Ten Thousand Things Theater Presents Mlima’s Tale at Open Book, Feb 16 – March 12
Wednesday, February 1, 2023 at 4:34AMArticle by Becky Fillinger, photos provided
A discussion with Director, Ansa Akyea
Ansa AkyeaNext up for Ten Thousand Things Theater is Mlima’s Tale, Lynn Nottages’ play about the complicit international players and communities involved in the devastating ivory trade. Focusing on one magnificent elephant, Mlima, the play follows his spirit from Kenya to Vietnam to China. We talked to Director, Ansa Akyea, about the difficult and tragic lessons of Mlima’s Tale, ways to help Earth’s elephants and where to see the play. It’s only here for a short time, from February 9 to March 12 - get your tickets now!
Q: Ben Brantley, theater critic for the New York Times, called Mlima’s Tale “a beautiful, endlessly echoing portrait of a murder and its afterlife.” Please tell us how the play resonated with you as director?
A: Mlima's Tale resonated with me because of its unique look at the complex and difficult subject of poaching and trafficking of ivory tusks. It also resonated because of Lynn Nottage's layered and poetic writing, and the clear call to action for us to do our parts in protecting elephants and redeeming our collective future.
Brian Bose as Mlima
Q: The press release from Ten Thousand Things suggests that Nottage's play asks audiences to reflect on the collective consequences of human action. Will there be opportunities for the audience to reflect, immediately after the play, with each other and the cast? Will you provide audience members with a call to action if they’re so inclined?
A: There will be post-show talks on February 19 and 24, and March 9. We will be including conservation organizations and nonprofits whose mission is to protect elephants in the program – here is the full list of organizations that would gratefully welcome donations and a wider knowledge of their missions:
- Elephant Voices
- Save the Elephants
- The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust
- International Elephant Foundation
- The Nature Conservancy
- The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee
- Elephant Aid International
- Save The Asian Elephants
- World Wide Fund Kenya
- Wild is Life
Q: Will there be special performances for high school students? What are your thoughts of engaging young people in discussions of conservation and mercy for sentient beings?
A: We have two community performances with St. Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists (an arts high school) and two community (free) performances with Project Success. We are also partnering with OnStageMN: Creating a Community Dialogue Around Live Theater, a theater outreach and audience development program fiscally sponsored by Springboard for the Arts. On Stage is designed to enhance in-class learning, to make local theater relevant to younger and non-traditional audiences, and to lay the groundwork for building future theater attendance.
Marcela LorcaI’ve asked our Artistic Director, Marcela Lorca about her thoughts on engaging young people in these discussions - here are her thoughts: "I'm very curious about what young people are thinking, given the world they're growing up in. We are happy to provide them opportunities to express themselves, listen to each and connect their imagination with the world they live in. We share this earth with animals and their habitat. We, all living creatures, depend on each other to keep the planet healthy for future generations. Art provides unique opportunities for important and transformative conversations."
Q: Where may we see performances of Mlima’s Tale?
A: Here’s the complete schedule – it’s a short run and we’re hoping the community will come out to see the play.
Performance Schedule at Open Book
Thursday, February 16 at 7:30 pm
Friday, February 17 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, February 18 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, February 19 at 4 pm (Post-show Talk)
Thursday, February 23 at 7:30 pm (Audio-Described)
Friday, February 24 at 7:30 pm (Post-show Talk)
Saturday, February 25 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, February 26 at 4 pm (ASL-Interpreted)
Thursday, March 2 at 7:30 pm
Friday, March 3 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, March 4 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, March 5 at 4 pm
Thursday, March 9 at 7:30 pm (Post-show Talk)
Friday, March 10 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, March 11 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, March 12 at 4 pm
Community Performances (Free - reservations required)
Q: How may we follow news of this production and Ten Thousand Things Theater Company?
A: Please do follow our news: https://tenthousandthings.org/
