Release date: March 29, 2002
Contact: Deb Hammacher, Associate Director, Media Relations,
at 404-727-0644 or dhammac@emory.edu

Theater Emory's "30 Below" Looks at Generation Y Through a Theater Lens

Baby boomers need not apply for roles or crew positions for the upcoming Theater Emory production, "30 Below: Theater for, by and About People Under 30." Emory University students will collaborate with local professional theater company Out of Hand Theater Inc., founded primarily by Emory alumni, to produce a bill of short pieces reflecting the world of today's youth. The production runs April 6-13 at Emory's Mary Gray Munroe Theater.

This past fall, an ensemble of Emory students collaborated with members of Out of Hand during a two-week workshop to address questions that would help define the perspective of life in America for those younger than 30. What are the influences and issues, how are those issues dealt with, and what is funny are questions at the heart of "30 Below."

"We are a generation of marketed products: cereal, toys, transportation, even political figures," says Out of Hand literary manager Allen Read. "We are commercials and jingles and split-frame TV. We are a generation of people with an identity carved out for us by big-business commercialism. And while we find this somewhat disturbing, we also are comfortable with it and find it humorous."

So what are the influences and issues defined by the "30 Below" participants? According to Read, the ensemble discussions revealed that the influence of media and marketing are pervasive, including MTV, CNN Headline News and the prevalence of the Internet. Drugs and alcohol, sex, AIDS, gender issues, sexual orientation, dating and "the modern oppressed (women, homosexuals, ever-present racial issues)" are being dealt with by the student generation.

How does the under-30 set deal with its issues according to the "30 Below" ensemble? Apathy, irreverence, and drugs and alcohol, finding humor in irreverence and anything that goes counter to political correctness, says Read.

The acting ensemble includes Emory students Brittany Abbass, Raife Baker, Rhea Combs, Brian Crawford, Jon Herzog, Katie Kilborn, Karson St. John and Nathan Woodling. Out of Hand actors include Ariel de Man, Brian Kimmel, Maia Knispel, Allen Read and Keland Scher. The directors are Read, de Man, Knispel and Adam Fristoe. The set designer is Jimmy Hilburn and the sound/media designer is Brian Ginn, both from Out of Hand.

The menu of works includes short pieces written for the Humana Festival of New American Plays at Actors Theatre of Louisville (Ky.) and for Chicago's Neo-Futurist Theater, as well as plays by Atlanta artists and the "30 Below" company. These pieces include "Black-Eyed Susans" by Ayun Halliday, "Blondell" by Karen Christopher, "Cockamamie" by Mark Blankenship and Katie Kilborn, "A Date Under His Own Name" by Paul Gibney, "Drive Angry" by Matt Pelfrey, "Fighting Fears" by Jon Herzog, "Going On" by David Pollock, "Harris Teeter" by Shane Harris and James Buescher, "One for the Ladies" by Diana Slickman, "Play" by Steve Westdahl, "Slop Culture" by Robb Badlam, "Tragedi of Candi" by Matt Shapiro, "Underground TRANSit" by Katie Kilborn and "Viewfinder" by Robert Earl Price.

When Theater Emory Artistic Producing Director Vincent Murphy offered an idea for "30 Below," he was quickly shot down. "They quickly said, 'And how old are you?' so I was out," says Murphy. "'30 Below' is a piece for, by and about the student generation, so if you are under 30, welcome to your life. If you're like me, welcome to where the world is going."

Performances of "30 Below" will be in the Mary Gray Munroe Theater, in the Dobbs Center, 605 Asbury Circle, Emory. General admission tickets are $10; Emory students with i.d. get $5 tickets. For more information, or to order tickets, call the Arts at Emory box office at 404-727-5050 or send email to boxoffice@emory.edu . The performance dates and times are as follows:

7:30 p.m. April 6

8 p.m. April 7, 10-13

3 p.m. April 7 and 13

11 p.m. April 10 and 11

Note that some of the pieces in "30 Below" include adult themes and language and may not be appropriate for children.

Theater Emory is the producing organization of Emory University and is affiliated with the Department of Theater Studies. It is a constituent member of the Theatre Communications Group, Inc., the national association of nonprofit professional theatres, and a member of the Atlanta Coalition of Performing Arts. It operates under a season agreement with Actors' Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States.

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