Sussanah Serkin is neither a writer nor an actor, nor an artist in any conventional sense of the word. But this doctor and activist invokes Shakespeare’s move to the Globe Theatre on the Thames’ South Bank in speaking of her organization’s fast-approaching relocation across another river—the Charles.
This winter, Physicians for Human Rights will move from Boston to Zero Arrow Street. The building will house not only an extraordinary new theatre, but also a bevy of diverse organizations reflecting the intellectual, cultural and social richness of the city of Cambridge. Indeed, the American Repertory Theatre (A.R.T.) will share the space with World Music and PEN New England as well as Physicians for Human Rights.
Though the motley crew might seem like unlikely neighbors, that is precisely the point: Zero Arrow Street will not simply be a place for each group to work, but a unique environment that allows interaction between actors, writers, musicians and social activists, where everyone has the freedom to do new and exciting work.
Where New Forms ARE Born
The core of Zero Arrow will, of course, be the theatre, an incredibly flexible space that will lend itself to experimental productions. It is, in essence, a black box: 80 feet by 60 feet and 28 feet high, with movable seating pods and the ability to divide easily into two separate spaces.
In describing the need for such a theatre, A.R.T. executive director Robert Orchard cites an experience he had while visiting Budapest. He saw a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream during which each audience member sat on a swing suspended from the ceiling and the actors performed around them. He returned the next night to see another play and found the space transformed into an operating room for the show.
The following day, Orchard visited the theatre a third time as part of a delegation and found it filled with light. That, he says, is when he realized the need for “a space that can transform in such a significant way, a space that is friendly and hospitable during the day and dynamic and truly theatrical at night.”
Now that space is here, and it promises to provide artists with not only another forum in which to perform but also a chance to develop their work in ways a traditional theatre might not allow. “This new space is going to become a landmark space in the American theater where new forms get born,” says Gideon Lester, the A.R.T.’s associate artistic director.
Robert Woodruff, artistic director of the A.R.T., describes such a space as essential to a growing theater community. “There aren’t any theatres of international renown that don’t have a second space, a space to experiment,” he says.
In contrast to a standard proscenium theatre, the emphasis will also be entirely on the work performed, with the black box almost completely bare of artistic ornamentation. “It’s raw,” says Woodruff of the new theatre. “It’ll have an industrial feel to it. There’s not an ounce of decoration.”
The Zero Arrow Theatre should also help alleviate the space crunch that comes from the three groups—the A.R.T., the Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club (HRDC) and the Institute for Advanced Theatre Training—all currently based at the Loeb. Though the A.R.T. will be the main drama company using Zero Arrow Theatre, Woodruff hopes it will also provide a place for all three groups to work collaboratively.
A Synergy of Sorts
Theater will by no means be the only activity at Zero Arrow. Indeed, the building will be not only a space, but a community of people with different interests pooling their talents and learning from each other.
Maure Arenson, artistic director of World Music, explains the relationship between his group and the A.R.T. with a word that often comes up as he and his colleagues discuss their plans: “There’s a synergy between our audiences,” he says simply.
World Music plans to use their share of the new space to present approximately 100 nights of dance programming a year, saying that Zero Arrow will provide a place for both contemporary and world dance.
Perri Klass, president of PEN New England, a division of PEN America, agrees with Arenson, calling Zero Arrow “a chance to build all kinds of bridges and connections.” He says that PEN New England hopes to build on its current working relationship with the A.R.T.
Currently, the collaboration centers on an annual event during which A.R.T. company members perform readings of PEN’s Best American Short Stories. With the two groups under one roof, the plan is for further work between actors and writers, especially those who would not normally write for the stage. To explain this desire, Klass tells the story of an essayist who decided after seeing the A.R.T.’s readings to “stop playing at writing and start writing plays.”
Physicians for Human Rights, the fourth group using the building, would initially seem to be the proverbial odd man out. Their primary focus is not on art but human rights issues, especially those related to health. But their director points out that there is a deep connection between drama, activism and well-being.
Serkin, who grew up in Greece during the period of military dictatorship, recalls being taken by her father to an unmarked basement theatre to see a secret performance of Carlos Kuhn’s deeply political play The Dragon. “It struck me profoundly, this connection between human rights and theater,” she says.
Serkin mentions Vaclav Havel, the Czech playwright turned anti-Soviet activist and eventual president of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic, as an embodiment of such a connection. Art is not only a tool for activism, she says: It is essential to a healthy, full life.
“Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social-well being,” Serkin says. “We strive for a world in which people don’t just survive, they thrive. Theatre is about healing for us. “It’s about catharsis and transcendence and our work is very much towards the same goal.”
New Beginnings
The official opening of Zero Arrow will be this winter’s South African project, which will feature dramatic works as well as discussions and films highlighting the connections between the building’s various inhabitants.
Satirist Pieter-Dirk Uys’ Foreign Aids will be the inaugural piece, taking on both the AIDS crisis in South Africa and the state of American politics. Uys, who was recently profiled in the New Yorker, is an innovative performer whose antics include such unconventional techniques as dressing in drag. “The fact that he does this all with a dress on makes it even more important,” Woodruff says.
But as the curtain rises on Zero Arrow, it is evident that beyond the theatre, the organizations and the benefactors, there is yet another essential player shaping its character: the city of Cambridge and the neighborhood of Harvard Square.
Several representatives of groups involved in the Zero Arrow project mention the high concentration of artistic, political and cultural institutions in the neighborhood and the extraordinary environment the city provides in explaining their move. “We’re honestly thrilled to be moving to Cambridge to be near Harvard in this extraordinary area filled with vitality and education and experimentation,” says Serkin.
Lester concurs, adding that he hopes Zero Arrow will be able to add to that vitality by bringing the city’s various groups together. “The possibilities for this space not only reflect the intellectual, artistic, cultural richness of the region but also help to enhance that richness by creating a synergy between those disciplines,” he says.
Woodruff, too, has high hopes for the theatre, the building and the people involved in Zero Arrow. “It’s a great cultural and political landscape in the building,” he says, adding, “As a new space in Boston, it’ll have tremendous focus and has tremendous potential.”
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