Seven characters in search of an audience sing stories...of their lives and yours.
At the beginning of last summer, we sorted through the many first person stories collected by COSACOSA artists and youth for the Spare A Dime project. Over and over again, stories of the Great Depression found parallels in stories of the Great Recession. Stories revealed invention and innovation in the face of adversity. Tragedy met heroism. Needed rights met necessary responsibilities. And, not surprisingly, our stories' prevailing theme sounded like a WPA slogan: work is progress.
Recurring characters emerged from the collected stories, as well, grounded in experiences that are almost American archetypes. Facing eviction, a mother protects her child from the harsh reality to come. Hoping for a better life, an immigrant fights discrimination. Returning from dedicated service to his country, a veteran struggles to find a job. The songs of Spare A Dimes tell six such prototypical American stories of life before and after the WPA, anchored by FDR and portions of his greatest speeches set to music. A Chorus of Liberty punctuates the song cycle in celebration the (sometimes unattainable) American dream. And, like the singers in the movie The Gold Diggers of 1933 pictured above, our Chorus gets to perform with a giant Liberty Dime!
Check back tomorrow to learn about the art of Spare a Dime!
Recurring characters emerged from the collected stories, as well, grounded in experiences that are almost American archetypes. Facing eviction, a mother protects her child from the harsh reality to come. Hoping for a better life, an immigrant fights discrimination. Returning from dedicated service to his country, a veteran struggles to find a job. The songs of Spare A Dimes tell six such prototypical American stories of life before and after the WPA, anchored by FDR and portions of his greatest speeches set to music. A Chorus of Liberty punctuates the song cycle in celebration the (sometimes unattainable) American dream. And, like the singers in the movie The Gold Diggers of 1933 pictured above, our Chorus gets to perform with a giant Liberty Dime!
Check back tomorrow to learn about the art of Spare a Dime!