Spader, Schreiber, Margulies And More Set For Blueprint for Accountability 6/7

Culture Project (CP) has announced that "Blueprint for Accountability," a groundbreaking theater/film/journalism series launched at The Times Center in May 2009, will return for an encore presentation on June 7th at 7:30PM at NYU Skirball Center.

Culture Project created "Blueprint for Accountability" as a means of engaging the public in constructing a "blueprint" for a more just and democratic future. Igniting an unprecedented sense of hope and possibility, the election of Barack Obama served to position American resolve and commitment as never before. Spurred by the one-year anniversary of the President's pronouncement to close Guantanamo, and the fates of nearly 200 detainees still hanging in the balance, the evening will assemble some of the nation's leading and influential voices to debate the unparalleled events, policies and circumventions of the past administration-urging policy makers, the military, and world citizens to craft a decisive moral response to torture capable of restoring both America's dignity and standing throughout the international community.

"Blueprint for Accountability" will feature a powerful and provocative panel discussion with former CIA Officer Valerie Plame Wilson, retired Iraq commander Lt. General Ricardo Sanchez, author and environmentalist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., best-selling author and investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ron Suskind, and Executive Director of the Center for Constitutional Rights Vince Warren. A brief look at the precedents set by the Nuremberg Trials and Geneva Conventions will inform a probing discussion of the historical framework for America's policies limiting abuses in war, and our nation's radical departure from international human rights laws and civil liberties protections post-9/11.

Punctuating the experts' discussion, Director Fisher Stevens (The Cove, 2010 Best Documentary Academy Award) will screen vital archival footage and bring to life compelling dramatic scenes performed by acclaimed actors James Spader, Liev Schreiber, Julianna Margulies, Mariska Hargitay and Matt Dillon.

In 2002, Culture Project propelled to national prominence with its acclaimed production of The Exonerated, a groundbreaking dramatization of the real-life stories of six innocent prisoners released after decades on death row. The show embodied Culture Project's mission to use art for social change at a time when executions in Texas were making national headlines. After seeing a performance, Illinois Governor George Ryan commuted his state's 156 death row sentences to life in prison.

Culture Project's "Blueprint for Accountability" builds a case against the individuals and institutions threatening our system of democracy, serving as an urgent call to our elected officials for fundamental policy change. The evening will feature several calls-to-action from prominent human rights organizations including Amnesty International, Center for Constitutional Rights, Alliance For Justice and Theaters Against War.

Culture Project is proud to partner with FORA.tv, an online forum that helps intelligent, engaged audiences get smart about the people, issues, and ideas changing the world. FORA.tv gathers the web's largest collection of unmediated video drawn from live events, lectures, and debates consistently happening at the world's top universities, think tanks and conferences, for users to watch, interact with and share. The event will be streamed live by FORA.tv and made available on-demand following the presentation.

"Blueprint for Accountability" will be presented at the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, NYU (566 LaGuardia Place at Washington Square South, New York, NY 10012) on Monday June 7, 2010 at 7:30PM EDT. Tickets are available for $25 (Balcony), $35 (Parterre) and $55 (Orchestra). A limited number of VIP platinum level tickets are available at $250.

Starting May 11th, tickets will be available online, at:
http://skirballcenter.nyu.edu/calendar/blueprint_for_accountability

By Phone: 212.352.3101 or 866.811.4111

In Person: 566 LaGuardia Place, Tuesday-Saturday 12noon-6pm

To watch the live-streaming event on FORA.tv, please visit:

http://fora.tv/live/Culture_Project/Torture_Accountability_Dark_Side

For more information on "Blueprint for Accountability," please visit: www.cultureproject.org

BIOGRAPHIES
RON SUSKIND is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author, has written some of America's most important works of nonfiction including The Way of the World, The One Percent Doctrine, The Price of Loyalty, George W. Bush, the White House and the Education of Paul O'Neill, and A Hope in the Unseen, An American Odyssey from the Inner City to the Ivy League for which he was awarded the 1995 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing. He currently writes for various national magazines, including The New York Times Magazine and Esquire Magazine.

VALERIE PLAME WILSON is a former CIA covert operations officer and was born on Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, Alaska in 1963. Her career in the CIA included assignments in counterproliferation operations, working to ensure that enemies of the United States could not threaten America with weapons of mass destruction. Her first book, Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House was published by Simon and Schuster in 2007.

VINCE WARREN is the Executive Director of the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), a legal and educational organization dedicated to advancing and defending the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Warren oversees CCR's litigation and advocacy work, including: combating the illegal expansion of presidential power and policies such as detention at Guantanamo, rendition, torture and warrantless wiretapping; holding corporations and government officials accountable for human rights abuses; and challenging racial injustice and mass incarceration. Vince is a frequent television commentator, with appearances on CNN, BBC, ABC, CBS, as well as national radio and local television.

LIEUTENANT GENERAL RICARDO SANCHEZ is a retired United States Army general who served as the Commander of coalition forces in Iraq from June 2003 to June 2004 and Commanding General of V Corps from June 2003 until September 2006. In 1991, then LTC Sanchez served as battalion commander during Operation Desert Shield/Storm. After the Gulf War, Sanchez was given command of the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Infantry Division. In July 2001, Major General Sanchez assumed command of V Corp's 1st Armored Division. Sanchez held the top military position in Iraq during the occupation period, the emergence of the insurgency and the capture of Saddam Hussein. Sanchez retired In November 2006 after 33 years of distinguished military service.

