The Maverick Project

The overall vision is to allow people to tap into other “Mavericks” of the era of Charles Ives, from 1880 to 1925. Using youth actors as a guide, people will be introduced into a newfound understanding of these important figures. In some cases, they will meet with America's most recognized peoples in history, and some that are less well known. During the evening of the musical performances, youth actors will spread throughout the hallways and find their spots before the doors open and the show begins. As patrons enter the hallways, they will be transported into a different era of dress and speech, as the actors will inhabit the thoughts and lives of their specific historic character. Some of the individuals depicted will be well known throughout modern communities, but some will be unearthed from the past, each as important as the last. The actors will develop their own understanding of each character and their traits as well as initiate and create a set of lines they must memorize to conduct conversation between the actor and each person that wishes to speak to the individuals. The hope is to allow guests to talk and recognize some of the people of the past, whilst also gaining insight into people that they may not have known. The intent is for the viewer to become a participant in these interactions, to feel transported into the past and prepared for the musical performance of various pieces by Charles Ives. It should also create an energy and excitement for the performance ahead.

Purpose:
This performance art will take place in the entrance room before the main musical performance, so it will create a liminal space between the modern world outside and the world of music from the early 1900’s, through the thoughts and ideas of the greatest thinkers of the past. It will also connect us to our future by showing the ideas that created science and technology that we have today, as in the work of Tesla, Edison and Ford. It will remind us of our past, but also encourage people to become the next great thinkers, activists, and musicians. As Dr. Jan Swafford said, “[Ives] was a maverick who took his own radical path. We need mavericks.”

Rationale:
The Maverick Project is a mix of live, street theater which is a type of guerilla art-activism of performers such as street statues, moving only when prompted by a coin dropped into their hand or as a surprise as a passersby moves closer to inspect them, and larger pieces of historic reconstruction such as the “We’re here because we’re here” project. In 2016, 1500 men dressed up in WWI uniforms and walked around locations in England, ending with a powerful moment of singing and screaming. As stated:
“The “we’re here because we’re here” project was a modern memorial to mark the Battle of the Somme, commissioned by 14-18 NOW and created by Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller in collaboration with Rufus Norris (Director of the National Theatre), each participant represented an individual soldier who was killed on 1 July 1916. The work was partly inspired by tales of sightings during and after the First World War by people who believed they had seen a dead loved one.”