with Josh Cooper to discuss human rights in Hawaii and around the world. Mr. Cooper is a director and lecturer at the Human Rights Institute at UH Manoa. And actually, he's Dr. Cooper, but he asked us to call him Josh today. Aloha, Josh. Aloha, how are you? Great, all right. Well, we have a lot to talk about. You know, human rights issues, you know, I've definitely taken center stage in the United States and around the world in the past few weeks, and there's lots to discuss. So let me ask you, Josh, why don't you tell us about the problem because I'm sure a lot of people in the United States focus on what's going on here, but may not be aware of what's going on around the world. Yes, well, the good news is the problems that exist in Hawaii also exist everywhere around the world. The one pre-existing condition that existed before the pandemic, of course, was definitely racism. So that's an issue that's going on anywhere and everywhere. And that's why I think you've seen the whole world really wake up with what happened in Minneapolis and everyone realizing we're all in the same struggle together. And so you see this rally for rights around the world to work for equality, to work for equity, to really focus on what we can do so that everyone lives a life of dignity and that they live with a life full of respect. And if you look at human rights, we're right now actually at the 75th anniversary of the UN Charter. Later this month on June 26th will be the 75th anniversary of the UN Charter when the whole world, 50 governments gathered in San Francisco. And when those 50 governments gathered in San Francisco, that's where human rights became part of international relations. It said that all people are born in equality and dignity and that governments don't grant these rights. They actually are duty bears. They have to uphold and protect those rights. So that's really amazing because that's for the first time that said we are rights holders and that governments have an obligation to us but also that governments can't take away our rights. That those rights are inherent and we have those when we're born. So that's a crucial aspect. You can see that winds of change blowing now and that sort of set that standard. That started in 1945 and now we're at 75 years and it's kind of a good time to reflect how are we and what have we done? And if you think about it, there were only 50 governments in 1945 and now there's 1934. So that is a move where all those countries in a way were able to move past racism and colonialism and become independent nations and be able to adopt constitutions that really do enshrine a lot of those values of human rights in their constitutions. One of the probably most recent ones would probably be South Africa moving into a post-apartheid future and South Africa actually includes civil and political rights like we all know, freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom together and looking at those aspects that we all know innocent until proving guilty to actually looking at economic, social and cultural rights. And those are the ones that really were exposed in the United States through the pandemic, the ones of right to healthcare, the right to education, the right to work. All those certain rights that are absolutely essential as well, the right to housing. When we told everybody to stay home, if you're a houseless, how do you do that? If we told everybody to wash your hands, if you don't have clean running fresh water, you can't do those things. So the exciting thing is what we see throughout the world is really a civil and political that we're more familiar with in the US but also recognizing that all rights are interconnected and indivisible and that we can have one without the other. So you see actions happening on a daily basis where people stand up for their rights or against what is happening to them. And then immediate action by the government, usually through police force or by the elected officials. The other new angle that's coming up that's definitely something we always knew is business and human rights. So right now actually every night around this time, I have to log in to Bangkok because they're having a regional human rights forum and it's on business and human rights. So it's looking at something known as the UN guiding principle on business and human rights and how that's being implemented. And also how the COVID crisis is also impacting people's lives and really layering all the challenges people have. So go ahead. Oh, okay. So when you mention, I think it's interesting that you mentioned 75 years ago, which happens to be the end of World War II, right?  And I did note that the message from Auschwitz-Birkenau was never again. And so I've wondered if, I wonder when you talk about the UN Charter and when you talk about this in relation to world human rights, has that message, has that helped or has it changed things in terms of making their things better? Right, well, I mean, what's important is that spirit that you brought up, the spirit of San Francisco is really summarized in those words of never again.  But that had happened before by many other people who were really living in a world of racism at that same time, but the world didn't address all of that in 45. They did their best to bring it up and do never again. And the one thing that we have is never again, there's never been another world war, but there's been too many wars and too many lives lost with current conflicts and crises around the world. I helped a group of Syrian advocates and it's too long that that war has gone on, that we haven't taken action. And I think that shows if what you looked at the spirit of San Francisco and never again was like, never again shall a group of people be targeted and then exterminated. And two, if we don't take action and we let people's human rights be violated, then none of us can have peace. So it was that all of, if for any of us to have peace, it's we have to make sure everybody does. So that was a huge message and that you could see when we didn't take action in Syria and we didn't do things to help the people, then you saw a refugee crisis emerge, then you saw a right wing