Susie Tanner, Steelworkers & Springsteen: Part 2
Once upon a time, theatre director Susie Tanner teamed up with out-of-work steelworkers and Bruce Springsteen to spread the devastating truth about steel plant shutdowns across the U.S.
This is their story.
Change the Story / Change the World, podcast, Episode 60, part 2.
Episode 60 | When Steelworkers Became Activist Artists — And What It Taught Us About Dignity, Loss, and Change | Part 2
This week follows from Episode 59 in which Susie Tanner, Bruce Springsteen, and a band of unemployed steelworkers take a play about the death of a steel mill called lady Beth across America. In this episode, Susie joins up with incarcerated and formerly incarcerated artists share their stories of their lives and loves in and out of the prison Industrial complex.
Change the Story / Change the World is a podcast that chronicles the power of art and community transformation, providing a platform for activist artists to share their experiences and gain the skills and strategies they need to thrive as agents of social change.
Bio
Susan “Susie” Franklin Tanner has worked as a Theatre Artist since 1973. In 1983 she received a California Arts Council Artist in Communities grant to create TheatreWorkers Project. As the founder and director, she has led the company in the development of 16 documentary plays including “Lady Beth: the Steelworkers' Play” that toured 16 cities, co-sponsored by Bruce Springsteen and was profiled in the PBS documentary “A Steel Life Drama”.
In 1982, Tanner was honored to share her work on a production of Brecht's “A Man's A Man” with members of the Berliner Ensemble. She was a member of the Living Stage Company/Arena Stage in D.C. for 6 years, performing and/or teaching workshops for at-risk and underserved children, teens and adults. Her work with the company included workshop/performances in prisons and treatment centers.
In Los Angeles, her community-based work has included creating theatre with steelworkers, shipbuilders, critical care nurses, Latino immigrants workers, formerly incarcerated men and women, and youth.
Since 2016, Susie has led teams of artists in theatre, writing and movement workshops for formerly incarcerated and those on work release through CAC and California Humanities grants. In January 2019 Susie and her artist teams will bring this work to California State Prison, Lancaster through a CAC Arts in Corrections contract.