Amy Holzapfel Chair, Associate Professor of Theatre at Williams College, moderates a discussion about the politics of participatory performance, and the lessons and practices it can share with democratic assembly in public space. She is joined by panelists, Bryan Doerries, Director, Antigone in Ferguson; Taibi Magar, Director, Underground Railroad Game, Rebecca Schneider, Professor in the Department of Theatre Arts and Performance Studies, Brown University.  The hook is to connect theatre with the contemporary wave of engaged social activism.Joining In: Participatory Performance and Social Activism Panel DiscussionThursday, September 28, 2017; Directing Studio, ’62 Center for Theatre and Dance’62 Center for Theatre and DanceThe following information comes from released material provided to the Greylock Glass. CenterSeriespresentsTheater of War ProductionsAntigone in Fergusonfeaturing Tracie Thoms, Zach Grenierwith  Duane Foster, Marjolaine Goldsmith, Willie Woodmore WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.—The ’62 Center for Theatre and Dance’s CenterSeries is excited to kick-off the 2017/2018 season with a timely production of Antigone in Ferguson, directed by Bryan Doerries and composed by Phil Woodmore. Both compelling theatre and searing social justice project, Antigone in Ferguson is a radical and unlikely staging of Sophocles’s classic tragedy, conceived in response to the 2014 killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Antigone’s themes of integrity and human folly, set down in the fifth century BCE, resonate through the ages, illuminating the recent clash between public authorities and American citizens as they call for justice in police brutality cases. At the end of the performance there will be a community discussion. There will be one performance only, on Saturday, September 30th, 2017 at  A play that speaks to Ferguson’s tragedy and lets the audience speak back. – PBS News Hour Bryan Doerries, author of “The Theater of War: What Ancient Greek Tragedies Can Teach Us Today,” directs this timely adaptation. Performed by an all-star cast along with a gospel choir featuring police officers, educators, and community members from Ferguson, the play makes an appeal for the timelessness of Sophocles—and the urgency of grappling with his implications in our current political climate. Theater of War Productions (ToW) presents community-specific, theater-based projects that address pressing public health and social issues. Through the presentation of dramatic readings of seminal plays followed by public conversations, the company’s programs confront topics such as combat-related psychological injury, end-of-life care, police and community relations, prison reform, gun violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, and substance abuse and addiction. Using theater to build a common vocabulary for openly discussing the impact of these issues, events are designed to generate compassion, empathy, and understanding between diverse audiences. All events are free to the public and feature leading film, theater, and television actors. Notable artists who have led readings include Blythe Danner, Adam Driver, Jesse Eisenberg, Giancarlo Esposito, Jake Gyllenhaal, Alfred Molina, Frances McDormand, Tamara Tunie, Jeffrey Wright and others. Bryan Doerries is a Brooklyn-based writer, director and translator, who currently serves as Artistic Director of Theater of War Productions, which uses classic literature to help individuals and communities heal from trauma and loss.