governments emerge. So then it did illustrate what they knew in 1945 about never again and how all the rights are interconnected. And there was also really an obligation in San Francisco. One of the articles, articles 55 and 56 of the charter said, if anyone's rights are being violated, we all have a duty and obligation to coordinate together universally in solidarity and in unity. And that's a huge step. The other aspect is that's where human rights really was born because it also said, they recognize if you see human rights, you can see human rights in two things. One, it's the floor. It's where no one's life should go below. Everyone should have those basic freedoms. But it's also a horizon that we aim for because we can always improve human rights and our lives can always be better. And so in a way, it's a shield, but also in it like Hokulea, a rising star that can guide our actions and our policymaking. So that was significant. That was really the essence of San Francisco and human rights were mentioned six times in the charter. And the other aspect there of course was also decolonization and recognize the equality of all peoples around the planet. And you see that from 50 to 193 countries, that's huge. So those are two examples of how the UN never again has definitely aimed towards that star. But for anyone who is under brutality and oppression, that never again is not a reality yet. And that's what we have to work towards and we all have to recommit to that. And we see the United States stepping in to help different countries. Are there other countries in the world that take action to provide funds or provide military personnel or other assistance in helping countries and peoples uphold human rights? Absolutely. In fact, many other countries would definitely put us to shame especially under this administration we've gone in the wrong direction but we've never been perfect. One example is we committed in the world not only on human rights and peace and security but development. And everyone agreed to a 0.07 that we donate of our gross national product and the United States is always below significant below that. But there are many countries that actually do put that much into aid and it's genuine aid to help people not something that hires one of our consultants to then get paid an exorbitant amount to then increase their wealth. So there's definitely a lot of countries. Scandinavia is probably the best ones. If you look at Sweden, Denmark, Norway they do a much better job but also on a larger context the European Union and then even in Latin America and definitely down in New Zealand it's more of a helping out with their partners in the region. So you can see an increase and we can stand to do a lot better with that. And if you look at something that was introduced in 2015 it's called the UN Sustainable Development Goals, UN SDGs and those are 17 goals that then look at ending hunger, reducing inequality, ending poverty, good health and well-being, quality education which I know we're gonna get to later, gender justice, clean health, clean water and sanitation, renewable energy, decent work and economic growth for all, looking at industry and infrastructure, looking at reducing inequalities which what we're definitely is in all the news today and then also looking at human rights cities and communities because for a lot of the issues really we need to do things on the ground I think we're looking at that in Hawaii with the COVID crisis as self-reliance and self-determination is more important than ever as a human right and being able to provide those basic essentials for one another and then clean, responsible consumption and production, how we live and what we do individually it makes a huge difference and then climate action, life below water and life on land and then number 16 is peace and justice and human rights and 17 is global partnerships so that's like a new framework that's really working in a way on the 70th anniversary to aim towards that and it's a good framework what they're calling it is building back better and I would call it building back better and balance and bold agenda where we look at all those as a guide on how we can achieve that. So would you call like sex trafficking does that would that be included in human rights issues? Definitely, yes. So human trafficking? That's what makes human rights a framework that's so powerful that it's hearing the voice that directly impacted people first and foremost because they're on the front lines so and that's who it matters most too not the fortunate people who can, we can still zoom and work but for the people on the front lines who are caught in this crisis that's where it matters most and so I would think definitely human trafficking is an issue we could focus on here in Hawaii but around the world it's one of the largest industries that actually does exist and so it's important for all of us to take actions on combating human trafficking. Of course, most people talk about sex trafficking but there's also the situation with the fish trawling and the boats and I've met a handful of people when I do a training for university in New South Wales Diplomacy Training Program and they have a situation where they help former fisher folk who had been human trafficked and forced to work on ships after they had taken their passports and made them work without any chance of getting off and returning home so it's a global crisis it's definitely a modern form, day form of slavery and so there's a lot that we can all work on in the front. Now, okay, a lot of us in the United States we see the way African-Americans are treated and we understand that problem but we may not be aware of some of the more serious problems throughout the globe. Can you provide us some examples of what is going on in other places in the world? Sure, and I can also link it to what we all know too, like right to housing is crucial. So if no one has employment now then there's no way they can pay for aspect so the right to housing is a crucial one that even in the United States we have to work a lot on because that's definitely a human rights issue also the right to healthcare. When the COVID crisis hit