[Mitai-announce] Save the date! July 23rd 8:00pm "WATER BOARD: a play about torture"

[Nadeem Mazen]

WATER BOARD: a play about torture

an Institute for Intermediate Studies production
co-sponsored by Amnesty International
proceeds support the Amnesty International Counter Terror with Justice
campaign

concept by Stephanie Skier
performed by Nadeem Mazen and Stephanie Skier
with original music by Basim Usmani
and opening remarks by Josh Rubenstein of Amnesty International

WATER BOARD: a play about torture aims to create awareness and
discussion about waterboarding as a form of torture.  Through live
action performance, integrated video, original music and dialogue with
the audience, this breathtaking show explores the contemporary
politics and history of simulated drowning. The play engages audience
members in a conversation that struggles with what it means to live
under a government that practices and condones torture.
Performers Nadeem Mazen and Stephanie Skier each waterboard the other
during the course of the performance.

Proceeds from the performance support Amnesty International's Counter
Terror with Justice campaign.  Joshua Rubenstein, the Northeast
Regional Director of Amnesty International USA, introduces the show.


Thursday, July 23rd
8:00pm


at the YMCA Theater
820 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
(Central Square)


Tickets available at the door or online at:
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/70883

$20 general admission
$8 students / seniors / low-income
additional donations appreciated




The Institute for Intermediate Studies: Boston represents a collective
of artists who create collaborative performance and installation art
among and between media. Founded in Berlin, Germany, in December 2008,
The Institute for Intermediate Studies has produced a series of
performances in Berlin and Boston.

Stephanie Skier is a performance artist, writer, activist, and
historian.  She graduated from Harvard in 2005 with an A.B. degree
with honors in Social Studies and Studies of Women, Gender, and
Sexuality.  She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in History and has
received a Fulbright Fellowship.  She has been a member of the
Institute for Intermediate Studies since January 2009.  Her previous
performance pieces with the IIS include “Fluxkonzert” and “Manifest!:
after the Communist Manifesto.”  In preparation for Water Board, she
researched and was trained in simulated drowning techniques with
members of the U.S. Marine Corps.
Email: skier at post.harvard.edu

Nadeem Mazen graduated from MIT in 2006 with a B.S. degree in
Mechanical Engineering and currently runs a design firm, MazDez.   His
visual art and
design work engages lasercutting technology, Islamic calligraphy,
graffiti arts, and video.  His art and design portfolio is available
at www.nadeemtron.com.  His social justice activities include work
with One Laptop Per Child and the Muslim American Society.
Email: nadeem at mit.edu

Basim Usmani is a musician, composer, and journalist.  He is the lead
singer and songwriter of the band The Kominas, a Muslim punk band
whose album Wild Nights in Guantanamo Bay uses music to protest
torture and discrimination.  As a journalist, he has covered politics
and crime in and around Lahore, Pakistan, and his articles have
appeared in The Guardian.
Email: basim.usmani at gmail.com

Joshua Rubenstein has been professionally involved with human rights
and international affairs for 30 years as an activist, scholar and
journalist with particular expertise in Soviet affairs. A long-time
Fellow of Harvard's Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, he
has authored the books Soviet Dissidents: Their Struggle for Human
Rights (Beacon Press, 1980) and Tangled Loyalties: The Life and Times
of Ilya Ehrenburg (Basic Books, 1996), as well as many articles. Since
1975, Mr. Rubenstein has been the Northeast Regional Director of
Amnesty International USA, overseeing Amnesty's work in New England,
New York and New Jersey.
Email: jrubenst at aiusa.org