In Honor of Jayme Anne Lipkin-Moore

Our "Speak Truth to Power" show occurs on Jayme Anne Lipkin-Moore's birthday; we are pleased to be able to honor her vision with a show she would have been proud to have founded.

"In April of 2002, the world lost a young visionary.

"Jayme Anne Lipkin-Moore was determined to make a difference in the world. The gifted 17-year-old turned her enormous creative and intellectual talents towards socially-conscious causes. She challenged everyone she knew – both young and old – to join her as she sought to improve education, advance human rights, promote tolerance, encourage diversity and protect the environment.

"Jayme's Fund for Social Justice honors Jayme's life and vision.

"Funds raised support initiatives that promote education, tolerance and human rights. Annual grants are awarded to charitable nonprofit organizations that positively affect the lives of others. Additionally, Jayme's Fund specifically encourages young people to get involved with social concerns through its grant of yearly scholarships and other support.

"Jayme's Fund for Social Justice is a legacy of hope and opportunity, destined to make a significant impact in the lives of others."

(Text & images from Jayme's Fund for Social Justice website.)

If I turn my back and walk away, who is going to do this work?

"My name is Samuel Kofi Woods. I am from Liberia.  You walk into the corridor of death and you know this moment might be your last. I went through this. But when a nation is so consumed in evil, it's difficult to see alternatives, unless people of conviction stand up.  Even if you know this moment might be your last.  If we don't do this, who will?"

-- FIRST VOICE in the play Speak Truth to Power: Voices from Beyond the Dark adapted by Ariel Dorfman from the book by Kerry Kennedy.  Image of Human Rights Defender Samuel Kofi Woods taken by Eddie Adams.

Just Keep Moving

"In America we have more riches than we know what to do with, yet we let millions of children go hungry, without shelter and other basic necessities. In a nation that has been blessed with a nine-trillion dollar economy, poverty is killing children, more slowly, but surely as guns. I am clear that if we do not save our children, we are not going to be able to save ourselves. Everybody needs to open up the envelope of their soul and get their orders from inside.  And nobody has ever said it was going to be easy. You don't have to see the whole stairway to take the first step. If you can't run, walk, if you can't walk, crawl, if you can't crawl, just keep moving. Just keep moving, Marian Wright Edelman, just keep moving."

- SECOND VOICE in the play Speak Truth to Power: Voices from Beyond the Dark adapted by Ariel Dorfman from the book by Kerry Kennedy.  Image of Human Rights Defender Marian Wright Edelman taken by Eddie Adams.

If she revealed her name, she could not do her work.

"I cannot reveal my name.  I am from Sudan. My parents taught us, as children, how to love our people, however simple, however poor.  Our home was always a busy home. We always had somebody who was sick coming for treatment, or giving birth in our house.  I learned to regard all the Sudanese as my own family. But I cannot reveal my name.  Those whom the government suspects of working on human rights are arrested, often tortured in ghost houses or, if one is lucky, put in prison. If I revealed my name I could not do my work."

- EIGHTH VOICE in the play Speak Truth to Power: Voices from Beyond the Dark adapted by Ariel Dorfman from the book by Kerry Kennedy.  Image of Sudanese Human Rights Defender taken by Eddie Adams.

Meet Our Stage Manager & the Echoes

STAGE MANAGER: Sharon Romeyko

Trained as a dancer, Sharon Romeyko taught for the Joffrey Ballet School, has choreographed for members of the American Ballet Theater, and has choreographed and conducted workshops throughout Europe and South America. One of her classes was photographed by Annie Liebovitz for The New Yorker. She also has numerous performances to her credit, from the Florida Ballet to Camelot with Richard Harris. Her stage-managing credits include New York City's Symphony Space. She currently lives in New Boston with her actor husband, Richard Backus who is reading as THE MAN in our “Speak Truth to Power” production.

ECHOES:

