Voices of Tucson

Arizona Theatre Company's commitment to American Theater manifests in its participation in AMERICA PLAYS! Celebrating Great American Stories, a five-year initiative. This includes annually producing one classic that deals with "aspects of the American experience." For 2010, the play is "The Glass Menagerie," considered by many to be Arizona Theatre Company's commitment to American Theater manifests in its participation in AMERICA PLAYS! Celebrating Great American Stories, a five-year initiative. This includes annually producing one classic that deals with "aspects of the American experience." For 2010, the play is "The Glass Menagerie," considered by many to be Tennessee Williams' masterpiece. The author's gentle exploration contains evocative and lovely language that simultaneously breaks hearts and uplifts spirits. It exemplifies the pinnacle of what the written and spoken word can achieve.

Part of ATC's commitment involves community outreach, and among enticing activities they have scheduled for Tucson to share - what the company considers a main mission - is a dialogue and conversation between residents and ATC personnel. They have come up with a delightful concept for their centerpiece event called "Voice and Vision: A Graffiti/Spoken Word Explosion."

Because one of the major motifs of "The Glass Menagerie" is the struggles of its characters to "find their voice," ATC invited people in Tucson to submit stories about how they found their own voice - whatever that might entail. Paragraphs, sentences, pages, even - length was immaterial, and all submissions were gratefully received. The writings will become part of a lobby display and Voice and Vision events in Phoenix as well.

On March 13, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the courtyard of the Temple of Music and Art (330 S. Scott Ave.), ATC staff, possibly including folks from the scene shop, interns, ushers, actors and administrative personnel, will read aloud from a stream-of-consciousness-like script comprised of selections from the collected stories, as four talented young graffiti artists create a mural incorporating the themes being communicated. This multi-media extravaganza of spoken word, the visual arts and theater is meant to inspire conversation on a visceral level among those who are on the receiving end of its creative energy, and perhaps it will answer, at least in part, the question "Who Is Tucson?"