Pieces of Paper Project - A week of visual art and music to celebrate the compassionate service of grassroots volunteers in response to the 9/11 attacks. September 5, 2011

September 6 - 11, Brooklyn, NY, the Irondale Center in Fort Greene presents a week of theater, visual art, music and words to celebrate the compassionate service of grassroots volunteers in response to the 9/11 attacks utilizing the backdrop of the permanent, multi-media installation," Pieces of Paper". This week long installation and meditation will be highlighted by a variety of special events, opening on Tuesday, September 6 with an event to honor and feature September 11 volunteer groups. councilwoman Letitia James and retired FDNY first responder and author of "The Second Tower's Down. A Firefighters Story" John McCole will speak.

The week will conclude on Sunday, September 11, with a community wide concert and interfaith service featuring highly acclaimed pianist and "Pieces of Paper Project" composer Anton Batagov, The String Orchestra of Brooklyn, Spoke the Hub, and The Noel Pointer Foundation. Reverend David Dyson of Lafayette Presbyterian Church and members of September 11 volunteer services will speak.

The "Pieces of Paper Project" installation will be open daily from 1 - 6pm, please see below for the schedule of special events. The installation and all events are open and free to the public. Visitors will be encouraged to add their own piece of paper, stating what they did to help during 9/11, or what their goals are to help in their community in the name of those lost or who suffer from the tragedy.

Inspired by historical documents created the week of September 11, 2001 by grassroots volunteers at the Chelsea Piers Support Center, "Pieces of Paper Project" tells a moving and hopeful story of the human spirit in action. Conceived by theater artist and 9/11 volunteer Michael Simon Hall in collaboration with a team of creative artists, the installation, evocative of the New York City skyline, integrates the paper artifacts with video projections, original music and theatrical lighting effects, and a short film featuring the 9/11 volunteer community, providing an opportunity for reflection on the selfless actions of thousands of grassroots volunteers that formed the bedrock of the 9/11 recovery efforts.
The artifacts used in this display were featured in part at the New-York Historical Society in an exhibit called "Radical Hospitality" and "Pieces of Paper Project" was also presented as a full theatrical production in May 2011 at HERE Arts center. It's transformation into an installation are part of the pieces organic progression.

Full Schedule of Events:
Tuesday, September 6
Opening event, Volunteer reunion featuring premier of video piece "Thank you for Everything" Councilwoman Leticia James and retired FDNY first responder and author of "The Second Tower's Down" John McCole.

Thursday, September 8 & Friday, September 9
Staged reading of of "Pieces of Paper Project"

Sunday, September 11, 4pm - 6pm
Community concert featuring The String Orchestra of Brooklyn, The Noel Pointer Foundation, Rev. David Dyson, Spoke the Hub and September 11 volunteers.

About "Pieces of Paper Project" creator Michael Simon Hall
Michael is a multidisciplinary artist, growing out of his vast experience in the performing arts. Working professionally in the theater for over twenty years, from La Mama to NYC Opera and everywhere in between, including two solo shows, Michael branched out into design, creating installations for Fashion Week at Bryant Park, the Metropolitan Museum and national television, with his work featured in New York Times Sunday Styles. His plays include Oh, Very Young, based on the music of Cat Stevens, The Usual Space, and adaptations of Mother in the Trenches and The Ironworkers Hayride, by Pulitzer award winner, Robert Olen Butler, as well as an opera in development with 6-time Emmy recipient, composer/arranger Lanny Meyers. More recently Michael has been focused on commemorating 9/11 through an evolving series of theater, music and multimedia projects, the Pieces of Paper Project. Pieces of Paper - Aspirations of 9/11, a multimedia theater experience, was presented at the Here Arts Center in May 2011.

About pianist and composer Anton Batagov
Anton Batagov was the first Russian pianist to perform works by John Cage, Morton Feldman, Steve Riech and Phillip Glass. Heralded as "one of the most significant and unusual figures of Russian contemporary music" (Newsweek, Russian edition, 1997) and "a Russian Terry Riley" (Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 2008), Anton Batagov is one of the most influential Russian composers and performers, composing works for acoustic and electronic instruments. His discography counts over thirty CD releases. He is the author of several movie soundtracks and the #1 composer of original music for Russian television, with 4 TEFI's to his credit (Emmy equivalent). Most of his works written since the late 90's are deeply influenced by Buddhist philosophy and practice. He has recently returned to performing and the US after a long hiatus.

Anton speaks about his participation in Pieces of Paper:

"It is an honor for me to participate in this project. I feel some special connection with it. I am saying this not just as a composer but as a human being. This project is about the most important thing in this world: about transformation through active compassion. We live to help others. I am trying to use musical language to transmit these feelings."

About speaker and author John McCole
As he helped out at his local church while off-duty on the morning of 11 September, John McCole had absolutely no idea of the horror he would encounter later at the World Trade Center. He was urgently recalled to work and two minutes away from the collapsed first tower, he heard the words 'The second tower is down' being frantically repeated on his radio. This book begins as John enters the aftermath of the WTC collapse - the hot air thick with ash, twisted metal and debris, fires, rescue services, casualties and chaos. 'I thought if there's a hell, this is what it must look like.' It continues through the nightmare days that followed and explores the emotional and physical strain that he faced and how he dealt with it. As the months have passed, John has gradually gained perspective and he shares his memories of life as a firefighter with the many colleagues that he lost in the tragedy. The Second Tower is Down is a gripping, moving, personal story of one man who had to endure the unendurable.

Irondale’s Mission
Through the power of the ensemble process, Irondale creates and presents theater, performance and education programs that challenge traditional assumptions about art, and help us to better understand today’s world.   The Irondale Center, our theater, laboratory and classroom, is a home for ensemble artists of all disciplines and cultures, and a resource for our community.

http://www.irondale.org