About the Show

Against the backdrop of occupied borderlands torn asunder, "the birds that are your hands: how to start a fire under siege" explores disparate yet overlapping tales of tyranny and resistance from Israel/Palestine to the U.S/Mexico border. From stony hills laden with olive trees to the blurry haze of a line in the sand among saguaros; from the bullet riddled corridors of an ancient holy city to a chain gang in a Southwestern U.S. metropolis, a tangled collage of stories unfurl drawing attention to the hands of those enclosed by borders, those making the crossing, and those who capitalize on the construction of walls: wielders of stones, bakers of bread, upholders of state. Shepherds emerge alongside Goliaths' patrol, lovers find themselves to be terrorists, and Ingrid thinks we should all just lay down our arms and play violins. The politically-charged, provocative performance interrogates coercive population control, racialized state violence, and militarized borders. It does this while foregrounding the voices and stories of those deemed "collateral." The birds that are your hands: how to start a fire under siege coos, screeches, and pleads with the dangerous urgency of a world on fire.

About The Director/Playwright

Sol Thea Kelley-Jones, an activist and artist, has been reimagining justice-making through the performing arts since her youngest years. In 1999, out of a desire to create theater and give platform to marginalized voices, Sol co-founded Proud Theater with Callen Harty, now Broom Street Artistic Director. Through the years, Sol's art has reflected her belief in the interconnection between struggles for justice. She has continued to employ the theatrical arts in ever widening circles. After teaching theater in refugees camps in the Palestinian Territories and working on behalf of immigrant rights at Coalicion Derechos de Humanos on the U.S. Mexico border, Sol's embarked on her most recent theatrical work, which explores the peoples and militarized landscapes of these two border places. Her play, the "birds that are your hands: how to start a fire under siege," will be presented by Broom Street Theater in March and April of 2009.