True/False Film Fest goers can enhance their film-viewing experience with Chautauqua performance, an educational and entertaining power that Theodore Roosevelt once called “the most American thing in America.”
Chautauqua is a type of solo performance. It’s an age-old American tradition that relies on entertaining lectures in the performer’s area of expertise. The Chautauqua movement began in the 1870s on the shores of Lake Chautauqua in New York. It brought a gathering of experts, from musicians and performers to lecturers and scientists. They would present short speeches and performances about their area of expertise to the public. Chautauqua performances served as an educational and social assembly intended to enrich cultural experiences and build community from 1874 until the 1920s.
Chautauqua performance was introduced to True/False three years ago as a part of its Provocations, or presentations before feature films. Each Provocation functions as its own Chautauqua, and there will be a showcase of all the Provocation Chautauquas on Sunday.
“We thought it’d be interesting to find people with incredibly provocative ideas; ideas that, in the words of our former programmer, rearrange your molecules,” David Wilson, co-founder and co-conspirator of True/False, said in an email.
Provocations presents new and intriguing ideas before the showing of select films in the festival. There are five Provocateurs at this year’s festival from across the world, and their speeches will cover a range of topics.
Provocateur Aja Romano is an internet culture writer for Vox. Miko Revereza will present on being undocumented in America and struggles with citizenship. Nicole He will speak about art, technology and human interaction with computers. Psychologist Paul Bloom will make his case against empathy. Danny Giles is the first Provocateur originally from Columbia. He now lives in Chicago and will present on power dynamics.
Each performer is paired with a different film and will perform a brief original piece before each showing of that film.
Although the movie and performance are different in content and concept, the pairing of each performance and film is intentional.
“It’s a curatorial gesture,” Wilson said in the email. “We think about the content of the movie, we think about which of our chosen provocateurs would be a good fit. We like the idea that these very different ideas bounce off each other somehow and that it sets you up to enjoy the movie maybe in a different way than you would have otherwise.”
In addition to performing before the showings of their respective films, the Provocateurs will also perform together at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday at the Rhynsburger Theatre in a stand-alone Chautauqua showcase. This showcase will feature three other speakers as well as a musician and a host, Wilson said.
_Edited by Brooke Collier | bcollier@themaneater.com_