it pointed out that most of us think we're invincible and until we're sick do we ever think about health but health is definitely a human right and you see many more candidates as well as people in office recognizing the indivisibility of those rights and how they're interconnected and around the world there's definitely lots of human rights issues and we don't have to go far. Indigenous peoples is probably the largest one that's existed that has yet to be addressed and in Minneapolis that's actually one of the places where the American Indian movement was launched in the 70s because they would always the Minneapolis police force would take First Nations or Indigenous peoples the Lakota, Nakota, Lakota people from the region and the Great Lakes and take off their shoes and their jackets and leave them out in the cold to die. So that's not just with African-Americans but that discrimination has existed a long time prior and that's gone on for four centuries in fact five centuries plus. So that's happening all over the world. Right now I'd say probably the biggest example is the Uighurs. Million plus are in concentration camps to go back to your example of visiting concentration camps.  But another important aspect as well is you can have in certain cases the government sending people from the government and the military to move in with families. So you'd actually have this new uncle as we always joke around in Hawaii, whole uncle give this uncle who is a Han ethnic who then lives with your family and just sits there and listens to what you guys say at dinner and what you do. So I mean that goes to a form of oppression that many of us couldn't fathom. But that's a huge issue as well. For the Tibetans, which is just a little bit lower, huge issues there facing religious freedom but also self-governance. It's a total lack of any opportunity for Tibetan folks. There's also many nomadic herders who are then taken from the plains where they're living sustainably and practicing their own culture and of course to live in a dwelling and live into the economy that China set up for them. So those are examples there. I could go down just a little bit to the Mekong Delta. There there's farmers. Khmer Kron is what they're known as indigenous peoples of the Mekong Delta. And there always lived on that land. There's no official paper or titles but they've always lived there. And during this crisis, the Vietnam government moved in and evicted those farmers when they're at the most important time when they're planting the seeds so that they can have a rice harvest. So that eviction of them from their land, that land grab then has a huge consequence because they're spiritually related and connected to that land. So evicting them has a huge impact on them. But then also in the time that the rice would be planted and then the food would come up and they'd have enough for their people, they won't have that rice crop as well. So those are just a couple of examples in Asia. And if we go into the Pacific, probably the biggest issue is climate change. That's a climate, that's a huge human rights issue because first and foremost, it's long-term self-determination. Their views and their cosmology and way of seeing the world will be in a way taken under the waves. And you have countries such as Tuvalu and Kiribati where their way of life that's existed for centuries will be gone because their highest point on their islands is around six feet. I was in Tuvalu at the Pacific Island Forum last August. And we take it for granted, looking at the Kolaos and Leahi behind you about how beautiful our mountains are, but they don't have it, it's a coral atoll.  So you'll see people who live somewhere be forced to leave that land if we don't strive for the 1.5 degrees of carbon. And the good news is we measure that on Mauna Loa. So we can know how we're doing and how we're doing that, but we have to strive for the 1.5 that's in the Paris Agreement. And that's a good example. Hawaii was the first state to say we are still in and we're still in the Paris Agreement working for 100% renewable. And our actions here save lives in other places. So the more that we reduce carbon and decarbonize then the people of the Pacific will be able to survive and thrive. So Kiribati and Tuvalu, it's the right of self-determination to exist as a country and to maintain their own culture and determine their political destiny. But then immediately it's the right to water. And Tuvalu water is being salientated because the groundwater is being contaminated by the saltwater coming up. So that's huge because we can only live for a couple of hours without water, we know that. And then the food, their kalo is also being destroyed with the saltwater coming in. So then they can't have their own food. So then it's right to water, right to food. And then they're bringing in food from outside. And when they bring in food from outside, then of course it's right to healthcare because then they get diabetes and other health concerns. So it's self-determination, it's right to water, right to food, and then right to health. Those are examples of the Pacific. And we can also look, I think that's good as we can look at the solutions in that because Marshall Islands is looking at climate crisis and we're taking actions to focus on the climate, they could also respond easier to the COVID crisis and have very few deaths because they were thinking and coordinating that way from the ground to the global. And so I think the good news is by working on human rights, it provides a framework to ensure fundamental freedoms for all, but it makes sure everyone's involved in the solution. What it allows us to do is move beyond what's wrong towards what we want and making sure all voices are heard. And the other aspect about human rights is it keeps enlarging that circle so that everyone is included in that family of humanity because throughout time, people have always been excluded. So what as an American and as a viewer of this show, what can we do to further the solutions to human rights issues across the globe? Yeah, so first and foremost as Hawaii, we can connect with other Pacific Islanders and continue to work