Events & Updates - Fall 2022
Marginalized Voices Theatre Arts Festival!
Are you an artist belonging to a marginalized community? Do you want a low-key space to show off your skills and make a statement about your identity? Apply for MVTAF!
The Festival will take place on Saturday, October 29 from 9-11pm and Sunday, October 30 from 7-9pm. You can literally submit whatever you want: theater, music, dance, video/film, visual art, or anything else. The application is due on Saturday, October 22 at 11:59pm but time slots will be reserved on a first come first serve basis. *This will not count towards the department's performance/participation rule*
This year’s Festival will feature a staged reading of “The Talk” by Eric Coble and Darius Stubbs, and we are currently looking for a director!
No directing experience is required, it will be a learning experience for those who are interested in directing. This application is due on Saturday, October 15 at 11:59pm. *This will not count towards the department's performance/participation rule*
If you have any questions, please contact Bethany Qian at bergmvtaf@gmail.com.
Arts Marathon!
We are changing the date of the marathon to OCTOBER 14, 3pm-3am! Be on the lookout for new google forms to sign up to participate, and more exciting announcements about the marathon soon! I apologize for any confusion this may cause, but I’m grateful for the opportunity to have more time to make this festival as amazing and fun as possible.
I’d also like to announce which charity we will be fundraising for this year: Homies Helping Homies! This mutual aid group located in Point Breeze Philly provides necessary groceries, cleaning supplies, and other goods to their neighborhood. With the highest population of Black folks and black elders in the city, and the added strain of gentrification and covid, their work is so important for their community and I am stoked to fundraise for them!
If you have any questions don’t hesitate to reach out to me: jlanning-werkheiser@muhlenberg.edu
Suggestions and Reflections
The following is a link to a Google Form called "Suggestions and Reflections!" This is a place for Muhlenberg Theatre Association members to share their ideas, suggestions, and reflections with the MTA Board. We cannot promise all ideas will be implemented, but we appreciate all feedback you are willing to offer us.
Our goal is always to fulfill the needs of our members and create a thriving student-led theatre community! Thank you so much!
https://forms.gle/RR5QeWUJWi6a5yDJ9
Join the MTA Media Team!
We're looking for aspiring photographers/videographers to help Publicity Manager Niamh Sherlock and Media Coordinator Caro Sutton-Schott photograph MTA events throughout the semester. It will be a great way to build a portfolio and get involved in MTA festivals!
This form has no deadline, it will be open all semester, but the sooner you submit, the more projects you may get to work on!
If you'd like to be a part of this team, please fill out this interest form and we'll be in touch :) Thanks!
Important Update From the MTA
Official Statement (6/01/20)
To MTA members and extended community, a statement from your Production Manager, MVTAF Coordinator and Inclusivity and Equity Chair:
I think we have all been struggling to find the right words to say to you all regarding recent events. We see you. We hear you. We understand all the sadness and anger that the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony Mcdade, and many more at the hands of injustice and inequality have caused. We don’t want to be silent on this injustice and we would like to call on Muhlenberg and the departments within it to act. Police brutality and racism are now and have always been serious injustices in this country. We are dedicated to supporting people of color and acknowledge that we can always do more. We are currently working on planning an event for MTA members to have a forum to discuss what is going on in the world and its impact on all of our lives as well as how that may be translated into theatre and performance at our school. We want to ignite conversations and turn those conversations into actions. You can locate resources to support the black lives matter movement on our website. If you know of any more resources to support the movement, please let us know!
We urge all our members to sign petitions, end the silence, and donate and support the movement however possible. Silence is complicit. We want to make sure that our fundamental values in support of diversity, equity, and humanity are clear. As a predominantly white organization at a PWI, we would like to emphasize the importance of lifting black voices in this time and participate in educating ourselves on these issues without participating in performative activism. We would also like to wish all our members a happy pride month and remind everyone that all the freedoms we enjoy would not be possible without the constant fight for justice. Support POC! Support black lives! Support LGBTQ+ people and LGBTQ+ POC! Support the black lives matter movement.
As always, the board members of the MTA are here to support you. Please feel free to reach out.
With Love,
Maereg Gebretekle, Britney Jara, and Elizabeth Muriel
Google doc with various petitions, bail funds, ways to donate etc:
https://docs.google.com/document/u/1/d/1-0KC83vYfVQ-2freQveH43PWxuab2uWDEGolzrNoIks/mobilebasic
Ways you can help: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/
Bail Fund for Ohio: https://www.paypal.me/columbusfreedomfund
Black Visions: https://secure.everyaction.com/4omQDAR0oUiUagTu0EG-Ig2
Mutual Aid Fund Helping with riot gear and Medical in Minneapolis:
https://www.northstarhealthcollective.org/donate
Louisville Community Bail Fund: https://actionnetwork.org/fundraising/louisville-community-bail-fund/