focusing on Kickstarting Creativity. It's been a long few years, and for so many people it remains challenging to carve out time for imagination, creativity, and play. Join us for free, monthly, online sessions that offer space for reset and reconnection.
Our first Field Work of the season is set to open the creative channels with hands-on activities using found art and poetry. No experience necessary, all are welcome. Bring your curiosity and a spirit of play for this 2-hour workshop.
RSVP required; this is a Pay-What-You-Want experience with $0 minimum. All proceeds support C1's mission to build community at the intersection of art and social change.
>> About the Guests
Ilana M Brownstein (she/her) is the Director of New Work at C1, and a parent-artist specializing in new plays, social justice, and public advocacy. She is the Founding Dramaturg at Playwrights’ Commons. Previously, she created the Playwriting Fellows program and Breaking Ground Festival at The Huntington; led the dramatic literature and dramaturgy curriculum at Boston University for 10 years; and has served as a freelance dramaturg for new play festivals, including The O’Neill, New Harmony, and the Kennedy Center among others. Dramaturgy with C1 includes works by Kirsten Greenidge, Jackie Sibblies Drury, Young Jean Lee, Aditi Kapil, Natsu Onoda Power, Lauren Yee, Mia Chung, Tarell Alvin McCraney, Josh Wilder, Kristoffer Diaz, A. Rey Pamatmat, Qui Nguyen, and Idris Goodwin. She is the senior dramaturg for the C1 PlayLab program, which has provided script and professional development to 60+ playwrights over 11 seasons. She is a member of the 2019 NAS Creative Community Fellows Cohort, artEquity’s 2017 anti-racism facilitator cohort, and holds an MFA in Dramaturgy from Yale. Ilana has been a Kilroys nominator, served on the National Advisory Board for HowlRound, and is a two-time winner of the LMDA Elliott Hayes Award for excellence in dramaturgy. imbturgy.wordpress.com
Valyn Lyric Turner is a spoken word poet, theatre artist, songwriter, and activist hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, the ancestral homeland of the Cherokee and Creek native nations. Valyn has collaborated with several equity initiatives across the country, including the Minnesota National Association for Multicultural Education, Kalamazoo College, Georgia First Generation Association, Gwinnett Educators for Equity and Justice, Gwinnett County Government, Eden Prairie Public Schools, and Kern County Superintendent of Schools, to help educators foster cultures of inclusivity and equal opportunity for marginalized students. Some of her most popular poems include “Race in the Classroom: Seeing Color” and “Bleeding Red, White, and Blue.” Her work has been featured on the LA-based podcast The Only One in the Room with Laura Cathcart Robbins, as well as Denver-based podcast Too Dope Teachers and a Mic. Some of her recent acting credits include Sally Hemings in the world premiere of Kirsten Greenidge's Little Row Boat, or Conjecture at Boston University’s School of Theatre; Eliana Pipes’ Lorena: a Tabloid Epic at Boston Playwrights' Theatre; and Isabella in the Spotify radio drama Iris (Trick City Productions). She is currently workshopping her new play Marian at Locust Grove High School in south Georgia. Valyn’s mission is to inspire, empower, and serve others through her craft.
>> About C1's Open Circuit Programs
C1's Open Circuit Programs are free, alternating monthly Saturday morning meetings open to all theatremakers dedicated to new work. Virtual Open-Write months feature guest writers who lead attendees through exercises and writing time. Field Work months feature a professional development topic relevant to building a career as a civic-minded theatre artist, with guest artists providing a teach-in on that theme, and time for attendees work on their own materials.