together. And we see a lot of solidarity with Marshall Islands and Micronesians around the nuclear test legacy. So that's one angle is being good neighbors in Oceania. And then as US, it's also to make sure we don't perpetuate a lot of those. So we just withdrew from the arms treaty. That's horrible. We're drawing from the Paris Agreement. That's equally horrible because then that lets other governments that didn't want to do their work say we don't have to cause the United States doesn't. So what's important is that we do lead by example and our leader, but then we also just walked away from the Human Rights Council, which was an election that we really worked hard to get on. And then of course we complain when we withdraw from the World Health Organization and then China steps in and has a greater role. So I think there's been a lot of blunders with our current foreign policies because it only perpetuates what they're saying is a problem and making it even worse exponentially. So I think we have to lead by example. I think also we can focus on our elected officials. We also have a lot of work to do. We're the only country in the world that hasn't ratified the convention on the rights of the child. All other countries of the world have done that. Before it was Somalia and then it was South Sudan. So we're the only country in the world that hasn't ratified the rights of the child. So we should definitely do that. It's known as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Senate has to vote by two thirds. So we have to do that. Also the Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities and also CDaw for Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. Because we haven't acted at the federal level, many cities are organizing human rights cities and adopting CDaw for women's rights and for children's rights and organizing that way. And that really brings it to education.  But that's one thing we can definitely do in Hawaii is we could definitely make sure in DOE from the beginning that we know what our rights are. That everyone should know the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UDHR and know all 30 articles. So that's a beginning. So do you think that protesting is, how do you feel that that impacts human rights? Do you think that that's a good direction? Yeah, it is one form of human rights. It is actually taking action of a human right because there's freedom of opinion, freedom of expression and freedom of assembly. So articles 19 and 20 of the UDHR is that. And also nonviolent direct action and diplomacy are just two sides of the same coin. Like people should do the right thing but if they don't do the right thing that's where the protests are powerful tools for transformative policies. And there are a lot of things that people were focusing on about the police for a long time. In fact, right now the US will be appearing before the UN known as the Universal Periodic Review in November of 2020. I'm the co-chair of the US Human Rights Network on that for the whole country. And the last time we were there in 2014, there was Ferguson and we had another huge uprising. So we haven't learned and done enough but the exciting thing is, I hate to say it because there's no sports, because we're at a standstill in society, we can't ignore it. So because it wasn't just one day and then everyone's moving and everyone's been home, it was a chance for everybody to say like, why are we saving our lives when we're allowing people to actually die? And it was an awakening where a lot of people know about it but we're all too busy in our lives doing everything we do. And there was no baseball to watch, there was no basketball playoffs going on. And it was a chance for everybody to say, well, what's life about and why are we doing what we do and what can we do to make sure? Because the truth is, if anyone's human rights are diminished, all of our rights are diminished. And it's that sense of spirit of solidarity that is at the core of human rights. So the protest, non-violent peaceful protest is a way to express your opinion, to try to influence when people aren't listening. And the truth is, in the United States these protests have ignited something that's definitely needed. Hawaii is the lowest rate of voter registration in the country. So what's really good about these protests is it's not a once going out there and taking action, it's we have to organize, mobilize and make sure that we plan. And then everyone votes and voting is just one day. But then after you elect someone, you can't think it's a holiday. So democracy is a full-time job and we've sort of left it to people who can do it. And it can't be that way. It's gonna require all of us to be involved. And I think everyone realized that the country's worth it. That in a way, if you look at it like a Jerry Springer episode, the United States can always feel good because we say, oh my gosh, look at China, look at Russia. Oh my God, look what's going on in this Africa. But the truth is, we also can say, what can we do and how can we make it better? Because when everyone's human rights are observed, all of our lives are better. And so that the moral arc is definitely shaped that way but we have to help bend it quicker and better. And definitely Josh, it seems like we've been doing that with the protesting and also with the pandemic, there's certainly been changes with the climate that are favorable. But we are about out of time. Yes. Thank you so much, Josh. You've enlightened us so much today. I'm Katharine Nora. This is Community Matters on the Think Tech Live Streaming Network series. We've been talking with Josh Cooper about human rights, aloha.


