SPAGHETTI RAMADAN VOL. 7

 

SPAGHETTI RAMADAN, VOL 7:  WHAT WOULD RUMI DO?

A Ramadan Decompression Garden Party

SUNDAY, April 14, 2PM-5PM
La Plaza Cultural Community Garden
9th Street and Avenue C, New York City

Suggested donation $11-$33, pay what you can

Advance tickets here: 

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/great-small-works-and-fihi-ma-fihi-worlds-present-spaghetti-ramadan-vol-7-tickets-872956204507

Also available at the door.

Info: 917-319-8104

Rain cancellation will be announced by 11AM on April 14th. Notification will be posted here: 

An outdoor celebration of Ramadan and spiritual kinship, with music, puppets and a shared meal.

PERFORMANCES BY:

Iranian-Balkan Silk Road Crossover Vibes
*Senavazi (Mehrnam Rastegari, Daro Behroozi, Matt Moran)

Iranian
*Mitra Khorsandi

West African
*Salieu Suso

Americas (Hip Hop)
*Legendary Cyphers
*Public Housing NYC

Puppet/spectacle by Jenny Romaine/Great Small Works & Keri Egilmez/The Whirling Imaginarium **Featuring master Arabic drummer, singer and dancer, Ramzi Edlibi **

Bedazzled “spoons of liberation” craft table for everyone interested in freedom for all captives and political prisoners

This year we are trying to figure out what time it is on the Spaghetti Ramadan clock of the world? by delving into the poetry and teachings of Jalaluddin Rumi, the thirteenth-century Persian poet,  scholar of the Qur’an, Sufi mystic, and great thinker.  We'll ponder Rumi's journey to look for subtle approaches to love and resilience that resonate with the needs of our current moment.

About: 

Spaghetti Ramadan began in 2017 when two NYC cultural workers, a Muslim (Arian Nakhaie) and a Jew (Jenny Romaine), conceived of a spiritual kinship celebration to bring people together at a time of increasing polarization.  Nakhaie and Romaine met through political organizing and art-making in NYC in 2013. Jenny and Arian’s bond has strived to cultivate an open shared space that allows for the free exchange of ideas. 

 

We built this container between Jews & Muslims because we predicted there would be moments like this where “divide and conquer” would be used to keep us demobilized, divided and depressed. We wanted to make sure we had the relationships and socio-cultural art making practices in place to address divisive propaganda. Our solidarity of years is why we’ve been able to work in tandem in collaborative satire and storytelling that will counter militaristic narratives.

 

Rumi Continued

As we delve into Rumi's teachings and navigate the complexities of our world, we'll harness the power of art to ignite dialogue, foster empathy, and envision a more just and compassionate future.

Exploring Emotional Depths:

Reflect on heart hardening amid societal turmoil. How can Rumi's emphasis on communal love and compassion guide us through these challenges?

Drawing from Rumi's Wisdom:

Consider Rumi's metaphysical identity and its relevance to contemporary struggles. How can his teachings inform our resilience and creative expression in adversity?

Navigating Injustices:

Contemplate the complexities of historical and present injustices. How do we reconcile admiration for Rumi's wisdom with societal realities?

Cultivating Love and Compassion:

Delve into the transformative power of love and compassion amidst conflict. How can Rumi's poetry and Islamic tradition inspire forgiveness, courage, and faith?

Confronting feelings of complicity, and accountability in societal injustices.

How do we navigate shame and guilt, drawing from Rumi's teachings on introspection and ethical engagement?

 

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts.

Additional thanks to: the Puppet Slam Network, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, the Scherman Foundation, and the Constance and Jarvis Doctorow Family Foundation.

Spaghetti Dinner

Sunday, February 25th, 7:30 PM

Jalopy Theatre

315 Columbia Street, Brooklyn

Savor the flavors of new work by Great Small Works and Friends

and... Spaghetti To-Go!

$20 suggested donation, no one turned away for lack of funds.

Tickets available at https://www.viewcy.com/e/great_small_works_spa
or at the door

Out of Covid safety concerns, we will not break bread (or spaghetti) together. but **Everyone will go home with a container of R. Rossi's special pasta!**

Masks required.

Featuring:

"Ten Sentences: On the Life of Robert Walser"

by Mark Sussman
A native of Biel, Switzerland, Robert Walser has been described as “a clairvoyant of the small.” A writer of keenly detailed observational prose, he published feuilletons, stories, and short novels in the early years of the 20th century. With limited means of support and suffering from a mental breakdown, he later moved to a sanitarium where he walked the countryside, producing no further writing. A collection of microscopic texts, written on the backs of visiting cards, envelopes, and matchbooks, was found in a shoebox after his death in 1956. Using a “cranky” – a hand-cranked moving scroll – with flat paper puppets and rear-projected video to evoke this solitary and contemplative life.

"We Love Trees"

by John Bell, Trudi Cohen, Marji Gere and Dan Sedgwick
A paper theater play with live music by Gere (violin) and Sedgwick (piano) featuring a magnificent copper beech tree which grew in Somerville, MA, on the same land where the musical Hadley family lived in the early 20th century. It celebrates trees, and what we can learn from them. With texts from Peter Wohlleben, Robin Wall Kimmerer and Jill Jonnes, and music by Henry Kimball Hadley and Stevie Wonder.

Excerpt from "Living Objects in Black," a film written and directed by Jacqueline Wade

A spiritual hybrid documentary film about various Black puppeteers who took part in the historical Living Objects: African American Puppetry exhibit at the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at UCONN.

Info: 917-319-8104

Great Small Works programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. Additional thanks to: Puppet Slam Network, Scherman Foundation, and the Constance and Jarvis Doctorow Family Foundation.