Novel, local history inspire faculty-written ’headphone play’
Performing and media arts faculty members Aoise Stratford and Nick Salvato drew upon Ithaca locations and history to create an innovative new play, "Storm Country." Cornell performing and media arts (PMA) faculty members Nick Salvato and Aoise Stratford have co-written a new play inspired by a 1909 novel set in Ithaca, 'Tess of the Storm Country.' Their play, 'Storm Country,' will open The Cherry Arts? 2016-17 season over two weekends, Sept. 9-11 and 16-18. The production is a 'headphone play,' designed to immerse audience members in a soundscape of recorded voices and music as they traverse Ithaca's historic West End. The theatrically enhanced 70-minute walking tour of about a mile begins at Lookout Point on Cayuga Inlet (behind The Boatyard Grill on Taughannock Boulevard) and ends on Cherry Street, at the site of the not-for-profit theater company's new facility opening next year. Showtimes are Fridays from 4 to 6 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 6 p.m.; ticket reservations can be made at 15-minute intervals during those times. 'Most of the text is in the voice of a guide, there to provide directions for the walkers as they move from place to place,' Salvato said. 'Along the way, there are spots for sitting and reflecting along the inlet.' Equipment will be provided, or playgoers can use their own MP3 players or phones. 'In the last couple decades there's been an emphasis on alternative spaces for plays, a form of site-specific theater,' Stratford said. 'How do you tell theatrical stories in unconventional places?