in the studio. I'm Matt Blake. And today we're going to be talking about the Bike City Theatre Company. And I'm joined today by JR Yanker, who is the artistic director, as well as Sarah Marsh-Crowder. Crowder. Crowder. Thank you. Dr. Sarah Marsh-Crowder, who is, I was so focused on the title that I forgot to make my apology, who is the literary manager, as well as the Company Turg. We almost got it. Drama Turg. Company. All right. Tell me about your title. Let's start there. I am responsible for overseeing the acquisition and management of scripts, potential plays, and pieces of work that we might be interested in doing. I work closely with the artistic director. It helps determine what we're going to produce and why we won't produce something, also a useful thing to know. As a drama turg, I provide analytical support, research support, pretty much any kind of support that a playwright or a director or a production team might need to understand what they need to understand about the play. Or developing new work, which is very helpful. Yeah. And developing new work, it's like I'm a professional outside I. That's what I do. Yeah. All right. And then for the Bike City Theatre Company, tell me more about that. It sounds like you have a good drama turg. Anyone else? Great drama turg. We're very lucky. So Bike City Theatre Company, we founded it in 2017. Yeah. Yeah. And so we're still the new kids on the block, but we are focused on new work and original work. So we are focused on bringing new plays to the public as well as developing our own in-house original work. All right. Excellent. So 2017, is there a mission behind the Theatre Company? There is. There it is. I'll let you chat about it. Yes. We have a trifold mission, which is that we try to promote community, sustainability, and theatricality. So we believe that we should be deeply invested in our community and draw from it as a resource and also provide material that speaks to it and that can engage in a conversation. Well, that can engage in productive conversation. Let's put it that way with the community. Sustainability has a couple of facets to it because sustainability is a really cool buzzword right now. You know, people want to talk about things being sustainable, but that's a form of greenwashing. We're thinking about sustainability as in, how do we not only produce theatre in an ethical way, environmentally, psychologically, how do we pay people? How do we make sure that people are having an experience that's productive and conducive to art making to the best of our ability? So that's the kind of sustainability we're looking for. And the theatrical is just a reminder that we're here to do something that only theatre can do, which is to engage the senses in a live, immediate, present way. So that would be the mission. We have a nice little tagline that goes with that too, which is expect everything. Expect everything. I like that very much. Excellent. So any shows coming up that you're working on right now? The next one that folks will be able to see, we have our salon reading series, which is sponsored by the city. Thank you, city. Thank you, Davis. Yeah, we do a free play reading for the public every month. And I believe March 30th is Dance Nation. Dance Nation, which is a new record by Claire Baron. So premiered in, I believe in New York in 2018. It's been getting a lot of buzz around the regional theatre circuit. We're really lucky to be able to land it just to do a concert reading of it. And it's a tremendous story that's a little bit reminiscent of Sarah DeLapp's The Wolves, which was produced at Cap Stage last year. So it's about women and about girls and how do we move through these different phases of life? But it's got a really interesting dark edge to it. Very dark. Definitely for grownups. Yeah. Definitely for grownups. Definitely very dark. And so what sort of venue do you use for for this alone? We operate out of Repower Yolo's gallery space. Indigo architecture is the entire building, but that's where Dairy Queen used to be. For old Davis. Yes, for old Davis sites, Dairy Queen. But now there's a awesome art gallery there and Repower Yolo is a solar company that operates out of there. Okay. Part of their mission is helping other nonprofits. And so they actually donate that space to us nights and weekends free of charge. So they're really the reason that we exist the way we do. So we're super grateful. So if you want to go solar, Repower Yolo. And I do believe, speaking of sustainability, I do believe that structure is a hay bale structure. It was fascinating to watch them build it. Yeah. And it's an interesting space and an interesting... It's a really cool building to be in, you know, to see how it kind of breathes and operates in the world. Yeah. I think it was one of the first zero net energy buildings in the state. Oh, it's fantastic. So yeah, Indigo does really, really cool stuff. Yeah. That building is awesome. All right. So more reason to come out and see a reading. Yeah. Yeah. And what is the address? That is 909 Fifth Street. So 909 Fifth Street, it's right on the tracks or right off the tracks. It's not on the tracks. Yeah. That is excellent. And so that's coming up. Any other ideas or things in the works right now? We have plenty of things in the works. A lot of stuff in the works. Ideas. Do you mean schemes? Thousands of schemes. Yes, yes. So many. Yeah. Any given time. Yeah. We currently tour of our bike safety musical Light the Way is on the road in Solano County. That was written by Jade Gregg. And it's touring Solano schools right now. This last year, it toured to all eight DJUSD elementary schools. And so that is currently on tour. There will be a public performance of it coming. And so look to the website for more information about when that will be. And then we are also with the help from the city and Solano Air Quality Management District developing a new school show for the Davis elementary schools that's going to be going out. So we're developing that right now, which involves workshopping and prepping for that production. And then we are also in March going to be working on a adaptation of Esperanza Rising that is going to be... It's based on the novel by Pam Munoz Ryan. And Esperanza is usually attached to the fourth grade curriculum in California schools. So that may be where some people have heard of it. Yeah. It's a great book. So we are doing a show with young performers at Montgomery Elementary coming up. So we have a lot of stuff going on. And that's the tip of the iceberg. Yeah. There's also what we call the big show rather than the main stage. So we're thinking about what the next big show is going to be and plotting out how that's going