Jim Howley

THE ROCKET BOX

Big Secret Theatre - January 23 to 25

From New York

Jim HowleyA test of our love; a bridge between longtime foes, and a requiem for us all.

New York-based writer/performer Jim Howley may be forgiven for thinking that all Canadians are this theatrically adventurous. He first performed here back in the 1980s at the Banff Centre, animating a giant effigy called the 3-Horned Enemy while perched aboard a war canoe in R. Murray Schaffer’s dawn outdoor opera The Princess of the Stars. He later worked with and over the years has returned several times, but always during the feverish High Performance Rodeo. Meanwhile, back in his Chelsea loft, he extended his creative explorations, studying with roots guitarist Dave Van Ronk and the poet Gregory Corso, while performing at theatrical hothouses like La Mama and Dixon Place.

He describes his new solo work as a non-judgmental meditation on the Viet Nam conflict, neither pro- nor anti-war, yet raising uncomfortable questions for either side. Using original slide images and thought provoking sound collages, and featuring his trademark eclectic instrumentation and tunings, the work also memorializes Howley’s neighbour, a Viet Nam-era Marine whose wounds led to the man’s gradual decline, eventual death and burial in 2001.

January 23 to 25 • Big Secret Theatre

The Rocket Box
(accounts of a Marine at the DMZ 67/68 & songs Billy never heard)

Written, Composed & Performed by James Howley
Including Verbatim text from conversations with William Basalyga
Lance Crpl., 3rd platoon, A company, 1st Amtrac Battalion,
3rd Marine Division
Directed and in consultation with Blake Brooker

Additional support from:
Mary Basalyga
Dr. Eelka Lampe
USMC Quantico

A special thanks to a Marine Sargent 1833.
This evening is dedicated to my buddy Billy, and all the Marines
of the 1st Amphibian Tractor Battalion and their families.

Photos by Jim Howley

Sponsored by

The Kaganov Family