FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Stacy P. Sherman
Marketing Specialist
Ph: (262) 472-5705
Email: ShermanS@uww.edu
Facebook: www.facebook.com/young.aud
Twitter: www.twitter.com/youngauditorium
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/young-auditorium
Website: www.uww.edu/youngauditorium
Date: April 14, 2015
Young Auditorium Offers Two Ways to Celebrate Earth Day
WHITEWATER – Just in time for Earth Day awareness, Young Auditorium in Whitewater is bringing
two performances offering different ways to celebrate with “VANG: A Drama About Recent Immigrant
Farmers” on Tuesday, April 21st at 7:30 p.m. and “Earthy Songs,” a concert for children by Ken
Lonnquist on Sunday, April 26, 2015 at 3:00 p.m.. VANG on April 21st is a FREE EVENT, but tickets
are required. Tickets to Ken Lonnquist’s concert are $5.00 for adults, $3.00 for children ages 2-11,
and children under 2 get in FREE.
Poet Laureate of Iowa, Mary Swander, Pulitzer Prize winning photographer Dennis Chamberlin, and
ACT Kennedy Center award-winner Matt Foss, collaborated to create VANG, documenting recent
Iowa immigrant farmers. VANG means “garden” or “farm” in Hmong.
Swander wound the immigrant farmers’ words together to form a verbatim play that captures their
journeys to the U.S. Hmong, Mexican, Sudanese, and Dutch immigrants all speak of their struggles,
survival skills, and their intense desire to return to the land. Chamberlin took stunning photos of them
in their greenhouses, farms, and dairy barns. Foss added his theatrical brilliance to the production,
bringing VANG to life on the stage. And Michael Ching, past executive director of the Memphis
Opera, composed music to underscore the play’s message.
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Swander notes, “The immigrant farmers featured in this production came from four continents,
speaking over six different languages, with multiple experiences of the world. In their own ways, they
adjusted to life in America. Some of these immigrants came to the U.S. as refugees from war-torn
parts of the world. Others came fleeing poverty in their homelands. Still others came with money,
invited to join agri-business ventures. Many of these immigrants landed in the U.S. and took the only
jobs they could find—in meat packing plants and auto repair shops. But all of them had grown up on
farms and wanted to once again assume the livelihood that they had known in the past; the work that
had formed the foundation of their cultural roots.”
She continues, “The public often thinks of farmers as white males of European ancestry living in
isolated rural areas. And the public often thinks of immigrants as those who have slipped into the
United States to take advantage of assistance programs. VANG challenges those stereotypes and
opens discussion about how farming is done in the United States and how immigrants have become
part of the larger agricultural picture.”
Executive director of the Iowa International Center, Dr. Judith Conlin, states, “For any sensitive soul, it
is not possible to be a witness to this play and not be changed by it, not be moved by the gutwrenching experiences of these recent refugees and immigrants. We applaud their ability to survive
the horrific and find solace in their farms and gardens.” To learn more, visit www.maryswander.com.
Ken Lonnquist is a children’s singer/songwriter whose upbeat and humorous songs in this special
post-Earth Day concert connect children with the idea that having fun involves being good to each
other and to our planet. “Earthy Songs” highlights water, woods, and wildlife, plus our ability to make
things better every day.
“Earthy Songs” is one of Young Auditorium’s “Never Too Young Series” of performances, intended to
present programming for families with young children. These performances are educational,
entertaining, and engaging for all ages, and feature artists that interact with the audience. Young
Auditorium also understands that there are a wide range of age-appropriate behaviors and responses
that children have as they express their feelings about the art they are experiencing - so clapping,
dancing, and cheering during the performance are encouraged! To learn more, visit
www.uww.edu/youngauditorium.
The Young Auditorium serves as a presenting organization for the performing arts and as an
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educational and cultural center enriching the lives of regional communities, offering a full season of
world-class performing arts presentations. Tickets are available to reserve online and print at home (a
small fee is applied for this service), or by contacting the Greenhill Center of the Arts Box Office on
the UW-Whitewater campus (930 West Main Street in Whitewater) at (262) 472-2222. The Young
Auditorium is adjacent to this building, and parking is always free at the venue. To learn more, visit
www.uww.edu/YoungAuditorium or follow at www.Facebook.com/Young.Aud.
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