The Affording Hope Project (www.affordinghopeproject.org), EMU’s Theater Department and Community Mennonite Church of Harrisonburg is co-sponsoring a presentation of “Leaps and Bounds,” 7:30 p.m. Sunday, May 22, in the Mainstage Theater of the University Commons at Eastern Mennonite University.
The one-woman show, produced and performed by Tevyn East, is touring faith communities and institutions of higher learning across the United States in 2011. Written in collaboration with Ched Myers, renowned biblical scholar and teacher, this show is about the interconnection of faith, ecology, and the global economy.
Weaving biblical and personal narrative, dance, song, music, and a touch of economic theory, “Leaps and Bounds” wrestles with the driving factors of our ecological crisis while awakening the imagination to a new way of living with and relating to Earth.
With foot-stomping songs, playful humor, daring dance sequences and vulnerable honesty, this show will draw the audience along a compelling journey, ultimately articulating a feeling of hope.
The daughter of two Presbyterian (USA) ministers, Tevyn East has spent most of her adult life developing original works of dance theater as well as teaching dance, organizing workshops and other cultural events in Charlottesville. While she appears on the stage alone, “Leaps and Bounds” is the result of a collaboration among many talented individuals.
East conceived of “Leaps and Bounds” while working with the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, an organization addressing the root causes of injustice, accompanying the vulnerable and marginalized and speaking truth to power in the heart of the United States capitol.
A full list of collaborators, themes and project resources is available at www.affordinghopeproject.org. Resource material about sustainable alternatives and faith-based initiatives are made available at each show.
Admission is free; a free-will offering will be taken.
For more information, call 540-432-4360; email: theater@emu.edu.