A Feast and Stories from Iraq, Afghanistan and the F.O.B*
(*Forward Operating Base of the US military)

The Prepared Table is a multimedia performance work, film and installation that is being developed in partnership with the School of Arts and Media at California State University East Bay and members of the Afghan, Iraqi, and American veteran communities by the three collaborators (writer/director Helen Stoltzfus, writer/composer Albert Greenberg, and media artist / filmmaker Ian Winters).

More than a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan has left an indelible wound on our nation’s psyche and The Prepared Table seeks to put a human face on those most directly affected by the post-9/11 wars.

At its heart The Prepared Table is a literal feast shared among story tellers, audience and performers where any one person may be all three.   During a shared meal, the audience experiences stories from Afghanistan, Iraq, and the U.S. military: performed live by actors seated at the table or viewed on video at the table and in other locations in the space. In addition to the physical “table”, three booths located in the performance space provide opportunities for audience members to experience stories one-on-one: Guests are invited throughout the evening to leave the table and visit one of these “homes.” For example, one booth may contain the home movie of an Iraqi family’s “last night”, shot the evening before the U.S. invasion of Baghdad, in the event they did not survive.

The Prepared Table is administered by Oakland’s ALICE Arts and supported by funding from:  City of Oakland’s Cultural Funding Program, National Endowment for the Arts, East Bay Community Foundation, The Fleishhacker Family Foundation, and individual donors along with residency support from CSU East Bay’s School of Arts and Media, and The MilkBar.

For more information see the artists individual sites: http:www.ianwinters.com/preparedtable or http://www.alicearts.org/