Voices from Ellis Island Virtual Residency: Post-Performance

Join Christina Farrell in this virtual residency accompanying the performance of Voices from Ellis Island.

Discussion Questions:

• What do you imagine the stories in “Voice from Ellis Island” have in common with your own family’s history? 
  • Did your family immigrate to America? Or did your family have to leave their home and settle somewhere new? 
  • What do you imagine those family members wanted most of all? What was at stake for them and what do you think stood in their way?
  • How do you think their experiences shaped your own story?
• What do you think the immigrants of Ellis Island might have in common with immigrants of today?
• If you were to create your own performance – just like Pippa White - to tell the stories of today’s immigrants, what would you have to do to find out the little details that make each of their stories unique? What questions would you ask them?

Theatre Strategies Used in the Video:

Actor’s Tools: actors use their Body, Voice and Imagination to create theatre

Acting with Narration: actors respond through body and voice to narrated directions

Tableau: a frozen statue made with your body

Objectives, Stakes, Obstacles: actors do research and use their imaginations to understand and portray their character’s: 

• Objectives – what a character wants most, the goal or wish
• Stakes – what could be gained or lost
• Obstacles – the barriers that might prevent them from achieving their goal