Description

The Maid of Orléans begins in the limbo of the 500 years between Joan’s burning at the stake and her cannonization by The Church.  One of Joan’s voices, St. Michael, finally returns to her to re-examine her life and role in human history.  Lisa Shattuck plays Joan in Limbo, Anne-Liese Juge Fox plays the physical Joan,  Kathy Randels plays the spirit of Joan, and J Hammons plays Archangels Michae and Lucifer and a whole host of earthly creatures.  Through story, movement, song and video projection, we present a world as the Saints—or Saints-in-waiting—might tell it.

The Maid of Orléans was the first production of our two-year residency at the Contemporary Arts Center of New Orleans. It features a tri-partite heroine: Joan the Maid, Inner Joan, and Joan in Limbo.  Textual sources for the characters of Joan the Maid and the men in her life include testimony from her Trial of Condemnation and the posthumous Trial of Rehabilitation, excerpts from her dictated letters, and a passage from Jean Anouilh’s The Lark.  Other textual sources include The Golden Legend: Readings on the Saints by Jacobus de Voragine.  Most of the material for Inner Joan and Joan in Limbo is original.

The schedule of post-performance discussions:

Friday, January 16, 2004:  The Douglass Community Coalition
Meet the student artists whose work is featured in the preshow gallery and the community organizers who are helping to strengthen the community surrounding Frederick Douglass High School.

Saturday, January 17: Meet the Collaborators
A discussion about the process used to created The Maid of Orléans with the collaborating artists.

Thursday, January 22: The French Connection
A look at Joan of Arc through a French perspective with guest speaker Jean Xavier Brager, Consulat Général de France and Artistic Director of Francophilia Foundation.

Saturday, January 24: Of Maids and Movements
Part of what makes Joan of Arc unique is her youth and her sex.  How are young women shaping social movements today?  This post-performance discussion will be led by participants from an international gathering of artists, educators and organizers being held January 23rd-25th in various locations throughout New Orleans.

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