Jessica Baldwin is a graduating senior at USF and one of the PASJ majors who comprises this year's Company class. This year, the Company class presents a brand new theatrical event entitled "Re:FRAMED (the story of Judith and Holofernes)" which premiers tomorrow night at the Studio Theater on Lone Mountain. Click here for show dates and directions.
For people who haven't heard about it, what is the Company class?
Company has a long history with the Performing Arts and Social Justice program as the final project for senior majors. These projects have ranged from a full-length play to a series of vignettes, but all the works stem from an experience in the San Francisco community as part of our service learning requirement for the major. This past fall, PASJ seniors spent time in San Francisco Jail #5 working with incarcerated men through a series of theater workshops.
During the spring semester, the graduating class split into two groups. Half the class continued to work in the jail to create a performance with the men, while the other half of the class took their experiences and began working on a piece on campus. This project became Re:FRAMED. While the public cannot go into the San Bruno Jail #5 to see the other group’s performance, we do invite them to come see Re:FRAMED.
How did you decide on staging the story of Judith and Holofernes and what's significant about the title,"Re:FRAMED?"
When I was sixteen I took my first art history class, and I will never forget the first time I saw Artemisia Gentileschi’s depiction of the story. Sitting in a dark lecture hall, I do not think an image has ever hit me so hard. Since then I have gone on pilgrimages to see her various paintings of the story, and have collected other depictions. I never reflected on why this story was powerful for me, however.
In November, the class decided to tell a story of violence using a myth. Another Company member, James Godbolt, approached me about doing the story of Judith and Holofernes. Having come back recently from a semester abroad in Florence, Italy, where the story was painted repeatedly during the Italian Renaissance, James knew that this story was a favorite of mine as well. In January, the class pitched their ideas. We pretty quickly grasped onto this story and agreed to explore it theatrically. I think that the ease of this decision, and the impact it made on people who had never heard of it before, speak volumes about this story’s power. Over the past couple months we have had the opportunity to explore this power and we hope the audience walks away with a little bit of what we have discovered.
We hope to quite literally re-frame the story of Judith. This story is not just about her, but about society as a whole. A person’s actions are not simply a result of their own decisions, but also a reflection of cultural and societal practices, beliefs, and biases.
Did you feel you had to work to make this Biblical tale accessible to a college audience?
At the beginning of the project, only two students were familiar with the story, so it was easy to understand this perspective. It is an obscure story that we had to understand before we could tell it in a way that an audience would understand. Through a series of exercises and workshops, we realized that the way we could best comprehend the story was by telling the story in different time periods, including our own. Throughout Re:FRAMED you will not only encounter the Biblical Judith, but also a modern and film noir style telling of the story. Hopefully, people will be able to relate to one of these Judiths and perhaps want to do research on the Biblical story told in the Book of Judith.
A big part of your process involved visiting and working with prisoners. What was that experience like and how did it shape the show you've created as a class?
It is hard to describe what the jail experience is like, and that has been one of the challenges in creating a piece about our experience. What happens in the jail is a unique and personal experience, so I can only speak for myself when I say that I learned so much about myself; the judgments and biases I have about people and society. Now that I am aware of these things, I am seeing the world through a larger lens. I think that is what we have brought to Re:FRAMED, the lessons we learned about prejudice, judgment, and stereotypes.
Give us an idea of the kinds of workshops you collaborated with prisoners on.
We did all sorts of artistic exercises in hopes that the men could find a medium they related to. We wrote poetry and stories. We created movement pieces. We created characters and made scenes. Through these approaches we tried to explore things like the male role belief system, and violence in society.
Can you share a memorable moment from your time working in the prison?
One of the guys learned that my second major is Art History and always wanted to show me his art and get my critical feedback. I realized that he did not have anyone to talk about such things or that art was not an appropriate subject to talk about where he was from. We had some really great conversations, and I hope that he continues to pursue his art and feel free to express himself that way.
Has this show changed in unexpected ways during its evolution or has it stuck pretty closely to the original concept?
It was a very organic process. We began by just free writing and making improvised scenes. We noticed themes of judgment and perception throughout all these pieces and continued from there. While the script has gone through many drafts, the core of the show has stayed the same.
How did you decide on the structure and format of the show? Does it fit most people's idea of what a play is or is it something else?
We began the process by just playing. I think sometimes we take art too seriously, and we forget it is called a "play," not "neuro-brain surgery." As we played we found ourselves expressing the story in different time periods and began to build on that. The final result is a play told in chronological order that ties together three storylines into a single narrative.
Do you see this experience impacting the way you create work in the future?
I think what I learned from this is that I am capable of creating. I think as we get older we are told a lot of times that we can't do things. That we can't be creative. It was nice to have an opportunity to be nothing but creative. I think we all realized throughout this process that we are capable of a lot of things as young artists, and this seems like a great way to cap off our college careers and begin our professional lives.
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Re: Framed {The Story of Judith and Holofernes} opens tomorrow night Studio Theater on Lone Mountain. All shows are at 8pm.
Performances: May 6th, 7th & 8th
At the Studio Theater on USF's Lone Mountain campus, 2800 Turk St., San Francisco (directions available here)
Created by: Jessica Baldwin, Amy Berman, Courtney Cavagnero, Keriann Egeland, James Godbolt, Jackluyn Knutson, Jasmine Morgan, Isaac Samuelson, Caitlin Shindeldecker, with special thanks to Professor Christine Young
Performances: May 6th, 7th & 8th
At the Studio Theater on USF's Lone Mountain campus, 2800 Turk St., San Francisco (directions available here)
Created by: Jessica Baldwin, Amy Berman, Courtney Cavagnero, Keriann Egeland, James Godbolt, Jackluyn Knutson, Jasmine Morgan, Isaac Samuelson, Caitlin Shindeldecker, with special thanks to Professor Christine Young
To RSVP or for more information, click here.
FREE ADMISSION