• Rooa Abdelrahim is a Breakthrough Jayme’s Scholar and junior at Manchester West High School who is also ushering for the evening.
• Maria Cerventas is a Breakthrough Jayme’s Scholar and a sophomore at Manchester Memorial High School.
• James Guerrero (deSoL) – Vocals/Percussion – performs passionately using many types of percussion. He incorporates rhythms and vocal styles that are fusions of his Mexican heritage and Hip-Hop & Rock influences from his Queens, NY, and neighborhood. His on-stage antics are a show highlight.
• Chris Guice (deSoL) – Vocals/Bass Guitar – has a love of pop music & culture, knowledge of many musical styles and a strong melodic, rhythmic and arranging sense that helps bind the American and Latin elements of the band.
• Andy Letke (deSoL) – Vocals/Piano/Organ - Andy’s background in Classical and Jazz piano and talent for music composition and arranging is an integral part of deSoL’s sound. A natural diplomat, Andy uses his magic beard to quell conflicts.
• Chris Stone (deSoL) – Drums/rhythm – A true child of classic rock, Stone has been playing the drums since age three. His powerful, passionate style is the anchor of the deSoL rhythm section.
• Dori Erickson (deSoL) – Back-up Vocals – A choreographer and director who is highly trained in Jazz and R.A.D. ballet, Dori works in many levels of concert/event production and as a talent adjudicator for Starbound National Talent.
• Deseree Spinks (deSoL) – Back-up Vocals – has adored music since she was a child. A self-taught pianist, guitarist, and bassist who then studied music in college, she is the vocal director at the Monmouth County chapter of the School of Rock.
• Jimmy Farkas (deSoL) - Guitar - A lifelong musician with a gift for getting the crowd going, he has spent years mastering his craft, in Rock, Jazz, Fusion, Hip Hop, R&B, Latin and Avant-Garde. New to the group, Jimmy looks forward to bringing the groove to audiences everywhere with the infectious sounds of deSoL….

MEET THE CHORUS

The Chorus rehearses for the October 17th show.

CHORUL DIRECTOR, ARRANGER & SINGER: Jamie Feinberg

Jamie Feinberg is a local music and theater teacher and an accompanist. She works with ages three to Adult in group classes, voice and piano instruction, musical theater and other projects. She is a proud board member of Jayme's Fund for Social Justice. She is working towards a Master's Degree in Community Economic Development at Southern New Hampshire University.

ASSISTANT CHORAL DIRECTOR: Nat Ward

Nat Ward, of Salem, NH, is a talented musician and composer. Nat has generously donated his time and talents for many Jayme's Fund fundraising activities.

CHORUS (& some of the ECHOES)

• Bethany Bedard is a 25-year-old Massage Therapist that practices in Salem, NH. An actress all her life, she has appeared in The Three Musketeers and A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream with Best Foot Forward Productions.
• Kevin Kimball of Newton, NH, is an actor/singer who has been accepted into the Musical Theatre program at the University of Southern Maine for the Fall 2010. Kevin will play Michael in SPATS’ production of Tick Tick Boom in Derry, NH.
• Tom Holmes is an accomplished drummer and percussionist and is frequently seen performing with bands and theater groups across southern NH.
• Ryan Vincent DiEoreo, who is a Jayme’s Scholar awardee, lives in Derry, NH. He is currently a student at Manchester Community College.
• Maureen Menard is from Weare, NH. A senior at John Stark Regional High School, she has appeared and sung her way through many plays and musicals there.
• Erin Roukey, from Henniker, NH, is a senior at John Stark Regional High School who loves to sing and to study and work with Artist Lisa Rae Winant in her studio at the top of the hill.
• Juan Zamudio, a Breakthrough Manchester Jayme’s Scholar, lives in Manchester, NH, and is a student at Southside Middle School.
• Lauren Decloux is a senior at Pinkerton Academy. Her recent roles have included Eponine in Les Miserables and Maureen in Rent: School Edition.
• Sarah Lacount, a senior at Central High School, sings, acts, and loves to talk. She is outgoing and friendly, and loves to help people.
• Marc Pelletier is an engineer from Lowell, MA. An active member of the local theater community, his favorite roles have included d’Artagnan in The Three Musketeers and Pippin in Pippin.

THE PLAYWRIGHT: Ariel Dorfman

ARIEL DORFMAN is the author of numerous works of fiction, plays, poems, and essays in both Spanish and English. His books have been translated into over thirty languages. He is a Chilean expatriate who lives with his family in Durham, North Carolina, where he holds the Walter Hines Page chair at Duke University.

Dorfman's books include the novels Hard Rain, The Last Song of Manuel Sendero, and Mascara; the story collection My House is on Fire; the nonfiction books How to Read Donald Duck, The Empire's Old Clothes, and Some Write to the Future; and Last Waltz in Santiago, a collection of poetry. His plays include Death and the Maiden, which won England's Olivier Award for Best Play, was produced on Broadway and was made into a feature film. Most recently, he is the author of the novel The Nanny and the Iceberg and the memoir Heading South, Looking North.

Dorfman was inspired to write a theatrical presentation based on interviews in the book by Kerry Kennedy that features more than fifty human rights activists from around the world. The resulting play, Speak Truth to Power: Voices from the Dark, was presented at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., in September 2000, and broadcast as part of PBS's The Kennedy Center Presents. In the essay found on the SPEAK TRUTH TO POWER web site, the playwright describes how these long suppressed voices came to be heard.

The play has been performed at theaters across America and around the world, including Geneva, London, Helsinki, Athens, Madrid, Rome, Barcelona, Milan, Florence, New York, Sydney, and Doha...and soon Derry, New Hampshire.