Campus & Community Death penalty project to feature performances, multi-media exhibit
| Death penalty project to feature performances, multi-media exhibit |
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| Tuesday, March 25, 2008 | |
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Dramatic performances and an exhibit will highlight spring events on campus for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s yearlong discussion of the death penalty. The plays “Still…Life, An Exploration of a Killing State, North Carolina,” “Dead Man Walking” and “Witness to an Execution,” plus “Spectacular Justice,” an interactive multimedia installation, all are part of Carolina Performing Arts’ year-long project “Criminal/Justice: The Death Penalty Examined,” which uses the arts to foster discussion of the controversial issue. “Still…Life” examines the death penalty in North Carolina. Guest-directed by Joseph Megel, an artist-in-residence in UNC’s communications studies department, the play is written and produced by The Justice Theater Project and presented by Carolina Performing Arts. Performances will be March 27-29 and April 5 at 8 p.m. and April 6 at 2 p.m. in UNC’s Swain Hall. A post-show reception with a discussion facilitated by Rene Alexander Craft, a postdoctoral fellow in communication studies, will be on April 6. The Justice Theater Project is an activist theater group whose mission is to use the dramatic arts as a way to call attention to the needs of the poor, the marginalized and the oppressed. Photographic images projected throughout the performance will be provided by photojournalist Scott Langley from his documentary death penalty project. Tickets are $15 adults, $12 students/seniors; March 27 is pay what you can night. Tickets may be purchased in advance through the Memorial Hall Box Office on Cameron Avenue, (919) 843-3333, or at the door for all performances. “Spectacular Justice,” an interactive multimedia installation commissioned by Carolina Performing Arts, looks at the death penalty through images and sound. It is designed by associate professor and artist Joyce Rudinsky in collaboration with multimedia lab director Mark Robinson – both in UNC’s communication studies department – and by staff at UNC’s Renaissance Computing Institute. The free exhibit will be open from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, March 28-April 26, in the social computing room of the ITS Manning Building. For information, call (919) 843-1833. Tim Robbins’ play “Dead Man Walking,” based on the book of the same name by Sister Helen Prejean, is presented by the Department of Dramatic Art Mainstage company on April 11-15 in the Elizabeth Price Kenan Theatre, located inside the Center for Dramatic Art on Country Club Road. The production is directed by dramatic art professor Julie Fishell and features a cast and crew of more than 30 undergraduates. Performance times are 8:15 p.m. April 11, 13 and 14; 5 p.m. April 12 and 15; and 4 p.m. April 14. Tickets are $5 general admission and free for PlayMakers Repertory Company subscribers and dramatic art privilege card holders. Tickets are available at the door one hour before each performance. For information, e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Free post-show discussions will be held April 12-14. On April 12, an interfaith guest panel will explore “Prisms of Faith,” a conversation of religious histories, stances and actions on death penalty issues. On April 13, Sister Maureen Fenlon, the national coordinator for the Dead Man Walking School Theatre Project, will lead the discussion. On April 14, the 4 p.m. post-show discussion will be moderated by Mark Kleinschmidt, executive director of the Fair Trial Initiative and a member of the Chapel Hill Town Council. The production team will discuss their work on the play after the 8:15 p.m. performance on April 14. PlayMakers Repertory Company, UNC’s professional theatre in residence, will present the world premiere of “Witness to an Execution” April 23-27 in the Elizabeth Price Kenan Theatre in the Center for Dramatic Art. Commissioned by PlayMakers, Mike Wiley’s new one-man play explores capital punishment, recounting tales inspired by candid and chilling interviews with death row inmates, wardens, guards, victims’ families and others in Texas. Wiley is a 2004 graduate from UNC’s graduate acting program. Shows will be at 8 p.m. nightly and 2 p.m. on April 27. Tickets are $24 to $32 and may be purchased at http://www.playmakersrep.org or by calling (919) 962-PLAY. “Witness” concludes the inaugural season of PlayMakers’ PRC² series, which showcases gripping and topical stories, followed by engaging artist/audience discussions after each performance. Wiley, a Triangle-based actor and playwright, will be joined by death penalty scholars and activists for “Witness” post-show talks. PlayMakers Repertory Company and the departments of communication studies and dramatic art are part of UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences. New York’s Drama League named PlayMakers “one of the best regional theatres in America,” and the N.C. Theatre Conference gave PlayMakers its 2007 Professional Theatre of the Year Award. “Witness” also will conclude this academic year’s Carolina Creative Campus project, “Criminal/Justice: The Death Penalty Examined,” made possible in part by a grant from the Association of Performing Arts Presenters Creative Campus Innovations Grant Program, a component of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Web sites: http://www.carolinacreativecampus.org http://comm.unc.edu/newsevents http://drama.unc.edu/production/mainstage/ http://www.playmakersrep.org “Criminal Justice” project news release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/aug07/deathpenalty083007.html Carolina Performing Arts contact: Reed Colver, (919) 843-1833, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it PlayMakers contact: Connie Mahan, (919) 428-1744, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it College of Arts and Sciences contact: Kim Spurr, (919) 962-4093, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it |