Amnesia
Amnesia, an interdisciplinary solo play by playwright and performer Ariel Luckey, reveals America’s forgotten immigrant roots and investigates the role of race at the border. The story juxtaposes Luckey’s Jewish great-great-grandfather’s escape from a Russian police raid in historic Kiev with a current I.C.E. raid in a Latino neighborhood in Phoenix, Arizona. Weaving stories, poetry, dance and a score of traditional Klezmer and Mexican folk music remixed live by a five-piece ensemble including violin, cello, trumpet, accordion and a DJ/producer, Amnesia asks what happens when we forget who we are and where we came from, when public policy is based on historical amnesia.
Amnesia
Written and Performed by Ariel Luckey
Directed by Susannah Martin
Music by Lila Sklar
Dramaturgy by Corey Fischer
Featuring Lila Sklar (violin), Dan Cantrell (accordion), eO (production/trumpet), Valentino (percussion) and Jessica Ivry (cello)
Amnesia was commissioned by La Peña Cultural Center with support from The Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation and The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation’s 2012 Playwright Commissioning Award, the Kenneth Rainin Foundation’s 2013 Visibility Award, and the Zellerbach Family Foundation’s 2014 Community Arts Fund.
Amnesia Keynote at Evergreen State College
How can a “country of immigrants” become anti-immigration? How does assimilation, racism and white privilege affect the national immigration debate? This dynamic keynote provides critical historical context, compelling personal stories and current information about the immigration crisis in the United States. Ariel Luckey presents a multi-media presentation that features infographics, videos, maps and live performance excerpts of his new play Amnesia. Luckey invites audiences to reflect on their own families’ migration stories, the current status of immigrants in their community and the complexities and impacts of national immigration policy and enforcement. This accessible, entertaining and thought provoking presentation asks what happens when we forget who we are and where we came from, when public policy is based on historical amnesia.
Amnesia, A Jewish Perspective on Anti-Latino Prejudice in HowlRound Theatre Commons
Amnesia draws line from shtetl Jews to Latino experience in The J
