User:Teviot123/East West Fusion Theatre

East-West Fusion Theatre

"The civilizing forces of arts and cultural understanding are our best tools for waging peace..." (Motto), Dr. Walter A. Fairservis, Jr. (1921-1994).

Historical Summary
Based at the Center for East-West Studies in Sharon, Connecticut, this national and international touring theater company was co-founded by Dr. Walter A. Fairservis, Jr., Jano Bell Sutherland Fairservis, Teviot Benton Fairservis, and Eric Pourchot. Working with visiting artists and scholars, primarily from Asia, and New York actors, East-West Fusion Theatre produced approximately 100 "international theatre" productions between 1983 and 2000. Among the many touring venues in 30 states across the U.S. were the Lincoln Center Outdoors Festival and Henry Street Settlement in New York City.

The company performed summer seasons in venues including Vassar College, The Sharon Playhouse, and the Center for East-West Studies. Throughout the rest of the year,the larger productions were adapted for touring to schools, libraries, museums, and other venues. The first and the last major productions produced by the company were Asian Theatre inspired adaptations of "Medea: A Noh Cycle Based on the Greek Myth" by playwright Carol Fisher Sorgenfrei of UCLA, and of "The Tempest," both directed by the distinguished British actor/director Prof. Terence Knapp from the University of Hawaii-Manoa.

Numerous plays by Dr. Walter Fairservis written for the company or in East-West Fusion Theatre style received New York City showings and press coverage including plays about American history (George Washington, Nathan Hale). Among the showings were at the Lucille Lortel Theatre de Lys, directed by Isaiah Sheffer, and "The History of the United States as told by Local 49 of the Hot Dog Vendors Union of America," winner of a playwrighting contest held by Brooklyn College. "Marco Millions" by Eugene O'Neill, was performed at the Sharon Playhouse in an Asian inspired production by Walter Fairservis, documented by the Eugene O'Neill Foundation. His "Baseball Noh" was performed by the C.W. Post / Long Island University for their Asian Theatre Festival year in 1991.

Grants and Awards
Under the aegis of the non-profit organization, Kings & Couriers Theatre Co., Inc., East-West Fusion Theatre received grants from numerous sources including the Government of India for masks, costumes and properties to be made in a village near New Delhi and shipped to the U.S. for the production of "Animal Tales of India," written and directed by Balwant Gargi. The Japan Foundation supported fellowships for American theatre artists to study Noh,Kyogen, Kabuki and related arts in conjunction with the "Traditional Theatre Training" program headed by Dr.Jonah Salz. Barbara Hubbard's "Committee for the Future" supported the writing and production of plays by Dr. Walter A. Fairservis,Jr. including "Marut,the First Thousand Days" and "The Pyramid." Artistic director Teviot Fairservis was designated a "Master Teaching Artist" by the Connecticut Commission on the Arts and the New York Foundation on the Arts. The company also received numerous grants for productions and tour performances from the Connecticut Commission on the Arts, the Massachusetts Arts Lottery, the New York State Council on the Arts and other sources.