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 Student
theater group to dramatize entering class' hopes and dreams
Spectrum
Theatre will portray the personalities and perspectives of students
entering U.Va. during a production of "Voices of the Class"
Sept. 9-11 in Old Cabell Hall auditorium at 8 p.m.
Members
of Spectrum Theatre, a student organization created to "reach
across the racial divide," will incorporate approximately 50
admission essays of incoming students into an ensemble work that
will include narration, skits, monlogues and musical numbers. Throughout
the production, nine actors will constantly change their roles,
costumes and characters to reflect experiences of the entering class.
Spectrum Theatre students have had total creative control over selecting
and editing the essays to portray as well as casting and staging
the production. They've spent approximately two months examining
more than 130 application essays recommended by U.Va.'s Office
of Admission and have selected those writings that best answer
the question, ³Who are you?", according to Kevin Neher, the
group¹s co-founder.
"We
have two main goals in the production," said Neher, a third-year
student. "We believe the production will reveal how the words
students chose while applying to U.Va. reflect their voices. We
also see the production as a way of introducing those voices to
the University community."
The
presentation will also "allow all kinds of voices to be heard,"
said Steven Shepard, a third-year student and co-founder of the
Spectrum Theatre. The two students formed the organization last
year and staged a multiracial version of Shakespeare's "Romeo
and Juliet" that was set in the civil rights era.
The
organization receives support from the Dean of Students Office,
the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs and the Parents
Program of the Alumni Association.
Tickets
for "Voices of the Class" cost $3 and are available at
Newcomb Hall Box Office. Beginning Sept. 6, they will also be sold
on the Lawn.
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