to operate and where that's going to happen. And then we're also thinking about the big show after that. And it's always that. So you have a history of doing the big show then. And since 2017, how many... I don't know if you count big show versus other performances or how you... What is the track record? Oh, no. It's dependent on the year and what we have the opportunity to do and what we're working with. So our first show that we came out the gate with was Gutenberg, the musical, which is a two-hander musical about two gentlemen who wrote a show about the invention of the printing press. But it's zany. It goes off the tracks. It's not historically accurate in almost any way. Yeah. Super fun. So that was our first, what I would call a main stage offering. But the nature of our company right now is pop-up theater. So that show toured. It went to Sudwork. It went to Super Owl Brewing. Watermelon Music. Watermelon Music. It performed out back of the Pence Gallery. And so that's been the nature of a lot of our shows right now, is that they travel. So we're bringing theater to the people. We're trying to. We're really trying to. And our most stable productions so far have been the salon readings, which started in February of last year. And we've been doing them monthly. This year we're doing 10 months out of 12. Last year we did full 12 months. But then we realized we might like a little bit of a break. So that we can actually plan and be effective. Okay.  How many people are you reaching out to? What's the sort of scope just to make one of those happen? Because cutting back to 10 still sounds pretty ambitious. It is.  Because we promote new works and new playwrights, we're able to turn around and go, okay, well, who do we know that's writing good stuff right now that we want to support them? So we've been able to have local playwright. I mix up his name all the time. Nicholas Walker Herbert. And we were able to do a set of his 10 minute plays this last summer for one of the readings. And we have one of our company members, Kevin Carlyle Gish, is actually we're putting together a roster of his 10 minute pieces that we're going to do in April. It's titled I Am Lizard. Very strange, very fun. Very surreal work. So that, you know, suddenly when you're, when you've got playwrights that you know, people who are your friends and colleagues and that you want to support, it becomes very easy to slot them in. You're like, oh, where can we fit them in? We got to know Jeanine de Maria through the Ground and Field Theater Festival. And she's a wonderful playwright operating out of Los Angeles. And like, we like hanging out with you. So how do we get you back? What can we do? How can we create a slot for that? In addition, I read a lot. I read constantly. And it's, oh, such a burden to read plays. Oh, the terror. No, it's, it's great. I listen to a tremendous number of podcasts about what's going on in American theater. I, you know, I just sort of try and suss out what's happening and what, who's writing what and what's happening over in London to see where new playwrights are coming from or new voices, just, just to kind of, you know, sift out what's happening. And yeah, and just read as much as I possibly can. And then when somebody, the best, the best advertisement, the best research and work I do is when somebody walks in and goes, I really love this play. I'm like, okay, well, let's, let's read it. Yeah. The salon readings operate from the premise that plays are meant to be heard. They, they are meant to be spoken aloud. You can't get the full measure of a piece of dramatic writing unless you have somebody inhabiting it, even if it's as simple as just reading it aloud. And there's a real magic and energy that comes from a first table read. And we're trying to recreate that a little bit for the audience. It's, it's sort of low tech, but high, I don't know, high quality is the word I'm looking for. High excitement. High excitement. High excitement, high quality. And just to get people listening again, you know, you don't always have to go see, you can have a really rich theatrical experience in a really local way that doesn't always have to be a fully produced musical like cats are wicked or something really beautiful. Hamilton, those are fantastic and wonderful and they absolutely should exist. But this is a way to sort of get the people in the seats having that live experience. And it's also a really great opportunity for us to put a show up in front of the audience and see how the audience reacts to it. We do talk backs after some of these and some of the material that we do in the salons ends up going to our main stage stuff. So, so it's, it's a good way to gauge out, you know, right with the audience. I would, I would think that it's a great way to just expose people to art, right? So a theater ticket and going to the theater and parking and Hamilton is great. And Hamilton is ridiculously expensive, right? Incredibly. And so it just seems to me a great way to introduce people to art and let them see a bit of what goes on behind the scenes that allows for that final production to take place. Absolutely. And thanks to the city, it's free. So folks can come check it out. We have snacks and coffee too. It's good to know. Where can people learn more? Bikesitytheater.org. Bikesitytheater.org. And we spell it pretentiously. So it's theater with an R-E instead of an E-R. But you'll still find us, don't worry. You'll get to us. Excellent. Thank you so much for joining me in the studio and we'll see you out there in the in the city of Davis. Thank you. Join us. Thank you for joining us.


