20/20 Tacoma In Images and Verse
This is a project from back in 2010 I collaborated poet Michael Magee and group of 20 poets. We asked the poets to select from a group of my photographs of Downtown Tacoma WA and write poems inspired by the photos.
The project culminated in an exhibit and public reading at the Tacoma Art Museum in December 2010.
The David Serko Project
My brother David Serko died November 23, 1992 from complications of AIDS. I was with him at the moment he took his last breath. It was an incredible event to witness and be part of. The weeks leading up to his death I describe as the “richest” days of my life, I have never felt so alive.
The morning David died I made a promise to myself … one day I would tell the story of his life and death. I didn’t know how, or when, or in what form this story would take, but I knew for certain that one day I would do it… I had no choice, it had to be told.
The David Serko Project is the fulfillment of that promise.
My Brother Kissed Mark Zuckerberg (the original solo performance play)
A dying man’s final wish sets in motion his brother’s twenty-year quest to fulfill that wish. The solo performance play, My Brother Kissed Mark Zuckerberg is the story of that journey. Based on a true story, the media-rich and often humorous play touches on universal aspects of the human condition offering a powerful message of hope and inspiration.
“Footnote” a documentary film
“Footnote” traces the remarkable 26-year journey of a photograph, a final wish, and a promise, demonstrating the enduring power of love, and the capacity four simple words have to heal and inspire.
Vashon World AIDS Day
Vashon World AIDS Day was formed in 2018 to acknowledge and celebrate lives lost to AIDS on Vashon Island, WA. One of the goals of the project was to find ways to engage young people and share the story of AIDS during the “plague era” of the 1980s and ’90s. Central to the project was the demonstrating the role activism played in changing attitudes and policy, ushering in the breakthroughs that now allow people with HIV to live relatively normal live. Our message…one person can make a difference.
What we thought would be a one year effort turned into a second year in 2019. Each year the programs included work in the public schools, community engagement programs, and music.
OUT!
A box of old family photographs prompts an unexpected conversation between an ailing grandfather and his young grandson. OUT!, a new play by Peter Serko weaves an tale emerging out of the darkest days of the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s, exploring the vital role collective family memory and history play in our lives. OUT! reaffirms the capacity of hope and love to heal, and the power four simple words: “listen to your heart” have to transform and inspire.
Written by Peter Serko
Directed by Chris Boscia
Cast: Dedra Whitt Dakota, Gabriel Dawson, Kevin McMurdo, David Mielke, Cate O’Kane, and Alma Villegas
Watch OUT!