No Fog West Theater is a non-profit

theater company Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

run by students from

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely follo ...

Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsi ...

, United States. It was founded in December 2006. The company "believe that theater is an ideal and underused forum in which to inspire social change and self-awareness ndattempt to use tsproductions as an instrument in promoting pro-compassion, non-confrontational discussions about pertinent and important issues affecting us as human beings."

The Laramie Project

No Fog West Theater's first production was ''

The Laramie Project ''The Laramie Project'' is a 2000 play by Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project (specifically, Leigh Fondakowski, writer-director; Stephen Belber, Greg Pierotti, Barbara Pitts, Stephen Wangh, Amanda Gronich, Sara Lambert, ...

'' by

Moisés Kaufman Moisés Kaufman (born November 21, 1963) is a Venezuelan theater director, filmmaker, playwright, founder of Tectonic Theater Project, based in New York City, and co-founder of Miami New Drama at the Colony Theatre. He was awarded the 2016 National ...

and Tectonic Theater Project in

Sheridan Sheridan may refer to: People Surname *Sheridan (surname) *Philip Sheridan (1831–1888), U.S. Army general after whom the Sheridan tank is named *Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751–1816), Irish playwright (''The Rivals''), poet and politician ...

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

in July 2007. Ten students from around the country came to perform and direct: five from

, one from the University of Puget Sound, and four from the Sheridan area.No Fog West Official Site: http://www.nofogwest.org/LaramieProject.html Although the play is one of the most frequently performed in the country, it had been staged in Wyoming only a few times.Casper Star Tribune: http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2007/07/22/news/wyoming/e773de89fe439a718725731d0081ca13.txt No Fog West Theater's show ran for two weeks at the Carriage House Theater in Sheridan in July 2007. In addition to the play, the company hosted a community forum on the community's responsibility towards the prevention of hate and prejudice. They invited a minister, a state legislator, a school board member, and a psychologist to sit on a panel and discuss these issues with the community. The company also marched in the Sheridan Rodeo Parade. Through their approach to theater and attention received from ''The Laramie Project'', No Fog West's board of directors met with theater professionals from around the country, including Philip Himberg from Sundance Theater and Nancy Borgenicht, co-creator of

Saturday's Voyeur ''Saturday's Voyeur'' is an annual musical satire formerly produced by Salt Lake Acting Company (SLAC) in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Each year a new show is written to parody contemporary life, politics, and religion in Utah. Saturday ...

, who guided them in the planning of their second production, a summer 2008 tour of ''Talking to Terrorists'' by Robin Soans.Blog: http://www.nofogwest.blogspot.com/

Talking to Terrorists

First performed by the Out of Joint theatre company in London, ''Talking to Terrorists'' "is entirely composed of interwoven testimonies - from ex-terrorists and former freedom fighters (distinguishing between those two categories being itself sometimes a dilemma); from the victims of terrorism (whether it be Lady Tebbit, who has had to use a wheelchair following the Brighton bombing, or those people who were recruited into terrorism, or drafted into brutal armies, when too young or damaged to resist). We hear from people all over the world - from the ex-head of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade in Bethlehem to a former member of the National Resistance Army in Uganda to Craig Murray, the ex-British Ambassador who was recalled from Tashkent by the Foreign Office because of his uncompromising views on the violation of human rights in Uzbekistan, and who is standing against the Foreign Secretary." Robin Soans has appeared in eighty plays and has performed in the National Theatre,

The Royal Court The Royal Court is a music production team formed by producer Timbaland and Solomon "King" Logan. Their first work was the single "Ice Box" by Omarion from the album '' 21'', co-produced with Timbaland. Discography 2006 Omarion - '' 21'' *"Ice B ...

, The

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

, the Hampstead Theatre, The Tricycle,

The Bush "The bush" is a term mostly used in the English vernacular of Australia and New Zealand where it is largely synonymous with '' backwoods'' or ''hinterland'', referring to a natural undeveloped area. The fauna and flora contained within this a ...

and

The Young Vic The Young Vic Theatre is a performing arts venue located on The Cut (London), The Cut, near the South Bank, in the London Borough of Lambeth. The Young Vic was established by Frank Dunlop (director), Frank Dunlop in 1970. Kwame Kwei-Armah has b ...

. He has made thirty television appearances and been in twelve films. In 2000, he wrote ''A State Affair'' for Out of Joint. It went on two nationals tours, had two runs at Soho Theatre and was invited to be performed in the House of Lords. No Fog West Theater's connections in Sheridan led to a residency at the

Ucross Foundation The Ucross Foundation, located in Ucross, Wyoming, is a nonprofit organization that operates an internationally known retreat for visual artists, writers, composers, and choreographers working in all creative disciplines. History Founded in 1981 ...

, home of Sundance Theatre's Writers Retreat. After this three-week rehearsal residency, the company toured for three weeks, stopping in Sheridan, Wyoming,

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

, and McCall, Idaho for three weeks in August 2008.

The Company

No Fog West Theater is run by a permanent board of directors: Grace Cannon, Production Director; Max Hershenow, Artistic Director; and Madeleine Joyce, Secretary. Actors are selected by audition for individual projects.No Fog West Theater
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The Laramie Project Cast

Adam Colton, Christine Hottinger, Angie Prichard, Mike Marshall, Austin Bramwell, Anne Gordon, Jordan Coffey, Grace Cannon, Madeleine Joyce and Max Hershenow, Director.

Talking to Terrorists Cast

Jamie Watkins, Baize Buzan, Nijae Draine, Nathan Birnbaum, Grace Cannon, Madeleine Joyce, Adam Colton, Mike Marshall, Becky Katz, Road Manager, and Max Hershenow, Director.

External links

No Fog West Theater Company
Official Site
Robin Soans IMDB

References

{{authority control Theatre companies in New York (state) Vassar College University and college theatres in the United States Tourist attractions in Dutchess County, New York