On May 4, 2007, the small town of Greensburg, Kansas was almost completely destroyed by a massive tornado. Following the tornado, the people of Greensburg determined to rebuild their town as a model sustainable community. Their journey to transform a catastrophe into an exemplary achievement to the world is the stuff of legend.
The William Inge Center for the Arts has joined forces with Cornerstone Theater of Los Angeles and the 5.4.7 Arts Center of Greenesburg, Kansas, to help the people of Greensburg tell their incredible story. We ask for your help in creating this story that must be told.
Greensburg-area citizens are now sharing their stories, which will be crafted into a script for a presentation in 2012. This performance will explore how the community, individually and as a whole, has confronted effects of the tornado and how they are responding to the rebuilding efforts. The community members themselves will be actors, set builders, costumers, and many other backstage jobs for the show, tentatively titled "The Other Side of Oz."
The Inge Center has received a $45,000 "Access to Artistic Excellence" grant from the NEA to assemble a playwright, director and other artists to help shape this presentation, which will be inspired by the accounts of those who survived the disaster and helped in its aftermath.
The 5.4.7 Arts Center of Greensburg was born of the Greensburg citizens desire for art to help in the healing and recovery of the town following the tornado; its sustainable design is part of the community’s commitment to rebuild as a “green” town.
The artists are heading to Greensburg in the following months, speaking with residents and listening to their inspiring stories. The collaborating artists are from the William Inge Center for the Arts, at Independence Community College, Independence, Kansas; playwright Marcia Cebulska, of Topeka, Kansas; and the Cornerstone Theatre Company, of Los Angeles. The 5.4.7 Arts Center of Greensburg is the local partner, collaborator and community liaison.
"We want to hear what people have to say about home and community," said Cebulska, the playwright. "We value the perspectives of the people of Greensburg, and the nearby towns of Haviland and Mullinville, about neighborliness, recovery and rebuilding."
Amanda White, Inge Center Associate Artistic Director, says, "We have already spent some time getting to know Greensburg, and the community has our awe and respect for their strength and generosity. In hearing the stories of many people from the area, we are excited and impressed by the possibilities for powerful story-telling with this play."
An important partner in this project is the nationally renowned Cornerstone Theater of Los Angeles. Cornerstone Theater creates plays with and for people of many ages, cultures and levels of performing experience, focusing on specific community issues. Their motto is to "value the artist in everyone." Laurie Woolery, the Cornerstone Artistic Associate, will conduct "story circles" with residents, an essential step of this artistic process.
"We hope that Greensburg will be as proud of the work that is created as the entire state is proud of Greensburg," said Peter Ellenstein, Artistic Director of the Inge Center. "As home of the Official Theatre Festival of Kansas, the Inge Center is thrilled to be part of this inspirational tale of Kansas citizens. We are particularly grateful to Stacy Barnes, executive director of the 5.4.7 Arts Center of Greensburg, for being such a generous collaborator," he added.
The name of the 5.4.7 Arts Center derives from the date of the tornado. The community decided to designate art as an essential part of the city's social and economic redevelopment, choosing to build the arts center as its first public building. It is the first structure in Kansas to receive a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum rating and exemplifies Greensburg's commitment to rebuild as a "green" town.
The William Inge Center for the Arts conducts year-round play development, presentations, and arts education programs, featuring numerous professional guest artists. It is best known for its annual William Inge Theatre Festival, which brings to Independence internationally renowned writers such as Arthur Miller, Neil Simon, August Wilson, and Stephen Sondheim.
Marcia Cebulska's plays have been produced nationwide. Her "Now Let Me Fly," commissioned for the 50th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision, has been performed over 1,000 times internationally. "Through Martha's Eyes" recently aired nationally on PBS. Cebulska was also commissioned for "Touched," a story of William Inge, for the 25th anniversary of the William Inge Theatre Festival.
Founded in 1986, the Cornerstone Theater Company makes theater with and for people of many ages, cultures and levels of theatrical experience.
The William Inge Center for the Arts is a participant in the New Generations Program, funded by Doris Duke Charitable Foundation/The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and administered by Theatre Communications Group, the national organization for the American theatre.
Also, Inge Center programs are presented in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, which believes that "a great nation deserves great art." The Kansas Arts Commission, a state agency, has also supported this project in Greensburg.
Additional supporters include the Hallmark Corporation, the William Inge Festival Foundation, and Independence Community College.
For more information about the Greensburg play, or other Inge Center activities, call (620) 332-5492.