Hiawatha Project Presents “In Our Time: Pandemic Stories from the Frontlines”

The first staged reading performance of an original play by Anya Martin

This special combination reading and performance presents the Hiawatha Project original play “In Our Time: Pandemic Stories from the Frontlines” by Anya Martin. The play is directed by Steven Wilson and produced and presented by Hiawatha Project. 

Inspired by interviews with women ICU physicians on the frontlines of the COVID pandemic and Ernest Hemingway’s groundbreaking short story collection set against the backdrop of the First World War. In Our Time: Pandemic Stories from the Frontlines weaves selections from Hemingway’s In Our Time with first-hand accounts to create a moving, poetic account of two eras, echoing with parallel themes of loss, grief, and alienation. Theatrically adventurous and surprising, characters and stories layer through time and stage space as they reach for meaning and connection in the spaces between words and worlds.

The program is part of our Healthcare & Humanity Reading Series. It will consist of a 90-minute staged reading performance followed by a 30-minute discussion moderated by Theresa Brown. Special thanks to The Heinz Endowments, The Opportunity Fund, and Off The Wall Foundation. 

The program will be available in-person and online, LIVE ONLY. There will be no replay option for online viewers.

About Hiawatha Project:

Hiawatha Project’s mission is to create original performances exploring specific social questions through myth, free association, and movement. The company connects true stories and divergent communities through impactful and revelatory theatrical works. With its first barrier breaking work, “Camino,” Hiawatha Project was founded in 2011 “with scenes of imagination and poetic insight.” (Pittsburgh Post Gazette) For over 10 years Hiawatha Project has produced original professional theater with a heart for social justice and a rich and layered aesthetic to present theater which “will alternately rouse you and break your heart.” (City Paper for JH: Mechanics of a Legend) Hiawatha has received funding awards from AER Capacity Building, The August Wilson Center Legacy Fund, August Wilson Center Programing, The Brooks Foundation, The Heinz Endowments, The Heinz Small Arts Initiative, The McKinney Foundation, The Opportunity Fund, The Sprout Fund, PA Council of the Arts, and The Pittsburgh Foundation. To learn more see www.hiawathaproject.org

About the Moderator:

Theresa Brown, PhD, RN, wrote the New York Times bestseller The Shift: One Nurse, Twelve Hours, Four Patients’ Lives. Her most recent book is Healing: When a Nurse Becomes a Patient. Brown has been a frequent contributor to the New York Times, writing about nursing and health care. One of her columns for the New York Times “Well” blog earned Brown an invitation to the White House, where President Obama quoted her in defense of the Affordable Care Act. Brown’s work has also appeared on CNN.com, The Journal of the American Medical Association, Medscape, Slate.com, and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Her quarterly column in The American Journal of Nursing called “What I’m Reading” discusses books of interest to nurses. She speaks internationally on topics relating to nursing, health care and end of life. A native of Missouri, Brown has a PhD in English from the University of Chicago and taught English for three years at Tufts University. She stayed home with her three children after working at Tufts and was inspired by them to return to school and become a nurse.

About Your Visit: 

The in-house restaurant 40 North is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, but a cash wine bar will be available.