User:Bonvent/The Ko Festival of Performance at Amherst

The Ko Festival of Performance at Amherst, now established as one of the few festivals in the U.S. dedicated to fostering and producing new and experimental solo and ensemble performance, was founded in 1991. The festival grew out of Ko Theater Works, a company named for the 49th hexagram of the I Ching; “Ko,” meaning “revolution” or “molting.” At its inception, Ko included a number of artists associated with New York’s National Shakespeare Conservatory. The founders of Ko stated a commitment to “shedding traditional structures for creating and producing performance (http://www.kofest.com)” which, at the time, meant that they eschewed auditions and developed scripts and performances within a network of friends, colleagues and distant artists whose work had drawn their interest. “Ko,” or “Revolution” was, according to Ko’s early documents, understood as “a shedding of skin, a sloughing off of the old,” and from the beginning, Ko’s mission was “to foster innovative artistic collaborations in order to create work that draws from both comic and tragic traditions, mixing them with innovative uses of design and technology, in an atmosphere conducive to deep collaboration (…to) create and present pieces that are a springboard for community dialogue, ones that consider themes and issues vital to our civic and personal lives” (http://www.kofest.com) Their first season, in 1991, was held on the Amherst College Campus in Fayerwether Hall, now demolished; the festival continues today in the Holden Black Box Theatre. Since its founding the Ko Festival, with its offerings of workshops and residencies, has helped to reinforce the reputation of Western Massachusetts’ Pioneer Valley as one of the country’s few centers for the study and promotion of experimental and performance-based inquiry, relationships and methodologies. Though the core ensemble no longer survives, the Ko Festival—under Sabrina Hamilton’s sole artistic direction since 2000— has flourished. August, 2009 marked the end of its 18th season of presenting challenging, compelling work, and fostering artistic growth, exchange and training.

Unlike any other festival of its size (and possibly unlike any other festival), since 2004, the Ko Festival centers each season's performances on a theme such as “Stories of Illness and Healing,” “The Immigrant’s Journey,” or “Food,” or “That’s Funny/That’s Not Funny.” (Dunkelberg) Performances are accompanied by facilitated discussions and lobby displays that contextualize the ideas presented in the work in an effort to engender inter-audience/artist exchange and provide opportunities for civic dialogue. Post-performance discussions were developed at Ko, starting in 2004, into a hallmark of the Ko festival, where opportunities for civic dialogue now follow every performance (Goodwin).

The Ko Festival—still held on the Amherst College Campus (now in the Holden Theatre)— also regularly offers an array of 6-day workshops where adults—theatre professionals, social workers, teachers, psychologists, scholars and others, local and national—study techniques and approaches to making new work with master teachers. Other activities include internships, and rehearsal residencies where individual artists or ensembles can develop new work or reconsider older pieces in their repertoire. Ko is an active member of the Network of Ensemble Theatres, a growing organization that also includes such theatre vanguards as Pilgrim Theatre, L.A.’s Cornerstone Theatre and Portland’s Sojourn Theatre.

http://www.kofest.com

Kermit Dunkelberg - The Ko Festival of Performance (review) - Theatre Journal 57:1 Theatre Journal 57.1 (2005) 117-120 The Ko Festival of Performance. Amherst, Massachusetts. 11 July-8 August 2004.

Kermit Dunkelberg. Ko Festival of Performance (review) Theatre Journal - Volume 61, Number 2, May 2009, pp. 321-326.

Janna Goodwin. The Productive Postshow. Theatre Topics. Volume 14, Number 1, March 2004.