Syracuse Stage has announced the cast of "Tales from the Salt City," a world premiere
conceived and directed by Ping Chong that opens Oct. 14 and runs through Nov. 2. The
production will feature seven residents of Syracuse-both recent arrivals and longstanding
residents-who will voice each other's rich and complex histories, extraordinary experiences
and cultural identities.
Kyle Bass, Syracuse Stage's literary manager and dramaturg for the production, started the
search for Syracuse residents in April 2008. Along with Chong and co-writer Sara Zatz, Bass
conducted first-round reviews with a pool of about 30 candidates. "We looked for a sense of
openness and otherness, those who identify with cultures or heritages that are outside the
historically dominant American culture," says Bass. "It was also important that each
person's story was also a Syracuse story."
For the next round, potential participants met twice with Chong and Zatz, and then the final
group was chosen. According to Bass, "They were chosen based on how their stories
bounced off others' stories, how ideas bounced off each other." He notes a commonality
among the stories: "Each person can pinpoint a person or group that helped them along
their path. They did not take their journeys alone."
The cast:
Lino T. Ariloka, originally from Sudan in Eastern Africa, has lived in Syracuse for almost
eight years. Most of his family is still in Sudan, except for his sister Margaret, who he is
putting through primary school in Nairobi, Kenya. Currently he works for The Bank of New
York Mellon and interns at On Point for College, a program that helps inner-city children
get to college.
Gordana Dudevski, formerly a kindergarten teacher in Veles, Macedonia, has lived in
Syracuse for the past 15 years with her husband, Zoran, and their two children, Alexandra
and Samuel. This is her first time on stage, and she is happy to have the opportunity to tell
the story of Liberty Deli, her current place of employment.
Rebecca Isabel Fuentes, who grew up in Tijuana, a city in northwestern Mexico, has lived
in Syracuse for five years along with her husband, Jason Davis, daughter Ellain, son Roberto
and mother Isabel Murillo. Currently she is working at the Red Cross as a community
ambassador and is an immigrant rights activist with the CNY Detainment Task Force.
Previously she served as a specialist in the U.S. Army.
Jose Miguel Hernandez, originally from Cuba, has lived in Syracuse for 11 years. For the
past 10 years, he has worked at Rosewood Heights Health Center as a physical therapy aide,
while simultaneously serving as a theatre dance instructor with the Spanish Action League
of Onondaga County. He has a degree in nursing from The National Institute of Oncology
and Radiobiology in Havana, Cuba, and a theater degree from Teatro Estudio. In 1999, he
founded La Joven Guardia del Teatro Latino (The Latino Theatre's Youth Troupe) with the
Spanish Action League.
Albert Marshall, a Syracuse native who raised his family in Syracuse, has worked at
Crucible for 35 years and is president of Local 1277 of the United Steel Workers Union.
Marshall has appeared in numerous theatrical productions, including "Our Lady of 121st
Street" and "The Member of the Wedding" at The Redhouse and "23 Skidoo" and "Annie"
at Theatre '90.
Emad Rahim, originally from Cambodia, has lived in Syracuse for 17 years. He currently
works for SUNY Empire State College as an outreach and recruitment specialist, for the
consulting company Innovative Development Inc., and as an adjunct professor at Colorado
Technical University and Bryant & Stratton College. He is a member of 40 Below, the "Its
All Here" Taskforce and the Alliance of Communities Transforming Syracuse (ACTS).
Jeanne Shenandoah, a traditional homebirth midwife and herbalist for 25 years, is a
member of the Eel Clan of the Onondaga Nation. Shenandoah works at the Onondaga
Nation Communications Office, serving on the Haudenosaunee Environmental Task Force.
She is a past vice president of the Matilda Joslyn Gage Foundation.
"Tales from the Salt City" is a powerful exploration of the changing face of Syracuse
through an interview-based theatrical work that presents first-hand narratives of citizens of
Syracuse. Created by theatrical innovator Chong and constructed as a chamber piece of
storytelling, the performance features real people telling their personal experiences of
creating cultural identity out of rich and complex histories. Chong continues the compelling
work he has done throughout the United States, exploring the divergent lives that make up
our communities.
For "Tales from the Salt City" ticket information, contact the Syracuse Stage Box Office in
person at 820 E. Genesee St., via telephone at (315) 443-3275 or online at
http://www.SyracuseStage.org.
In cooperation with the world premiere production of "Tales from the Salt City" at Syracuse
Stage, Chong will speak on the SU campus on Oct. 6, as part of the 2008 Syracuse
Symposium. A semester-long intellectual and artistic festival, Syracuse Symposium invites
the SU and Central New York communities to explore this year's theme, "migration,"
through engaging lectures, concerts, exhibitions and award-winning films. It is presented by
SU's College of Arts and Sciences. For more information, visit
http://www.syracusesymposium.org.
