600 Highwaymen @ The Invisible Dog

At the end of the Manmade Earth, 600 Highwaymen’s most resent show, the young performers (high schoolers and first or second year college students): Nur Aisyah, Nasra Ali, Raiza Almonte, Dimyana Angelo, Amanda Barsi, Augustin Bonane, Jeanvier Nkurunmziza and Diaaeddin Zabadani sat on the benches near the exit of The Invisible Dog, grinning from ear to ear, with flowers in hand.  Their uncontained energy filled the space, and rightfully so because although they were mostly new to the stage, they drew the audience in with their maturity.  The master minds behind 600 Highwaymen, Abigail Browde and Michael Silverstone give credit to the performers, noting that Manmade Earth was created “in conversation” with them.  These teenagers from the Congo, Egypt, Malaysia, Somalia, Syria, and Tanzania tell their own stories, and it’s their forthright telling in the raw space, that is even more masterful.  Sure, they were well-directed and their presence and attention to the message at hand, was palpable, but it’s their delivery that supersedes all.  Along the length of the space, a drop cloth helped to contain the area as they ask questions: “Do you understand me...” or “Why do you talk like that?” They engage with the audience, they make eye contact, and as teens share their truth, “…all these eyes on you…so, so scary…”  Throughout, as a team, and with breathtaking care, they create an installation made from giant-sized cardboard pieces, ladders, and hefty supporting wood.  A surprising reveal of a solid structure made during the show, came at the end.  But, all this becomes undone by the end.  In their program note, the teens write: “We hope you enjoyed our performance. We hope we got the job done. We enjoy putting it on for you.”  A shorter evening would have really cemented the magic.

600 Highwaymen's Manmade Earth was presented as part of the French Institute Alliance Francaise's 2019 Crossing the Line Festival.