Craft Alliance will host a staged reading of excerpts from The Insect Play by the Brothers Capek, performed by its new neighbor Muddy Waters Theatre Company on Friday, February 6 at 7:00p.m.in the Craft Alliance in Grand Center Gallery, 501 N. Grand Blvd. Admission is free. The 1921 play, written during a flowering of the arts in Czechoslovakia between the World Wars, is an allegorical satire, written as a commentary on politics and human society that is just as insightful today . The intriguing aspect is that most of the characters are insects which have been given human attributes, such as the dung beetles who worship their “capital” of dung and butterflies who discuss the nature of love. The play reading will provide a unique theatrical complement to the current exhibition, Locusts and Honey, by artist Jennifer Angus, which will be in the Gallery through May 17. Angus’s work is composed of insects pinned directly to a wall in repeating patterns which reference both textiles and wallpaper. A tension is created by the beauty one observes in the pattern and the apprehension we may feel toward insects.
Craft Alliance is a non-profit arts institution dedicated to providing inspiration and education in fine contemporary craft to the entire community through exhibitions, sales and instruction.The Gallery at Craft Alliance in GrandCenter is open Tuesday – Saturday, 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and Sunday, 12:00 – 5:00 p.m. The EducationCenter is open Monday – Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and for evening and weekend classes.
Muddy Waters Theatre Company is dedicated to exploring in depth the work of one great playwright each season. The 2009 season features the works of Edward Albee and will be performed in the KranzbergArtsCenter, which is in the same building as Craft Alliance, the Big Brothers, Big Sisters Building in GrandCenter. The first Albee production is Three Tall Women which runs from February 13 to March 1.
For more information about the reading of The Insect Play and other Craft Alliance programs, please call at (314) 534-7528 or visit www.craftalliance.org.