Transmission of Memory Via the Arts
Blue Pumpkin Productions, an active corporation since 1999, was established by Marc P. and Susan L. Smith to engage in a variety of entertainment-related projects for stage, film, and other media. Several versions of cabaret and vaudeville revues have been presented in venues throughout Massachusetts. Since 2002, an additional primary creative mission has been pursuit of reconciliation between Germans, Jews, and Poles, and transmission of memory via the arts. Central to this mission, called The Kreisau Project, are two plays written by Marc P. Smith, "A Journey to Kreisau" and "Karski", both of which have been performed in U.S. cities, and in cities in Germany and Poland.
We are deeply saddened to note the death, at age 98, of Freya von Moltke, on New Year's Day, 2010. She died peacefully in her home in Vermont, with family members around her.
Read the NY Times obituary for Freya von Moltke.
Performances and Events
Transmission of Memory Through the Arts - Fall Course at Worcester State University
Playwright Marc P. Smith offers a new course this Fall at Worcester State University: Transmission of Memory Through the Arts. Classes meet on Monday evenings, beginning September 13, 2010. This course is an opportunity for students (of college age as well as post-college-age adults) to discover the drama behind the drama based on Marc's 'adventures' in recovering a history hidden for years by the governments of Germany and Poland, each for their own reasons. Central to the course will be the texts of Marc's two most recent plays, A Journey to Kreisau and Karski. The former centers on Helmuth James and Freya von Moltke, pivotal figures in German resistance to the Nazis. The latter focuses on an astounding hero of the Polish underground, Jan Karski. Both plays were written with the active encouragement of survivors of the resistance and of the governments of Germany and Poland. During the course, Marc will also utilize various films dealing with this same era in world history.
For further information on the course and registration, phone the Division of Graduate and Continuing Education at Worcester State University--508-929-8127--or visit the website: www.worcester.edu/DGCE. You'll find a link to registration. The course is a Special Topics course: TH399E1.
"Karski"
Marc P. Smith’s newest play, “Karski,” which tells the riveting story of Polish Resistance hero, Jan Karski, headed for New York City on May 20, 2010. It was presented for a one-night performance at the Kosciuzsko Foundation on East 65th Street. Audience reaction was intense and strongly positive for this little-known story of Karski, who has been described as the man who tried to stop the Holocaust. Most of the six-person cast that had appeared in the earlier Massachusetts performances was also able to travel to New York for this performance.
Ongoing Projects
"Personal and Public -- A Playwright's Journey"
Marc P. Smith is available as a speaker for programs at organizations and schools.He calls his presentation, "Personal and Public--A Playwright's Journey."
"My Life--In Smithereens"
Compelling aural history for stage and on spoken-word CD--told by a New England father to his sons.
"2 Vaudevillians Find Buried Treasure"
A delectable treat of vaudeville era music and comedic material is presented in this 22-track CD. (Note--Both CDs, 2 Vaudevillians and ...Smithereens, available on line, via Discography page.)