The First Snow Fall by James Russell Lowell Read for LibriVox.org by Caitlyn Cooper December 16, 2007 in Covington, Louisiana The snow had begun in the gloaming, and busily all the night, had been heaping field and highway with a silent steep and white. Every pine and fir and hemlock were ermined too dear for an earl, and the porous twig on the elm tree was ridged and steep with pearl. From Shedd's new roof with Carrera came Shanticleer's muffled crow. The stiff rails softened as swarms down and still fluttered down the snow. I stood and watched by the window, the noiseless work of the sky, and the sudden flurries of snowbirds like brown leaves whirling by. I thought of a mound in sweet Auburn, where little headstones stood, how the flakes were folding it gently as did robins, the babes in the wood. Up spoke our own little Mabel, saying, Father, who makes a snow? And I told of the good all-father who cares for us here below. Again I looked at the snowfall and thought of the leaden sky that arched o'er our first great sorrow when that mound was heaped so high. I remembered the gradual patience that fell from the cloud like snow, flake by flake healing and hiding the scar that renewed our woe. And again to the child I whispered, the snow that husheth all, darling the merciful father alone can make it fall. Then with eyes that saw not I kissed her, and she kissing back could not know, that my kiss was given to her sister, folded close under deepening snow. In the poem this recording is in the public domain. The First Snowfall by James Russell Lowell, read for LibriVox.org by Carolyn Francis. The snow had begun in the gloaming, and busily all the night had been heaping field and highway with a silence deep and white. Every pine and fir and hemlock wore ermine too dear for an earl, and the porous twig on the elm tree was ridged inch deep with pearl. From sheds new roofed with carara came Chanticleer's muffled crow, the stiff rail softened to swans down, and still fluttered down the snow. I stood and watched by the window the noiseless work of the sky, and the sudden flurries of snowbirds like brown leaves whirling by. I thought of a mound in sweet Auburn where a little headstone stood, how the flakes were folding it gently, as did robins the babes in the wood. Up spoke our own little Mabel, saying, Father, who makes it snow? And I told of the good all father, who cares for us here below. Again I looked at the snowfall and thought of our leaden sky that arched o'er our first great sorrow when that mound was heaped so high. I remembered the gradual patience that fell from that cloud like snow, flake by flake, healing and hiding the scar that renewed our woe. And again to the child I whispered, the snow that husheth all, darling the merciful father alone can make it fall. Then with eyes that saw not I kissed her, and she kissing back could not know that my kiss was given to her sister, folded close under deepening snow. End of poem. This recording is in the public domain. The First Snowfall by J. R. Lowell. Red for LibriVox.org by Clarica. The snow had begun in the gloaming, and busily all the night had been heaping field and highway with a silence deep and white. Every pine and fir and hemlock wore ermine too dear for an earl, and the poorest twig on the elm tree was ridged inch deep with pearl. From sheds new roofed with carara came Chanticleer's muffled crow. The stiff rail softened to swans down, and still fluttered down the snow. I stood and watched by the window the noiseless work of the sky and the sudden flurries of snowbirds like brown leaves whirling by. I thought of a mound in sweet auburn where a little headstone stood, how the flakes were folding it gently, as did robins the babes in the wood. Up spoke our own little Mabel, saying, Father, who makes it snow? And I told of the good all-father, who cares for us here below. Again I looked at the snowfall and thought of the leaden sky that arched over our first great sorrow when that mound was heaped so high. I remembered the gradual patience that fell from that cloud like snow, flake by flake, healing and hiding, the scar that renewed our woe. And again to the child I whispered, the snow that husheth all, darling, the merciful father alone, can make it fall. Then, with eyes that saw not, I kissed her, and she, kissing back, could not know that my kiss was given to her sister, folded close under deepening snow. End of poem. This recording is in the public domain. The First Snowfall by James Russell Lowell Red for LibriVox.org by Esther The snow had begun in the gloaming and busily all the night, with the silence deep and white. Every pine and fir and hemlock were ear-mine too dear for an earl, and the poorest twig on the elm-tree was ridged inch deep with pearl. From Shed's new roofed with carerra came Chantalier's muffled crow, the stiff rail softened to swans down and still fluttered down the snow. I stood and watched by the window the noiseless work of the sky, and the sudden flurries of snow-birds, like brown leaves whirling by. I thought of a mount in sweet Auburn, where a little headstone stood, how the flakes were folding it gently, as did Robin's, the babes in the wood. Up spoke our little Mabel, saying, Father, who makes it snow? And I told of the good all-father who cares for us here below. Again I looked at the snowfall and thought of the leaden sky that arched o'er our first great sorrow when that mount was heaped so high. I remembered the gradual patience that fell from the cloud like snow, flake by flake, healing and hiding the scar that renewed our woe. And again to the child I whispered, the snow that husheth all, darling, the merciful father alone can make it fall. Then with eyes that saw not I kissed her, and she kissing back could not know that my kiss was given to her sister, folded close under deepening snow. End of poem. This recording is in the public domain. December 2007. The snow had begun in the gloaming, and busily all the night had been heaping field and highway with a silence deep and white. Every pine and fur and hemlock were ermine too dear for an earl, and the porous twig on the elm tree was ridged inch deep with pearl. From shed's new roofed with carara came gently clear's muffled crow. The stiff rails softened to swans down, and still fluttered down the snow. I stood and watched by the window, the noiseless work of the sky, and the sudden flurries of snowbirds, like brown leaves rolling by. I thought of a mount in sweet Auburn, where a little headstone stood, how the flakes were folding it gently. As did Robbins, the babes in the wood. I've spoke our own little Mabel, saying, Father, who makes it snow? And I told her of the good old Father, who cares for us here below. Again I looked at the snowfall, and