Join us for an illuminating exploration of the artistic impact of the Transcontinental Railroad, and its enduring legacy on our nation's cultural landscape. This lecture places the Silkroad Ensemble's groundbreaking American Railroad project in the context of a mammoth historical event that remains a powerful metaphor for America's relationship to its land and peoples.
George Mason University Dean of Visual and Performing Arts Rick Davis will guide us through the remarkable story of how the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad transformed not only the American landscape but the very soul of the nation, bringing together diverse communities in an unprecedented feat of human collaboration. This transformational technology inspired generations of artists, and Davis will share compelling examples of how poetry, painting, and other art forms captured the railroad's profound impact on American consciousness.
The railroad continues to serve as a powerful metaphor for connection, migration, and the ongoing American story of bringing together diverse peoples and traditions. This historical perspective will deepen your understanding of the themes and stories that come alive when the Grammy Award-winning Silkroad Ensemble, featuring master pipa player Wu Man, presents American Railroad on November 16.
Strathmore extends its gratitude to AARP for its generous support and for making this program possible.
This event is part of Strathmore’s Windows series of performances and accompanying programs. Learn more
Meet the Lecturer
Rick Davis
Rick Davis is Dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts (since 2015), Executive Director of the Hylton Performing Arts Center (since 2011), and Professor of Theater at George Mason University. He also served as Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education from 2007-2011.
Rick came to George Mason in 1991 as Artistic Director of the university’s professional theater company, Theater of the First Amendment (TFA), after six years at Baltimore Center Stage as Resident Dramaturg and Associate Artistic Director. Between 1991 and 2012, TFA produced dozens of world premieres, many of which have gone on to further production, publication, recording, and NPR and PBS broadcast. The company was honored with twelve Helen Hayes Awards and almost forty nominations.
Rick co-founded the American Ibsen Theater in Pittsburgh (1983-85), where he directed, acted, and worked as dramaturg for this innovative company. An active director of theater and opera on and off campus, Rick has staged productions for TFA, Center Stage, the Kennedy Center, IN Series, Opera Idaho, Lake George Opera, Delaware Theatre Company, Players Theatre Columbus, Unseam’d Shakespeare Company, American Ibsen Theater, Capital City Opera, and others. His multimedia investigation of the water crisis in the American West, The 100th Meridian Project, has received workshop performances at George Mason and, in 2023, at the Kennedy Center as part of the RiverRun festival; his chapter describing the work will soon be published in Theatre About Science: Communicating and Performing.
Rick’s four books include Calderón de la Barca: Four Great Plays of the Golden Age; co-translations of Ibsen with Brian Johnston (Ibsen: Four Major Plays, vol. I); Ibsen in an Hour (with Brian Johnston), and Writing About Theatre (with Christopher Thaiss). His translation of Calderón’s The Phantom Lady won the 2019 Franklin Smith Prize for Comedia Translation (Association for Hispanic Classical Theatre), and the Davis-Johnston Ibsen translations have been widely produced and anthologized.
With composer Kim D. Sherman he created an oratorio, The Songbird and the Eagle, premiered to critical acclaim by the San Jose Chamber Orchestra, and an opera, Love’s Comedy, excerpts of which have been performed at Lake George Opera and Opera Idaho.
He wrote the libretto for Stations of Mychal, a song cycle for tenor, piano, and viola (music by Kevin Salfen) about the life of Fr. Mychal Judge, the “Saint of 9/11.” The work was premiered in New York City as part of the 20th anniversary commemorations, Sept. 10/11, 2021, has had multiple performances across the country and internationally, and the recording is available on the Centaur label and streaming.
Rick was educated at Lawrence University (BA) and the Yale School of Drama (MFA, DFA). At Mason, he teaches a variety of courses in theater and for the Honors College. He recently conducted a three-session livestreamed course, “Silkroad and the American Railroad,” presented by the 92nd St. Y’s Roundtable series, in collaboration with the Silkroad Ensemble and Mason Arts Amplified. He has been honored as the Alumni Association “Distinguished Faculty of the Year” and a university Teaching Excellence Award.
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