Theater has the power to entertain, but it also has the power to shed light on some of the most difficult situations and subject matter of the human condition.

That’s what actor Chris Sarandon hopes to get across to West Virginia University theater students and the local community when he returns to the Creative Arts Center Sept. 17-19 to present staged readings of the play “Not Someone Like Me,” by Susan Rice, a collection of monologues about the real experiences of women who have been physically and sexually assaulted and how they continue to cope with the aftermaths of their attacks.

The readings, directed by Sarandon, will take place Sept. 18 and 19 at 7:30 p.m. in the Creative Arts Center’s Antoinette Falbo Theatre.

Following each performance, Sarandon and the cast will also take part in a “talk back” with Deborah Beazley, program coordinator for WVU’s Sexual Assault Prevention Program.

Both the readings and the talk backs are free and open to the public.

Sarandon is the first College of Creative Arts alumnus to take part in the college’s new Alumni Residency Series, in which noted alumni of the schools of art and design, music, and theatre and dance will return to work with students.

The play he is bringing to WVU is one he has been working for several years to bring to the attention of the public.

“I don’t think it’s possible to overemphasize just how pervasive sexual assault is in our culture,” Sarandon said.

“As one of the storytellers in the show says, ‘the silence of survivors is supported by a collective anxiety about rape—a crime so shameful that its victims are made mute, and those who would listen, deaf.’

“It’s an ugly secret and we hope through bringing this show to colleges and advocacy groups across the United States we will shed light on this difficult subject and hopefully promote change.”

Sarandon’s involvement with the project began when playwright Susan Rice, a longtime friend and colleague of Sarandon and his wife, actress Joanna Gleason, approached them with the idea of adapting excerpts from the 2004 HBO documentary film, “Rape in a Small Town: The Florence Holway Story,” into a play.

The play Rice wrote soon grew to include source material from the book “After Silence” by Nancy Raine, as well as transcripts of interviews with other sexual assault survivors.

Rice asked Sarandon to direct the production and he has been actively involved with it since the beginning, seeing it go through many stages of development, including a reading at New York Theatre Workshop.

The performance at the WVU Creative Arts Center will be the first time it has been presented at a university. The cast will include students and faculty members from the Studio Acting Program in the School of Theatre and Dance.

Sarandon, an alumnus of that school, was named to the Academy of Distinguished Alumni at WVU in 1998. Born and raised in Beckley, West Virginia, he earned a degree in speech and drama at WVU, graduating magna cum laude in 1964.

He may be best known for playing Prince Humperdinck in “The Princess Bride,” as well as for his role as the vampire Jerry Dandridge in “Fright Night” and Detective Mike Norris in the first entry of the “Child’s Play” Series. He also provided the speaking voice of Jack Skellington in “The Nightmare Before Christmas.”

He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the 1975 film “Dog Day Afternoon” with Al Pacino.

He first became interested in acting as a student at WVU, where he performed in productions of “Julius Caesar,” “Tartuffe” “Little Mary Sunshine” and as Romeo in “Romeo and Juliet.” His mentor was WVU theater professor emeritus Charles Neel.

Following his graduation from WVU, he earned his master’s degree in theater from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

Over the years, his work as an actor has included work in regional theater, television, primetime TV movies and major films. In addition to “Dog Day Afternoon,” he appeared in the thriller “Lipstick” (1976) with Margaux Hemingway, “The Osterman Weekend” (1983) with Dennis Hopper, and “Protocol” (1984) with Goldie Hawn.

He has appeared on Broadway, as well as making regular appearances at Shakespeare and George Bernard Shaw festivals in the United States and Canada.

His work on television has included recurring roles on the long-running medical drama “ER,” as well as “The Practice,” “Charmed,” and “Judging Amy.” More recently he has appeared as a guest star on “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit” and “The Good Wife.”

The staged readings of “Not Someone Like Me” will be in the Antoinette Falbo Theatre at the WVU Creative Arts Center, Sept. 18 and 19 at 7:30pm, with talk backs following each performance. Admission is free.

The show includes graphic details of sexual assault. Parental guidance is suggested.

For more information, visit theatre.wvu.edu, call 304-293-2020, or email theatre@mail.wvu.edu.

-WVU-

sf/9/8/14

CONTACT: Charlene Lattea, College of Creative Arts
304-293-4359, Charlene.Lattea@mail.wvu.edu

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