Spark+Echo Arts: Spoken Word and Storytelling

Actor Laurie Schroeder Callen brings us two monologues in response to the theme of healing in the doctor-patient relationship as well as Psalm 6:2-3 and Romans 12: 6-8.

Written by Laurie Schroeder Callen
Performed by Philip Callen and Laurie Schroeder Callen
For Spark+Echo Arts

Call and Response by Laurie Schroeder Callen

Spark and Echo Arts 2013 Resident Artist Emily Ruth Hazel’s poem in response to the theme of Fools as explored through her experiences in Ghana. The poem is in response to:

Proverbs 1:8–9
Proverbs 10:14, 10:21
Proverbs 17:12, 17:28
Proverbs 19:13
Proverbs 29:20
Ecclesiastes 10:12

Learn more and read the text at:
http://www.sparkandecho.org/circling-the-waist-of-wisdom_emily-ruth-hazel/

Emily Ruth Hazel is a New York City-based poet and writer whose work
wrestles with themes of relationship and faith. As a believer in poetry that feels accessible and lived-in, she aims to capture the beauty, hope, and humor that can be found in everyday experiences.

From the Artist: 
Throughout the book of Proverbs, the foolish and the wise are defined by their contrast with each other—so writing about foolishness naturally led me to explore the tandem theme of wisdom. Proverbs are also an essential part of the rich oral tradition of African cultures. As the meanings almost always hinge on metaphors, proverbs lend themselves to poetic play and reinterpretation. As I learned from African friends in college—both in the United States and in Ghana and South Africa—there is a sense of humor that translates through many African proverbs as
well. (One of my personal favorites is, “A leopard is chasing us, and you are asking me, ‘Is it a male or a female?’”)
I was interested in creating a poem in which biblical and African proverbs could be in conversation with each other. Framing the poem partly around my own experiences as an American traveling in Ghana, I incorporated eight biblical proverbs, five common African proverbs, and eleven specifically Ghanaian proverbs—a bicultural exploration that deepened my appreciation for the universality of wisdom.

Notes on the Poem (Specific to Ghanaian Culture)
Asantehene: the highest traditional ruler of the Asante people of Ghana
Baobab: African tree with an extremely wide trunk—a symbol of wisdom
Batik: commonly worn fabric, dyed using a wax-resist method to create patterns
Cedis: Ghanaian currency
Harmattan: dry season during which the wind blows dust from the desert
Kente: traditional hand-woven cloth featuring bright colors and designs
Legon: suburb of Accra, the capital city of Ghana
Tro-tro: mode of public transportation—a van that operates similar to a bus

for Spark and Echo Arts

Circling the Waist of Wisdom - Emily Ruth Hazel

From a post by 2016 Artist in Residence Lauren Ferebee wherein she shares the final development of her "Book of (H)ours," reflects on her presentation of the work, and looks forward to how she would like to continue the development of her piece that illuminated Proverbs 8 for Spark and Echo Arts.

Book of (H)ours

in the morning

in the morning - Lauren Ferebee

Singer Ileana Santamaría wrote a poem that she then brought to musician Raffi Dimoian to produce a an intimate spoken word piece imagining Eve’s response to Adam from Genesis 2:21-24 for Spark & Echo Arts' Bible Illumination Project.


ARTIST STATEMENT

This piece, “Eve’s song”, came about as a response to Genesis 2:21-24 and to the beautiful idea of a helpmeet* – Ezer in the Ancient Hebrew, a helper suitable for man, a companion on this Earth that was given first to him and then to her and their progeny. In a way, it was also a response to the deeply moving response to the same passage conceived by Spark and Echo Band in their first album. Titled “Flesh”, that work – in itself Adam’s response to this wondrous creature made from and for him, marked by an exuberant, childlike joy and excitement in showing her around the garden and declaring giddily, ‘I was waiting, I was waiting for you’, made quite an impression on me. Recently I was reminded of that fascination with the idea of Eve after reading a blurb from Christian author Gary Thomas’ book Cherish, in which he espouses the notion of Eve being the only woman on Earth as a guideline for men struggling with temptation, calling on them to cherish their wives (hence the title) as the sole woman on Earth, the precious gem crafted for and given especially to them. The seedling of an idea was thus born and lay dormant in me until recently, namely, that of responding to this Scripture by assuming Eve’s voice as she responds to Adam about her calling from and to his side and their calling together.
 
It is our hope and prayer that “Eve’s song” will capture something that will speak to and, in keeping with the spirit and the objective of this wonderful Spark and Echo Arts project, illuminate some aspect of the person of Eve, who and what she was made to be before the Fall, beyond the infamous fruit of the tree she is perennially associated with. The piece aims to tie in that destiny “redeemed, restored”, as one line reads, into the redemption of our humanity in Jesus Christ, and in particular, of the aspect of woman as partner – a femininity that goes way beyond one-dimensional stereotypes back to its true roots in gentle yet fiercely loving strength and capacity to love and serve and to follow our Lord together with man through the hardships of this life.
 
 
* helpmeet, help·mate
 
ˈhelpˌmāt/Submit
 
a helpful companion or partner, especially one’s husband or wife.
 
Origin: late 17th century (as helpmeet ): from an erroneous reading of Gen. 2:18, 20, where Adam’s future wife is described as “an help meet for him” (i.e., a suitable helper for him). The variant helpmate came into use in the early 18th century.

Eve's Song

Eve's Song - Ileana Santamaría

Comedian Paul Schissler explores the unseen side of the comedian's life in response to Ecclesiastes 4:13-16 for Spark and Echo Arts' Bible Illumination project.

ARTIST STATEMENT
There's a side to comedy that the audience doesn't see. A side that's not filled with laughter. So often people question what it's like being a comedian-- how hard it is, what's the motivation, what's the goal? You work obsessively on something that results in mostly failures, setbacks and self-doubts. It's incredibly lucky to "make it" in comedy, and often feels futile. Like chasing the wind. This bedtime story is an honest look at the rollercoaster feelings inside a comedian-- hope, determination, joy, self-doubt, hopelessness.

ARTIST BIO:
Paul Schissler is a NYC comedian and co-founder of Comedywire.com. Paul's been part of the NY Comedy Festival and seen on The Steve Harvey.

A Comedian's Bedtime Story

A Comedian's Bedtime Story - Paul Schissler

Playwright Caroline Turner Cole explores Jude 1:20-23 through the lens of addiction and the path of recovery in this one act script with a reading performed by Stacy Ann Strang, Alexandra Hulme, and Taylor LeBaron for Spark & Echo Arts' Bible Illumination Project.


"But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh."


Read the script and Caroline's artist statement at: www.sparkandecho.org/steps_caroline-turner-cole

Writing

Steps

Steps - Caroline Turner Cole

2. Doctor: Call and Response - Laurie Schroeder Callen

1. Patient: Call and Response - Laurie Schroeder Callen

Spark and Echo Arts is creating or commissioning a work of art, music, theatre, poetry, dance, or film in response to every verse of the Bible.