{"id":273712,"date":"2017-10-10T12:15:15","date_gmt":"2017-10-10T16:15:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=273712"},"modified":"2017-10-17T12:09:54","modified_gmt":"2017-10-17T16:09:54","slug":"timely-political-drama-plays-stage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/timely-political-drama-plays-stage\/","title":{"rendered":"Timely political drama plays out on stage"},"content":{"rendered":"

The International Theatre Program steps into a new genre this fall with In the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer<\/em>. Arguments take center stage in the docudrama, set to open on Thursday, October 12. Written by German playwright Heinar Kipphardt, the work takes a look at politics in a way that\u2019s \u201cshockingly prescient and timely,\u201d says Nigel Maister, Russell and Ruth Peck Artistic Director\u00a0of the International Theatre Program and the production’s director and set designer.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Left to right: Ewan Shannon \u201920 (Lansdale), Samantha Richardson \u201919 (Rolander), and Olivia Banc \u201921 (Robb) perform in the docudrama, which is taken from transcripts of the 1954 Atomic Energy Commission hearing. (University photo \/ J. Adam Fenster)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

On Saturday, October 14<\/strong>, after the evening performance, the Theatre Program will host a panel discussion<\/strong>, with Theatre Program Artistic Director Nigel Maister, to discuss the Oppenheimer production and the questions raised in the play. The panel of faculty include Robert Westbrook, history; Regina Demina, physics & astronomy; and Jonathan Tresan, philosophy. The panel discussion is free and open to all.<\/p>\n

\n

The production runs Thursday through Saturday (October 12\u201314) and Wednesday through Saturday (October 18\u201321) starting at 7 p.m. There are also 2 p.m. matinee performances on Saturday and Sunday (October 14 and 15). All performances take place in Todd Theater on the University of Rochester\u2019s River Campus. Tickets are $8 for University of Rochester students, $12 for alumni, faculty, staff, and for seniors (65+), and $15 for the general public. Tickets may be purchased online at www.rochester.edu\/theater<\/a> or by calling the box office at (585) 275-4088. Tickets may also be purchased up to an hour before each performance at the box office.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The play\u2014a courtroom-style drama\u2014chronicles the 1954 Atomic Energy Commission hearing in which the physicist Oppenheimer\u2014an influential advisor to the commission who played a lead role in the development of the atomic bomb\u2014is called before the commission to account for his earlier left-wing sympathies, and to have his security clearance evaluated. The story is taken directly from the transcripts of the infamous hearing, which took place at the height of the McCarthy era.<\/p>\n

The first attempt at docudrama for the International Theatre Program, Maister thought this form of theater would be advantageous for students to explore.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe complex narrative takes a look at the whole notion of the responsibility of the engineer; the physicists,\u201d says Maister. \u201cWhat happens if you\u2019re a scientist and your discoveries lead to ends that you did not intend, or are co-opted by the military?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ewan Shannon \u201920 takes on the challenging role of John Lansdale Jr., the head of security for the Manhattan Project. \u201cIt\u2019s about twisting and playing with words to try and get the upper hand on somebody,\u201d says Shannon, who majors in archeology and anthropology. \u201cUnderstanding Lansdale is to recognize where his morals lie and what\u2019s the difference, if there was any, between his personal beliefs and his official duties.\u201d<\/p>\n

In this production, most of the students, at some point, take a turn at portraying Oppenheimer. \u201cIn getting to play both the accuser and the accused,\u201d Maister says, \u201cstudent actors viscerally experience the predicament in which Oppenheimer and, indeed, our whole society found itself being judged in 1954. Something that has echoes in today\u2019s political climate.\u201d<\/p>\n

The production\u2019s costume designer is Tilly Grimes, whose design has been seen in Boo Kilebrew\u2019s Romance Novels for Beginners<\/em> at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, and Bess Wohl\u2019s Small Mouth Sounds<\/em> in New York City. The lighting design is by Solomon Weisbard. Sound design and music are by Obadiah Eaves, whose credits include Country House<\/em>, Shining City<\/em>, and The Assembled Parties<\/em>. Joshua Thorson, assistant professor of fine art at Rochester Institute of Technology, is the production\u2019s video designer, and Alexa Scott-Flaherty, adjunct lecturer at Rochester, is acting and voice coach.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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