Second Marianas Production Trip Completed

April, 2003

Horse Opera Productions is happy to report the successful completion of a second research and production trip to Guam and the CNMI. This trip took Amy Robinson and Vanessa Warheit (co-directors), and Michael Lannan (sound recordist/production assistant) to the Mariana Islands for a fun, enriching, and productive six weeks.

While we were delighted to see all of our old friends again, and to meet many new ones, it was also sobering to see first-hand how the people there are coping in these difficult times. Both the CNMI and Guam have been deeply affected by the ongoing economic recession - and in many ways they are harder hit than the mainland United States because of their proximity to, and dependence on, Asia. And as if things weren't bad enough, Guam and Rota (the two southernmost islands in the Marianas) were struck by three typhoons in the 11 months since our prior trip. The last typhoon - Pongsona - was the strongest supertyphoon in recent memory, with winds of up to 180mph that destroyed much of the islands' infrastructure. Three months later, many people were still without electricity and running water.

Pongsona hit Guam, ironically, on the anniversary of the Japanese invasion in 1941 - an irony that demonstrates the Marianas' continuing geopolitical and geographic vulnerability. It is hard to describe in words the difference between last year's lushness and this year's damage and exposure, as well as the sense of uncertainty that hovered over the islands as the U.S. made preparations for war. While conflict with Iraq seemed almost inevitable, it was distant compared to the potential (and, to the Marianas, very real) threat of the Korean peninsula. While we were on Guam, B-52s and B-1 Bombers arrived at Andersen Air Force Base (and shattered windows in the CNMI while on practice runs). The planes were a clear reminder of the central role these islands play in the United States' military and political goals.

We hope that our ongoing research and production for The Insular Empire will succeed in bringing some of these issues to the attention of the mainland American public. As the U.S. acts in the name of "democracy" around the world, we strongly feel that Americans should take the time to understand the nature of our own democracy as it is being played out in the Pacific.