Alan Campbell's Staged Reading of TRUTH AGAINST THE WORLD to Raise Awareness About Ageism in the Arts

Tony-nominated actor Alan Campbell (Sunset Blvd.) will appear as famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright in a staged reading of Truth Against the World: The Life and Loves of Frank Lloyd Wright, a new solo play by writer-director Christine Toy Johnson. Presented by Actors' Equity Association's National Equal Employment Opportunity Committee, the event is dedicated to raising awareness about ageism in the arts.

Coming in the sesquicentennial of Wright's birth, the play gives us a window into Wright's life at age 65, as he affirms his belief that though he is the age when much of America retires, his creativity and achievements have only just begun.

The one-night-only performance will take place on Friday, Oct. 27 at the Ida K. Lang Recital Hall at Hunter College, 695 Park Avenue (entrance on 68th Street between Park & Lexington), New York. Doors open at 6:30 pm for a 7:00 pm performance. The event is free and open to the public and is presented with additional support from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.

"Ageism is rampant in all areas of our society," said Johnson, who is also Chair of Equity's National EEO Committee. "The idea that someone's creativity, vision and/or overall potency as an artist and human being has an expiration date is an assumption that is not only short sighted, but patently discriminatory. Frank Lloyd Wright was already considered to be at the end of his career by age 65, but in fact he created some of his most celebrated works in the last 25 years of his life. It can easily be argued that his vision and approach to improving people's lives through the spaces in which they worked and lived only got stronger and clearer with age."

Some of Wright's most iconic designs were created later in life, such as "Fallingwater" (created at age 65) and The Guggenheim Museum (created at age 90).

Although this play takes place in 1932, ageism is still a contemporary issue. In Equity's recent study on hiring biases in professional theatre, research showed that less than eight percent of contracts offered in new shows in the New York City area went to actors and stage managers aged 65 and over, far below the 15 percent of Equity membership who fall into that age bracket.

Mindful of this disparity, fighting ageism is part of Equity's agenda, alongside creating equal opportunities for people of color, people with disabilities and transgender people as Equity leads the charge to #ChangeTheStage for a more inclusive theatre industry.

Alan Campbell has been a proud Equity member for over 35 years. On Broadway: Mamma Mia, Contact, Sunset Boulevard (Tony nom), Off-Broadway: Hello Again, Adrift in Macao, Lanford Wilson's Book Of Days and Avow. Regional: Rock and Roll Man, The Christians, Alabama Story, Seminar, Race, 12 Angry Men, Doubt, Hay Fever, Oleanna, Beauty and The Beast, Death and The Maiden, Johnny Guitar, Bells Are Ringing, I Love My Wife, The Nerd. Feature films include Universal's A Simple Wish. On television he co-starred for 5 seasons on Jake and the Fatman, also with John Ritter on Three's a Crowd, Another World, All My Children, CBS Movie, Red Flag, Law and Order, Law and Order: SVU, Homicide, Matlock. Recordings: Sunset Boulevard, Adrift in Macao and The Best of Andrew Lloyd Webber. Proud father of Riley Rose. alancampbell.net

Christine Toy Johnson is an award-winning writer, actor, director and advocate for inclusion. Her plays and musicals have been developed at such places as the Roundabout Theatre Company, O'Neill Theater Center, Village Theatre, Crossroads Theatre, The Barrow Group and more. Her screenplay Jumping The Third Rail won a Meryl Streep/IRIS Writing Lab Fellowship in 2016 and a collection of her work was inducted into the Library of Congress Asian Pacific American Performing Arts Collection in 2010. As an actor, she has been featured extensively on Broadway, Off-Broadway, film, and television; recurring guest star on The Americans, Law and Order: SVU and YOU. Executive produced/co-directed award winning documentary, Transcending: The Wat Misaka Story. More: www.christinetoyjohnson.com Twitter: @CToyJ

ACTORS' EQUITY ASSOCIATION, founded in 1913, is the U.S. labor union that represents more than 51,000 professional actors and stage managers. Equity endeavors to advance the careers of its Members by negotiating wages, improving working conditions and providing a wide range of benefits (health and pension included). Member: AFL-CIO, FIA. #EquityWorks.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos