Ferus Festival: Sister Sylvester “the Eagle and the Tortoise”

The Eagle and the Tortoise is a theatrical reading experience tracing the story of a young Turkish woman who became an icon of leftist resistance as an armed militant, political prisoner, and proxy soldier in the American war against ISIS. Moving between myth, history, and journalism, The Eagle and the Tortoise shifts our perspective on this still-unfolding tragedy of our time. The piece makes use of Meyer Sound’s Constellation acoustic system and its immersive component Spacemap to envelop audiences in a live score improvised by both human and non-human performers.

Directed and conceived by Kathryn Karaoglu Hamilton
Dramaturgy by Andrew Kircher
Lighting design by Bruce Steinberg
Immersive sound design by Jeremy Toussaint-Baptiste
Projection programming by Robin A. Ediger-Seto
Book and model design by Emre Ozyetis
Book design consultation and printing by Gabe Greenberg
Camera and object manipulation by Augustus Cook

The script for The Eagle and The Tortoise was developed in part through a residency at The Macdowell Colony, summer of 2019.

“A complex, deeply reflective work that weaves together strands of the personal, political, and mythological with deft subtlety.” 

—Culturebot