Birth. Thirst. Hunger. Shit. Sex. Love. Career. Politics. Isolation. Death. These are the pieces of our lives: the shattered American dream. They lay scattered in the street- shards of ourselves, cutting the children?s bare feet. Memories, needs, passions and clay- all that we are at the end of the day.

INSIDEOUT A4329-M- Al Benninghoff V3199-F- Kristi Sorkin The Information Age, where people become electronically connected and physically disconnected. Why touch when you can email? There is little to remind us of the past. It has been rewritten. So how do you find it? Maybe a dictionary. But who would change the words? And why?

THE DRINKING PROBLEM Man- Ben Harrison Woman- Leisha Dillard He just got home from another long day at the job. He's exhausted. So why won't she give it up? Why does she make him beg? How far will he go to get a taste of her sweet, sticky nectar? Pretty far, but understand- that?s some orange soda.

UNCLE SAM'S OASIS Chris- James Rich John- Nick Preston John has been lost in the desert, no food or water for days. Finally, a sign. A neon sign. Uncle Sam?s Oasis. A restaurant. Everything will be fine as long as he can pay.

 

Chanda Calentine (Co-producer/Director) is a 2000 graduate of Ohio University, with a degree in Organizational Communications, and minors in dance and theatre. While in college, she co-founded and ran a musical theatre organization, which produced An Evening On Broadway, and Godspell. In accord with the university?s theatre school, she choreographed the musicals Big River, The Wizard of Oz, Grease!, and the opera Street Scene. Since arriving in New York, she has acted in shows such as And the Sun Went Down as well as the Just A Reading workshop. She is the co-founder and artistic director of Left Broken, a fledgling non-profit performance company.

Ryan Glass (Playwright/Co-producer), another of Left Broken's co-founders, is a 1999 graduate of Ohio University, with a degree in Communications, and minors in music and literature. He spent one year in the Ohio University School of Theatre?s M.F.A. Playwriting Program, in which he wrote and produced three original short plays and directed the music for mainstage productions of You?re a Good Man, Charlie Brown and Cabaret. While in school, he also served as music director for productions of Godspell and Grease! In New York, he was a contributing playwright for the show And the Sun Went Down, a monologue play based on the experiences of New Yorkers on September 11th, 2001 and directed the workshop production of his own, Just A Reading. He is also the writer of Broken Glass Part I, a collection of shorts that will premiere at UNDER St. Marks in early 2005.

Left Broken is a non-profit company created to produce, film, publish and distribute the work of Ryan Glass, Chanda Calentine and associates. This work will include music, dance, theatre, and film- sometimes combined, sometimes alone, but always moving towards our artistic goals.
Our goals are simple. We wish to connect with others through expression- to use whatever means necessary to create a moment of true compassion between the performers and the audience. In those moments, we can talk about love and fear and truth. In those moments, we can learn.
We believe that our pursuit of this moment can only be hindered by the involvement of corporate interests, so we will create another business model for artistic ownership. Using the internet and downloadable audio and video, we believe a production company can now exist without the help of a publisher/label/studio/etc., and thus remove itself from any sort of compromise with commercial interests.
Left Broken will take its root in live performance. Music only shows. Dance and music shows. Plays. Musicals. Each show will be taped and made available via download, so a person may later retrieve a recording of the performance they attended. When these roots are sound, we will produce film pieces as well, using this core audience and their mouths to generate interest.
We believe that this can be a model for American artists, many of whom are frustrated with the direction commercial art has taken in these years of conglomeration. There are currently 3-5 corporations controlling the content of our country's consciousness. This is polluting truth with greed. Artists who speak against accepted corporate value systems are marginalized. However, at this moment, there is potential in the margins. The internet offers a chance for artists to speak directly to their audience, removing any distortion of message by removing the need for a corporate means of message delivery. It will change entertainment and it will change America. Now, more than ever, America needs to listen to the voices of its artists. The discussion must change. Our goal is simply to contribute to this new conversation.