Alumni Bulletin - Fall 2008 - (Page 12)

performance • artists in residence • music ARTS & CULTURE performance TELLING THE STORY OF “THE STEEL” He hasn’t stopped telling tales since, becoming a world-renowned storyteller who has performed at Lincoln Center, at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, and in theaters around the globe. Back in the mid-1990s, Deborah Sacarakis, director of programs and outreach at Zoellner Arts Center, commissioned O’Callahan to create a story about the city of Bethlehem and the steel industry. O’Callahan quickly realized that the story of “The Steel” wasn’t an easy one to tell. First, he had to learn an entirely new language, so O’Callahan interviewed steelworkers, historians, engineers, a former president of Bethlehem Steel, steel salesmen, professors, waitresses, union organizers, and former superintendents and foremen to become ﬂuent. “After two years of interviews, I knew a lot about steel, but was beginning to think that the story was too big to tell,” says O’Callahan. He wrote to Bridget George, co-founder of Bethlehem’s Touchstone Theater, to voice that concern. “Bridget wrote back saying, ‘Trust that you’ll ﬁnd the story in one moment. And if you don’t do the story, you’ll break my heart,’” O’Callahan recalls. Shortly after that, the story started to come into focus when he chatted with John Waldony, a former local union president at Bethlehem Steel, who told stories about his dad, Fritz, who worked all his life for Bethlehem Steel. Then, O’Callahan spoke with Waldony’s sister, Mary Soltysiak, and learned about their mother Ludvika Moskal, who came to America alone when she was 18. “I was struck by the image of a young woman setting out on her own with little money, little education, and no English,” O’Callahan says. “The image of that young 12 lehigh alumni bulletin When Jay O’Callahan was 14, he told stories to his little brother and sister at parties to keep them occupied. woman standing on a ship coming to America was alive to me. I had my moment. I could see the story being told through her.” Back in September 1999, O’Callahan premiered the story Pouring the Sun at Lehigh. He’s performed it all over the country since, often to rave reviews. O’Callahan will return to Lehigh for an encore performance at 7 p.m. on Nov. 16 O’Callahan visited the Bethlehem Steel site in 1999. at Zoellner. Pouring the Sun is a dramatic tribute to the past Pouring the Sun is a brilliant chronicle of Bethlehem’s history and particularly that of the on which this future is built. It is a story as relcity’s South Side,” says Sacarakis. “As the Third evant and valuable today as it was during its Street Casino and Entertainment complex premiere. moves toward completion, the face of the “I hope people take the time to hear Jay tell South Side stands to change considerably. the tale once again.”—Bill Doherty A FINAL SPIN FOR BAKER HALL’S FLOOR One last act was staged on Zoellner Arts Center’s original ﬂoor this summer. On June 16, Lehigh community members arrived for a little freewheeling. Attendees of the disco-skating bash scuffed up the 12-year-old ﬂoor with rollerblades, rollerskates, hula hoops, buckets, and even music stand transporters. By August 1, a new oak floor had replaced the pine ﬂoor where Garrison Keillor, Pete Yorn, and actors from the musical Rent stood.

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Alumni Bulletin - Fall 2008

Alumni Bulletin - Fall 2008 Contents From the President's Desk Mailbox On Campus Research Arts & Culture Sports Cover Story: The Dalai Lama at Lehigh Heart of a Champion Around the World in 80 Years Fighting for Children wth Autism Keepers of the Flame From the Publisher's Desk Alumni News The Last Word

Alumni Bulletin - Fall 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.