UK Theatre, Honors to Stage Reading of Play on Climate Change

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 21, 2016) — The students of the "Staging History" class, a University of Kentucky Department of Theatre and Dance and Honors Program course, will present a staged reading of "Terra," a play about climate change, on Earth Day, beginning 5 p.m. Friday, April 22, in the courtyard of the Fine Arts Building. The reading is free and open to the public.

UK students have been engaged in the research and development of a play about climate change throughout this past semester. Working with professors Herman Farrell III, Paul Vincelli and Alice Turkington, honors and theatre students enrolled in the class have put together a one-hour play that addresses the pressing issues facing our planet as carbon dioxide emissions continue to hit record high levels that already are having devastating effects on our global climate.

Plant pathologist Vincelli and geographer Turkington provided the students with a clear understanding of the major issues involved in the climate change debate. Next the students worked with Farrell, a noted playwright, to develop the script and help produce the staged reading.

The performance will be presented outdoors in the College of Fine Arts Courtyard or in the Briggs Theatre, in the event of rain. No reservations are required. Audience members are encouraged to bring blankets for seating on the grass and to arrive by 4:30 p.m. to listen to music and eat free snacks before the performance. There will be a brief talkback session with the cast, crew and faculty members after the reading.

Herman Farrell is an associate professor of playwriting and Chellgren Endowed Professor in the UK Department of Theatre and Dance. He teaches playwriting, theatre history and dramatic literature.

Alice Turkington is an associate professor in geography. Her research interests are in earth surface systems, biogeomorphology and microclimates. Turkington has taught numerous courses in climate change at UK.

Vincelli is an xtension professor of plant pathology in the UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. One of his principle areas of expertise and present professional activity is in sustainability of food systems.

The cast of "Terra" includes:

· Treyton Blackburn, political science and theatre sophomore from Pikeville, Kentucky;

· Emily Crebbin, arts administration sophomore from Newtown, Connecticut;

· K’Quan McNease, journalism junior from St. Louis, Missouri;

· Kelsie Potter, English and integrated strategic communication senior from Raceland, Kentucky;

· Olivia Song, psychology major from Seoul, South Korea;

· Brenton Watts, international studies and theatre junior from Jackson, Kentucky;

· Susanna White, family sciences junior from Spartanburg, South Carolina; and

· Phillip Woolery, chemistry junior from Lawrenceburg, Kentucky.

Katie Lowe, a theatre senior from Somerset, Kentucky, is the production's stage manager.

Farrell has been teaching "Staging History," an Arts and Creativity Path UK Core course, over the past several years. In it, students examine historical dramas from "The Persians" to "The Laramie Project" in the first half of the semester and then develop a documentary/historical drama in the second half.

Students have devised work on issues of mental health, the coal industry, Russian literature and history, and most notably, student veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. "Bringing it Home: Voices of Student Veterans," developed in collaboration with the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History and the Veterans Resource Center in 2013, toured Kentucky colleges and universities thanks to a generous grant from the Women and Philanthropy Foundation and was also staged at the 2011 NYC/International Fringe Festival. In 2013, as part of the College of Arts and Sciences Year of Russia program, "Bulgakov’s Dreams" was developed as a collaborative project between Karen Petrone, chair of the Department of History; Cynthia Ruder, associate professor of Russian studies; and Farrell.

UK is the University for Kentucky. At UK, we are educating more students, treating more patients with complex illnesses and conducting more research and service than at any time in our 150-year history. To read more about the UK story and how you can support continued investment in your university and the Commonwealth, go to: uky.edu/uk4ky. #uk4ky #seeblue

MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, 859-257-8716; whitney.hale@uky.edu