Beginning in November, The Wild Theatre Collective presents the Wild Theatre Speaker Series at Potsdam Public Library, a six-part event exploring food, memory, identity , and belonging through interactive talks led by artists, scholars, and community members.
Hosted in Collaboration with the St. Lawrence County Arts Council (SLC Arts) and PPL, The series runs Fridays in November and December, 5:30-6:30PM, in the Main Reading Room of Potsdam Public Library and is free and open to all ages.
Each session invites audiences to reflect on how everyday experiences —sharing a meal, building a home, remembering a friend—connect to larger stories of history, culture and community.
Upcoming talks include:
- Nov 7 – Indigenous History Through Design: Built Environment & Memory with Phillip White-Cree
Explore how buildings, material culture, and landscapes shape memory, reflecting our past and influencing how we remember people and events through changing environments like homes and communities.
Nov 14 – Touchstones: How Everyday Objects Become Carriers of Memory and Meaning with A. Kendra Greene
We live by the stories we tell. Kept in pockets or museum vaults, both individuals and institutions hold onto those tangible traces of who we are, what we know, and everything else we are desperate to remember. Stories inhabit the things we keep, and the ones we inherit, preserve, or choose to tell shape our identities and communities. Join writer, book artist, and museum worker A. Kendra Greene to consider everything from the quirks of Icelandic collections or rocks and birds and sea monsters—to the tokens each of us keep turning over, kept oh so close at hand.
Nov 21 – Sociology of Identity & Social Interactions with Dr. Lauren Diamond-Brown
Drawing on her research in labor, culture, and care, Diamond-Brown invites audiences to consider how changing environments—homes, campuses, communities—transform the ways we see ourselves and others. Her talk illuminates the subtle, everyday exchanges that build belonging and reveal the social nature of identity.
Dec 5 – Table is Set: Shared Stories & A Meal with Rivka Eckert
Community members are invited to share food, stories, and conversation, fostering connection and belonging. Participants are encouraged to bring a dish and a story, reflecting on how shared nourishment supports community life. Rivka will share on the work of the Wild Theater Collective and their upcoming show, Table is Set. Auditions for the show will be held in December.
Dec 12 – From Local to Global: Exploring Personal Foodways with Dr. Heather Sullivan-Catlin
Dr. Heather Sullivan-Catlin examines how the food we grow, share, and eat carries meaning from personal tables to global networks—revealing how our everyday foodways shape identity, community, and culture.
For more information on the speaker series, please contact Wild Theatre Director Rivka Eckert at rivka.eckert@gmail.com
Let’s explore, learn, and create together!
