Emory University News Release

Release date: May 28, 2003
Contact: Deb Hammacher, Associate Director, University Media Relations,
at 404-727-0644 or dhammac@emory.edu

Theater Emory 2003-04 Season Features Three World Premieres

Following a season dedicated largely to fostering the development of new work by theater artists from around the country, Theater Emory is showcasing homegrown talent in the 2003-04 season. The season features three world premieres--two by members of the Emory theater community and one a work commissioned by the Playwriting Center of Theater Emory.

The world premieres are Elizabeth Wong’s "Dating and Mating in Modern Times" (Sept. 20-Oct. 4), Emory student Lauren Gunderson’s "Leap" (Feb. 12-21), Emory faculty member John Ammerman’s "Life Goes On: A Silent Play in Black and White" (April 15-24). The season will kick off with a showcase of Contemporary Theater From India (Sept. 12-13), and will include a production of Shakespeare’s "A Midsummer Night’s Dream" (Oct. 28-Nov. 8).

"This season is largely the payoff for all the works we’ve been developing over the years," says Vincent Murphy, artistic producing director of Theater Emory. "This is the culmination of internal research that we have been doing. Elizabeth Wong’s piece was a commission of the Playwriting Center, in part because we wanted to focus on women. Lauren Gunderson is a very talented playwright, and this is the first time we have ever done a full production of a student work as part of the Theater Emory season although we have done a lot of Brave New Works readings of student material."

Wong, a Los Angeles-based television and theater writer who also will direct the production, describes "Dating and Mating" as "a series of monologues by women in celebration of men, of the libido and the white hot desire for connection between the sexes." This particular show may not be appropriate for younger patrons, so parental discretion is advised.

Gunderson is an Emory senior who has had her award-winning plays produced off Broadway in New York and at several Atlanta theaters. "Leap" is the story of two young sisters trying to impart the wisdom of the future to their skeptical pupil, a young Isaac Newton, who begins to want more than his share of knowledge. She poses the question, What if Newton knew as much as Einstein? Megan Monaghan, an Emory theater studies alumna and literary director of the Alliance Theatre Company, will direct.

"Here I think we have cultivated an audience with a taste for adventure, great theater and great literature," says Murphy. The 2003-04 season is reflective of that audience with the shows in the season, including the India theater showcase, the Shakespeare and Ammerman’s new work.

"Contemporary Theater From India" will look at a cross-section of work coming out of India with staged readings that are free and open to the public. Following independence, India has witnessed a re-emergence of its rich culture in both fiction and theater in English, Hindi and India’s many regional languages. While Salman Rushdie, Arundhati Roy, Vikram Seth and Rohiton Mishtry are names the world recognizes, a large array of lesser known playwrights and writers from India continue to bloom in obscurity. Theater Emory will showcase pieces by some of the lesser known playwrights that are witty, delicious, rooted in India’s culture and speak to issues relevant to today’s society.

"Life Goes On: A Silent Play in Black and White," conceived and directed by Ammerman, stems from his research into the silent film era of the 1920s and 30s. Created in the style of a black and white silent film, including live musical accompaniment during the performances and the best comic and dramatic elements of the genre, "Life Goes On" follows the story of one Detroit family’s encounter with the 1929 stock market crash.

Theater Emory’s production of "A Midsummer Night’s Dream" is a return to an old friend, according to Murphy, reprising a production during his first season at Emory 15 years ago. "After celebrating the 20th anniversary of Theater Emory last season, it is wonderful to be able to come back to an old friend and see how we’ve changed in that time," says Murphy. The production will be directed by Lisa Paulsen.

Sept. 12-13, 2003
Contemporary Theater From India
Street plays, dance dramas, and musicals have long been an integral part of India’s 5,000-year-old culture. These forms continue to be used for education, for telling and remembering stories, and to affect social change. Post independence, India has witnessed a re-emergence of its rich and diverse culture in both fiction and theater in English, Hindi and India’s numerous regional languages. While Salman Rushdie, Arundhati Roy, Vikram Seth and Rohiton Mishtry are names the world recognizes, a large array of lesser known playwrights and writers from India continue to bloom in obscurity. Theater Emory presents staged readings of plays by contemporary Indian playwrights that are witty, delicious, rooted in India’s culture and speak to issues relevant to today’s society.

Sept. 12 and 13 at 7 p.m.; Sept. 13 at 2 p.m.

Theater Lab, Schwartz Center for Performing Arts, 1700 N. Decatur Rd., Emory.
Free and open to the public. Seating is limited.

Sept. 20-Oct. 4
Dating and Mating in Modern Times
World Premiere. Written and directed by Elizabeth Wong
"This play was written as a series of monologues by women in celebration of men, of the libido and the white-hot desire for connection between the sexes," says Los Angeles-based television and theater writer Elizabeth Wong. Commissioned by the Playwriting Center of Theater Emory and a favorite in the 2003 Brave New Works readings for the inauguration of the Marvin and Donna Schwartz Center. Parental discretion is advised.

Sept. 20, 25-27, Oct. 2-3 at 8 p.m.
Sept. 21*, 28, and Oct. 4 at 5 p.m.
Oct. 4 at 9 p.m.

Mary Gray Munroe Theater, Dobbs Center, 605 Asbury Circle, Emory.
$15 general admission; $12 Emory (and affiliates) staff and faculty, Emory alumni, Evening at Emory students, Friends of Music, Friends of Dance, and Friends of Theater Emory, seniors, groups of 20+, WABE members, ArtsCard members, and non-Emory students; Emory students $6
*Pay what you can performance

Oct. 28-Nov. 8
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
By William Shakespeare, directed by Lisa Paulsen
Shakespeare’s best loved comedy about love, transformation and extreme responses becomes a fairytale about a world on the edge. Shakespeare’s lovers, fairies and rulers--each group from different worlds--intersect and, by the end of the evening, each group has been altered by the encounter in powerful ways.

Oct. 28-29 at 8 p.m.–Half price previews
Oct. 30, 31*, Nov. 1, 6-8 at 8 p.m.
Nov. 2 and 8 at 2 p.m.

Mary Gray Munroe Theater, Dobbs Center, 605 Asbury Circle, Emory. $15 general admission; $12 Emory (and affiliates) staff and faculty, Emory alumni, Evening at Emory students, Friends of Music, Friends of Dance, and Friends of Theater Emory, seniors, groups of 20+, WABE members, ArtsCard members, and non-Emory students; Emory students $6
*Pay what you can performance

Feb. 12-21
Leap
World Premiere. Written by Lauren Gunderson, directed by Megan Monaghan
As two young sisters try to impart the wisdom of the future, their skeptical pupil, young Isaac Newton, begins to want more than his share of knowledge. What if Newton knew as much as Einstein? "Leap" is a story of creation and destruction, of being young and brilliant, of creativity, discovery, love and physics written by talented Emory senior Lauren Gunderson, whose award-winning plays have been produced in Atlanta and New York.

Feb. 12-13*, 19-21 at 8 p.m.
Feb. 14-15, and 21 at 2 p.m.

April 15-24
Life Goes On: A Silent Play in Black and White
World Premiere. Conceived and directed by John Ammerman
Created in the style of a black and white silent film, including live musical accompaniment during the performances, "Life Goes On" follows the story of one Detroit family’s encounter with the 1929 stock market crash. Ammerman draws upon the dramatic and comic qualities of the silent films of the 1920’s for inspiration in this production

April 15, 16*, 17, 22-24 at 8 p.m.
April 18 and 24 at 2 p.m.

For more information, call the Arts at Emory box office at 404-727-5050 or visit www.emory.edu/ARTS.