Performance
Some of my creative work doesn’t fall into neat categories. Different kinds of events can inhabit the theatrical stage, rely on scripts, visuals, storytelling or music, and bring people together for a common and meaningful experience, but not be plays, per se. Works and performances such as these are included here.
(Click to jump to a section)
Header Image: Performance of What They Stood For, written by Peter Glazer and Bruce Barthol, directed by Peter Glazer, marking the 65th Anniversary of the start of the Spanish Civil War. Calvin Simmons Theater, Oakland, CA, February 24, 2002. Photo by Richard Bermack.
Commemoration
Performances that recover and reframe lost histories are commemorative acts. They take up a story, event or community and say to an audience, “look at this – this is important,” the same way a building like the Lincoln Memorial might, or Martin Luther King Day, or the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The buildings or holidays take over our day-to-day experience or inhabit the physical landscape and call our attention to specific people or events. Performances can do the same.
“The Eyes of the World Were on Madrid”
On September 17, 2022 a group of musicians, actors, and videographers gathered in the Durham Studio Theater on the UC Berkeley campus to perform the script, “The Eyes of the World Were on Madrid.” It was filmed for an annual commemorative event produced by the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives. The performance incorporated songs and texts dealing with the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). It was written and directed by Richard Bermack, Peter Glazer, and Bruce Barthol.
UC Berkeley Commemorates the 80th Anniversary of the Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War began in July, 1936. For the 2016-2017 school year at UC Berkeley, I helped plan and coordinate a series of cultural events to mark the 80th anniversary. These included art and archival exhibits, poetry readings, book talks, panel discussions, and a run of Heart of Spain - A Musical of the Spanish Civil War. Nine units and departments supported and funded these activities across the campus, and we received generous donations from the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives (ALBA), the Puffin Foundation, and the San Francisco Foundation.
Public Speech
Save the University, A Teach-in on the UC Budget Crisis
Wheeler Auditorium, University of California, Berkeley, Sept. 23, 2009
In 2009, UC Berkeley faced a budget crisis and threatened to raise student fees and close essential campus facilities. Students and faculty mobilized to fight these cuts. This teach-in filled Wheeler auditorium and featured speeches by faculty members including Robert Reich. I moderated gave the introductory speech.
Interview
A Conversation with Nora Guthrie - The Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives Annual Susman Lecture, December 4th, 2022
The Susman Lecture is named in honor of Abraham Lincoln Brigade veteran and co-founder of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives, William “Bill” Susman (1915-2003.) This series of free lectures has presented in-depth material relating to the Spanish Civil War and other topics every year since 1998. Guthrie, daughter of singer and activist Woody Guthrie (1912-67), whose recording of the Spanish Civil War song “Jarama Valley” is legendary, and who in 1952 wrote a series of songs against Franco. Ms. Guthrie began her career as a modern dancer, founded the Woody Guthrie Archives in 1992, and is president of Woody Guthrie Publications. The event will is conversation between Guthrie and ALBA Board Member Peter Glazer, followed by a Q&A with the audience.
Music and Politics
Freedom Beat: Songs of Nation, Songs of Dissent
Written and Narrated by Peter Glazer
Music Arranged and Performed by MAD NOISE, Misner & Smith, and Randy Craig
Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse, Berkeley, CA, June 2014
Freedom Beat: Songs of Nation, Songs of Dissent (2017) was created with support from the Rockefeller Foundation, the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, and the Mellon Foundation. It uses 15 songs and assorted texts that lay claim to some version of the American ethos to better understand patriotism and protest in the United States.
“America” by Paul Simon
