Barbara Kahn: Playwright With Impact Beyond The Stage
Barbara Kahn recently joined Village Preservation for a celebration of the her oral history with the organization (watch the video here). Barbara and friends offered a selection of performances from Barbara herself as well as her longtime collaborator, Robert Gonzales Jr. The performances of monologues and a song were followed by conversations about Barbara’s process and her work with nonprofit theater groups like Theatre for the New City, a past Village Award winner.
Throughout the event, Barbara shared stories from past productions, as well as answered questions regarding her writing practice, research, and her experiences as an artist living and working in the East Village.
Barbara shared that she conducts a great deal of historical research when writing plays. Barbara described one memorable visit to the Hampden-Booth Library at The Players.
She also recommended additional resources that she uses in her research including:
Director, actor, choreographer, and musical director Robert Gonzales Jr. shared a particularly poignant and moving performance of “The Last to Die” from “1918: A House Divided.” Robert shared that the cast recording of the soundtrack for musical is available on Spotify.
Throughout the conversation, Barbara shared how Village Preservation has impacted her and her community. She shared stories that included the impact of the Village Awards for Theatre for the New City (nominations are open for the 2022 awards through March 21, 2022.) She also mentioned the importance of the advocacy campaigns that Village Preservation leads. Barbara shared just how easy it is to get invovled in one’s community, particularly through the work of Village Preservation. Learn more about Barbara’s incredible life story and work with her oral history.
In the spirit of this unique program as well as the oral history with Baraba, we hope you take action and share some of these resources with colleagues and friends. Be sure to join Village Preservation at an upcoming in person or virtual event. You can reach Barbara or join her mailing list at her website: http://www.barbara-kahn.com/.