thought of the leaden sky, that arched o'er our first great sorrow, when that mound was heaped so high. I remembered the gradual patience that fell from that cloud like snow, flake by flake, healing and hiding, the scar that renewed our woe. And again to the child I whispered, the snow that hushed all, darling, the merciful Father, alone can make it fall. Then, with eyes that saw not, I kissed her, and she, kissing back, could not know, that my kiss was given to her sister. Folded close under deepening snow. End of poem. This recording is in the public domain. The snow had begun in the gloaming, and busily all the night had been heaping field and highway, with a silence deep and white. Every pine and fir and hemlock, or ermine too dear for an earl, and the porous twig on the elm tree was ridged inch deep with pearl. From shed's new roofed with carara came Chanticleer's muffled crow, the stiff rails softened to swans down and still fluttered down the snow. I stood and watched by the window, the noiseless work of the sky, and the sudden flurries of snowbirds, like brown leaves whirling by. I thought of a mound in sweet auburn, where a little headstone stood, how the flakes were folding it gently, as did Robbins the babes in the wood. Upspoke our own little mable, saying, Father, who makes it snow? And I told of the good all-father, who cares for us here below. Again I looked at the snowfall, and thought of the leaden sky, that arched door our first great sorrow, when that mound was heaped so high. I remembered the gradual patience that fell from that cloud-like snow, flake by flake, healing and hiding the scar that renewed our woe. And again to the child I whispered, the snow that husheth all, darling the merciful father, alone can make it fall. Then with eyes that saw not I kissed her, and she, kissing back, could not know that my kiss was given to her sister, folded close under deepening snow. End of poem. This recording is in the public domain. The First Snowfall by James Russell Lowell Read for LibriVox.org by Leanne Howlett The snow had begun in the gloaming, and busily all the night had been heaping field and highway with a silence deepened white. Every pine and fir and hemlock wore ermine, too dear for an earl, and the porous twig on the elm tree was ridged inch deep with pearl. From sheds new-roofed with carrera came Chanticleer's muffled crow, the stiff rails softened the swans down, and still fluttered down the snow. I stood and watched by the window the noiseless work of the sky, and the sudden flurries of snowbirds, like brown leaves whirling by. I thought of a mound and sweet auburn where a little headstone stood, how the flakes were folding it gently, as did robins, the babes, and the wood. Up spoke our own little Mabel, saying, Father, who makes it snow? And I told of the good all, Father, who cares for us here below. Again I looked at the snowfall and thought of the leaden sky that arched or our first great sorrow when that mound was heaped so high. I remembered the gradual patience that fell from that cloud-like snow, flake by flake, healing and hiding the scar that renewed our woe. And again to the child I whispered, the snow that husheth all, darling, the merciful Father alone can make it fall. Then with eyes that saw not I kissed her, and she, kissing back, could not know that my kiss was given to her sister, folded close under deepening snow. End of poem. This recording is in the public domain. Hemlock wore ermine too dear for an earl, and the poorest twig on the elm-tree was ridged inch-deep with pearl. From sheds new-roofed with carerra came shanticleer's muffled crow. The stiff rails softened to swan-down, and still fluttered down the snow. I stood and watched by the window the noiseless work of the sky, and the sudden flurries of snow-birds, like brown leaves, whirling by. I thought of a mound in sweet Orburn, where a little headstone stood, how the flakes were folding it gently, as did robins, the babes in the wood. Upspoke her own little mable, saying, Father, who makes it snow? And I told her of the good all-father, who cares for us here below. Again I looked at the snowfall, and thought of the leaden sky that arched o'er our first great sorrow, when that mound was heaped so high. I remembered the gradual patience that fell from that cloud like snow, flake by flake, healing and hiding the scar that renewed our woe. And again to the child I whispered, the snow that husheth all, darling the merciful Father alone can make it fall. Then with eyes that saw not, I kissed her, and she, kissing back, could not know that my kiss was given to her sister, folded close under deepening snow. End of poem. This recording is in the public domain. The First Snowfall by James Russell Lowell, read for LibriVox.org by Sean McGahey, ducktapeguy.net. The snow had begun in the gloaming, and busily all the night had been heeping field and highway, with a silence deep and white. Every pine and fir and hemlock wore ermine too dear for a knurl, and the porous twig on the elm tree was ridged inch deep with pearl. From sheds new roofed with carara came Chanticleer's muffled crow, the stiff rail softened to swans down, and still fluttered down the snow. I stood and watched by the windows the noiseless work of the sky, and the sudden flurries of snowbirds like brown leaves whirling by. I thought of a mound in sweet auburn where a little headstone stood, how the flakes were folding it gently as did robins the babes in the wood. Upspoke our own little mabel, saying, Father, who makes it snow? And I told of the good old Father who cares for us here below. Again I looked at the snowfall and thought of the leavened sky that arched oar our first great sorrow when that mound was heaped so high. I remembered the gradual patience that fell from that cloud-like snow, flake by flake, healing and hiding, the scar that renewed our woe. And again to the child I whispered, the snow that husheth all, darling the merciful Father, alone can make it fall. Then with eyes that saw not I kissed her, and she kissing back could not know that my kiss was given to her sister, folded close under deepening snow. End of poem, this recording is in the public