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Theatre performance questions power, gender expression

Posted 2:37 p.m. Monday, Sept. 17, 2012

UW-L's performance project, "Fulcrum: An Interrogation of Power," are set for 3:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 21, in the Frederick Theatre in Morris Hall.

[caption id="attachment_15037" align="alignright" width="300" caption=""Fulcrum: An Interrogation of Power" will be performed at 3:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 21, in the Frederick Theatre in Morris Hall."]Two people nose to nose. [/caption] Interested in gender, gender expression and power in our culture? UW-L's performance project "Fulcrum: An Interrogation of Power" explores these issues and more. Presentations are set for 3:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 21, in the Frederick Theatre in Morris Hall. The 40-minute theatre piece raises questions about how gender, age and status affect power. It presents scenes from several well-known plays in non-traditional ways, such as cross-gender casting, to illuminate how we express and respond to those differences. All performances are free of charge (donations for theatre scholarships accepted at the door) and will be followed by a conversation with the audience. The piece is being developed by faculty members Beth Cherne and Walter Elder, both Theatre and Dana McConnell of Viterbo University. It is funded through a grant from UW-L’s College of Liberal Studies. “We are very excited about this project, which is pushing us to understand our discipline in new ways,” says Cherne.  “We are finding in rehearsal that gender is encoded in plays in ways that challenge our very notions of ‘character’ in theatre, and by extension, of ‘personality’ in real life.” Elder, rehearsing the role of Blanche Dubois from the Tennessee Williams classic "A Streetcar Named Desire," observes, “I am struck, as a male actor playing these women that the male characters can ‘come straight at you’ but the women are so much more limited in what they can do or say.” For more information, contact Beth Cherne at 785.8521 or mcherne@uwlax.edu. If you go— Who: Department of Theatre Arts What:  "Fulcrum: An Interrogation of Power" Where:  Frederick Theatre, Morris Hall When:   Friday, Sept. 21 at 3:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. Admission:  Free.  General Admission.  Donations to support theatre student scholarships accepted at the door.  

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