post-gazette.com: Carnegie Mellon University will host a one-night reading of "8," a play chronicling the historic trial in the federal constitutional challenge to California's Proposition 8. The performance by CMU School of Drama students will be at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 10, in the University Center's McConomy Auditorium. Tickets are free; students may obtain two per person with a valid ID and the public may obtain one per person. Tickets must be picked up in advance at the University Center Information Desk.
3 comments:
This is SO GOOD. Not the play of course, because i haven't seen the play, but THIS. First, I think it's incredible that something of this magnitude is coming through CMU to be read by CMU School of Drama students. I, personally did not read in depth into the prop 8 trials. This is a wonderful way to secretly make the world more informed while they are being entertained. It was said in my directing class that you can find a human interest piece out of anything, drawing people into that story. This is a beautiful example. CAN'T WAIT.
After being in discussions from October about this project, it's really exciting to see it finally come to fruition. You weren't around for it, skpollac, but we produced a reading of The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later in the 2009 school year. Sarah brings up a good point about the play bringing information in the entertainment, and this seems to be one of the key reasons Broadway Impact has been making the script and rights available to universities and community groups for free - because the spread of the equality message, especially heading into an election period when same-sex marriage will be an issue on the ballot, is more important than the financial success or notoriety of the play. Rolled in there is the fact that the media was barred from reporting inside the Perry v. Schwarzenegger courtroom, so the desire to get the evidence out from the trial to inform the public was another huge determinant. Carnegie Mellon will be one of about 1000 campuses presenting the play, and in addition to the big-name NYC and Los Angeles productions, will be working actively to educate audience members by getting the message of the trials out there.
I'm personally impressed by how quickly the turnaround was in between the actual events and having a successful play about it working its way through major cities and campuses. It seems crazy that something that happened just a few years ago now has a historic chronicling in circulation. I'm glad that this play is being staged in so many places, so quickly, and by a compelling cast though because it seems like the absolute best way to keep a topic in stimulating conversation and not let it fade into past years. It's important to get an understanding of the trial as it has touched peoples' actual lives, not just a lot of rather short news reports that popped up around the time it was happening. I also think that it's especially useful to rejuvenate this conversation at this time, so soon before the election, now that all of a sudden it seems that these issues are being called back into questions in a lot of places. I definitely look forward to see what sort of action, or at least conversation, is brought to CMU by this reading, I think we're lucky to be able to see it now.
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