Discovery: A Comic Lament
Thursday, April 19, 2018 at 7:00 pm at State College Presbyterian Church, 132 W Beaver Ave, State College, PA 16801
Discovery: A Comic Lament, starring Ted Swartz and Michelle Milne, and produced by Ted & Co, is a play about the Doctrine of Discovery, the legal framework that justifies theft of land and oppression of Indigenous Peoples. It finds unexpected humor at the crossroads of justice and land use, offering both comic and challenging glimpses into the absurdity of white settler oppression of Indigenous Peoples and the land we live on. A show about love, and loss, of land, Discovery nudges us to question our stories with honesty and integrity.
What happens when we find out there is a problem with the ground under our feet? When we acknowledge that the land we want to reconnect with was violently and unjustly emptied of indigenous peoples? When we learn about their continued oppression? And, what is our role, as people of faith, and inheritors of a system of land ownership based on theft?
This is a play about a big, foundational problem: how the land under our feet came to be under our feet. And it is about learning to face that problem with the energy that only shared laughter can create, so that we can move forward.
Produced by Ted & Co, written by Alison Brookins, and directed by Phil Weaver-Stoesz. Created in partnership with the Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery Coalition.
Admission is free and open to the public. Sponsored by Penn State UPAC and 3rd Way Collective, Penn State Wesley, Lutheran Campus Ministry, Westminster Presbyterian Fellowship, and Penn State Student Society for Indigenous Knowledge.