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Photo Credits Lindsay Raymondjack and Debra Lewis
THE BOYCOTT
Written and performed by Kathryn
Blume
Directed by
Jason
Jacobs
The Story Of The Show
Kathryn Blume is a woman on a mission. It’s a
simple goal, really. All she wants is to save the world. The problem is, as
much as she yearns to make a difference, mounting news of accelerating climate
change and predictions of rapid planetary demise leave her feeling hopeless
and paralyzed. In the most serious contest of all, the score reads: Global
Warming 1 – Kathryn 0.
Fortunately, Kathryn has a secret weapon – the ability to spin a good yarn and
make people laugh. And so, to fight global warming and save the world, she
tells the story of Lyssa Stratton, First Lady of the United States, who
launches a nationwide sex strike to fight global warming and save the world.
As The Boycott progresses, the story of Kathryn, trying to keep her emotional
head above the waters of gloom and doom and create a piece of theater which
will make a difference, interweaves with the story of Lyssa, who has to take
on her indifferent husband, a hostile press, and a romantic rival who’s not
only in bed with the President, but with the darkest powers of the oil
industry.
Aided by her impassioned daughter, a high tech Secret Service agent, and a
plucky Brazilian tree frog she meets on the Astral Plane, Lyssa bumps and
lurches her way into an unexpected, wildly comic, and ultimately successful
campaign.
Kathryn, too, with the help of friends, the extended DVD of The Lord of the
Rings, and significant quantities of dark chocolate (organic and fair
trade, of course), manages to complete her
tale and find a bright flame of hope for herself, for her audience, and for
the future of the world.
See
Video Clips of
the Show!
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The Boycott was developed with the assistance of The
Flynn Center for the Performing Arts, NativeEnergy, The National Endowment for
the Arts,
The Vermont Arts Council, Anichini Company, Vermont Stage Company,
The Hungarian Multicultural Center, The Village Wine Shop, Dobra Tea House, and a host of magnificently generous private donors. Thanks to all of
you for your open hearts and bounteous natures.
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ENDORSEMENTS
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Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts
service organization, is serving as my fiscal sponsor.
Contributions made on my behalf to
Fractured Atlas are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.
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MEDIA COVERAGE
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River Front Times,
St. Louis: "Kathryn
Blume’s one woman show The Boycott is not really
about global warming, a world-wide sex embargo launched by the first
lady of the United States or a talking Brazilian tree frog that
dispenses wisdom while hanging out on the astral plane, although all
of these elements feature prominently in the plot. The
Boycott is about that marvelous human gift for turning
desperation into inspiration. "
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Homer News,
Homer, AK: "In
live theater, anything can happen. Put Kathryn Blume on the stage with a
few simple props, 28 characters and a fuzzy green sock puppet, and a lot
can happen."
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Orion Magazine -
Sex, Wives, and Climate Change by Amy
Seidl: "What
Blume reveals is just how much creativity, humor, and pathos it will take
to move us beyond the global warming message and toward embodying the
artistic license needed to do something about it."
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Burlington Free Press Review:
"...but for all her immense energy, passion and anger at the planet’s
tenuous position, Blume knows enough to break up the message with
laughs...The Boycott is even unabashedly silly at times; Lissa
Stratton’s main adviser on her no-sex campaign is a
quite-possibly-imaginary tree frog whose species is endangered by the
planet’s warming trend. The amphibian manifests itself in the form of a
furry green sock puppet on Blume’s right hand, and gives the actress the
chance to use her keen comic timing..."
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Times Argus Review:
"...Kathryn Blume has
taken the classic 2000-plus-year-old Aristophanes comedy, Lysistrata,
and brought it to today with hilarious – and often poignant – results...The
Boycott...is a point-blank attack on current American policy on global
warming – and it’s terribly funny, and largely convincing.
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AUDIENCE COMMENTS
- You should know that your audiences are
leaving having gladly received a wonderful message, with the potential and
knowledge to be a better occupant of this planet.
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Thank you for your
energy and creativity in creating such a fabulous venue for getting the
message out to save our planet. You are a ray of hope for all of us who
know you.
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- I personally think what you are doing with
"The Boycott" is transformative and has the potential to really engage
people's hearts and minds and move them to action.
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- Please take this on the road. It
delights and educates and motivates all at once.
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(From the owner of a
health club) THANK YOU for bringing your play to this world. I
was SO moved by it. In fact, I purchased my fabric bags from the
Shelburne IGA this week and I’m going to look into harvesting the power
from our Spinning bikes. I have NO idea if we can afford to do whatever
that would take, but I at least want to look into it.
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- I wanted
to thank you for The Boycott. It moved me in a profound way,
especially because it presents a story that doesn't have an end yet. To me
the story is about a human being that has been pushed to the edge of her
existence and has no other choice but to make sense of it (not everybody
gets to do this). Lucky me, that human being happened to be a story-teller
and an actor...in my town. There are a million other things that I loved
about the show, including George Clooney, so a heart felt congratulations
for your fine work (and everybody who helped you) and I really hope you
will present it in the area again.
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- You were phenomenal! The show is
fabulous! You were smart, funny, sexy, adorable, sincere, and brilliant
all wrapped up into a gorgeous package! I laughed, I got teary, and have
blabbed about it to everyone I've come into contact with.
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- Very much enjoyed the show. And,
have got to say that you're an inspiration vis-a-vis the entrepreneurial
lifestyle. I sat there looking at you having written this thing, pulled it
together conceptually, and making it happen, performing it seamlessly, not
missing a comic beat, pulling people from emotion to emotion, and I'm
pretty darned impressed.
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- Your show was smart, funny, and especially
hope-ful in the truest sense. You are a gift to us all.
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- You were tremendous, and it was one of the
best live performances we have ever seen - one we will always remember.
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- Thank you
so much for giving so much of your soul on stage. Awe inspiring.
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- Oh my god you were awesome. How in the
world can you hold so much inside of you??
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- It was the freshest,
most inspiring, witty, at times hysterical, poignant, and oh so relevant
evenings I have spent in a long time!
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- Really funny and
touching and with a message that is forceful without the feeling one is
being bashed over the head with it. This is important.
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- I just came home
raving about your show, this important work, how wonderful you were!
I am very moved by all of it.
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- I just want to say
right off the bat: Fan-f......-tastic. A tour de force. Your emphasis on
hope is the way to go. Your writing was wonderful. Your wrestling
with fear and panic in your own journal was exactly right on the mark.
Your bold sexual content brings the whole damn thing right up front. I
loved it. And all my hats are off to you. Thank you thank you for doing
this.
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- Thanks, Kathy, for
last night's performance. It was wonderful - powerful, engaging
meaningful. I'm sure it will have an impact. I look forward to
seeing it again.
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BOOKING INFORMATION
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