Robert F. Kennedy, JR. was named one of Time Magazine's "Heroes for the Planet" for his success in helping member-supported environmental organization Riverkeeper fight to restore the Hudson River. He serves as Senior Attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, Chief Prosecuting Attorney for the Hudson Riverkeeper, President of Waterkeeper Alliance, and Clinical Professor as well as Supervising Attorney at Pace University School of Law's Environmental Litigation Clinic. Among Mr. Kennedy's published books are the New York Times' bestsellers Crimes Against Nature (2004), The Riverkeepers (1997), and Judge Frank M. Johnson, Jr: A Biography (1977), as well as three children's books, St Francis of Assisi: A Life of Joy (2005), American Heroes: Joshua Chamberlain and the American Civil War and Robert Smalls: The Boat Thief (2008).

JEREMY SCAHILL is author of New York Times-bestseller Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army. He is an independent journalist who reports frequently for the national radio and TV program Democracy Now! and The Nation magazine. He has spent extensive time reporting from Iraq and Yugoslavia. Scahill is currently a Puffin Writing Fellow at The Nation Institute.

DR. ALLEN KELLER is Associate Professor of Medicine at the New York University School of Medicine, Society Master for the May Chinn Society for Bioethics and Human Rights, Director of the NYU School of Medicine Center for Health and Human Rights, founder and Director of the Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture, and a member of the Advisory Council of Physicians for Human Rights for which he has addressed a number of issues relating to health and human rights. Dr. Keller has received several awards for his work with torture victims and his advocacy for human rights.

Matt Dillon has had a successful film career spanning over three decades, with notable nominations for Academy, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, Critic's Choice, and BAFTA Awards for his dramatic performances. Among others, he has garnered an Independent Spirit, Actors Guild, and Critic's Choice Awards for Best Ensemble in the film Crash.

James Spader has won three Emmy awards for his performance in Boston Legal and The Practice and is one of two actors to win multiple Emmy's for the same role in two different series. He has also received a Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival for his role in the indie classic Sex, Lies, and Videotape.

SISTER DIANNA ORTIZ traveled to Guatemala in 1987 where she was abducted and tortured by the Guatemalan security forces under the supervision of an American and eventually escaped. In 1996, she conducted a five-week vigil in front of the White House calling for the release of all relevant documents and was successful in securing the document admitting that torture was taught at the School of the Americas. In 1998, Dianna founded the Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition International (TASSC), serving as the organization's director for ten years, and now works with Pax Christi as the Director of their Washington, D.C. office. She has since written an autobiography, The Blindfold's Eyes: My Journey from Torture to Truth (Obis Books, 2002) and has received several honorary doctorates and numerous awards.

Julianna Margulies is famously known for her Emmy-winning role in the medical drama ER. Now starring as Alicia Florrick in the CBS series The Good Wife, she has received a NYWIFT Muse award, a Golden Globe award, and a record third Screen Actors Guild award.

Mariska Hargitay is well known as Olivia Benson, a New York City detective in the television drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, a role that has earned her multiple award nominations, including an Emmy and Golden Globe award.

Fisher Stevens is an actor, director and Academy Award-winning producer who has appeared in over 40 stage productions, including the Tony award winning Torch Song Trilogy, Brighton Beach Memoirs and Carousel. His documentary, The Cove, won the audience award at The Sundance Film Festival, Best Documentary at the National Board of Review, and the 2010 Academy Award for Best Documentary. The Cove will be released by Roadside Attractions and Lionsgate on July 31.

ANDREW S. KARSCH divides his time between the worlds of motion pictures, politics, and technology. [In YEAR,] He established Longfellow Pictures and took on running companies for both William Randolph Hearst III and Sidney Kimmel. Among his producing credits is The Prince of Tides (Academy Award-nominee for Best Picture), as well as The Emperor's Club and the soon-to-be-released Betty Anne Waters. He runs his online company, "Outside.In," founded with partners Steven Berlin Johnson and Mark Bailey; and a new motion picture/multimedia company, Insurgent Media, LLC, with partners Erik Gordon and Fisher Stevens. Politically, Mr. Karsch worked with Senator Edward M. Kennedy running his campaign for the U.S. Senate in 1976 and served as the Senator's Issues and Media Director for the state of New York during his 1980 Presidential campaign. During the last Presidential campaign, Mr. Karsch worked with Rock the Vote to create and produce the largest youth registration drive in history. Political work remains one of his core concerns and he continues to advise candidates, campaigns, and foundations.

Culture Project is dedicated to addressing critical human rights issues by creating and supporting artistic work that amplifies marginalized voices. By fostering innovative collaboration between human rights organizations and artists, we aim to inspire and impact public dialogue and policy, encouraging democratic participation in the most urgent matters of our time.

A venue for acclaimed, prize-winning performance, Culture Project has been a magnet for some of today's best talent, including Meryl Streep, Danny Glover, Mary J. Blige, Robin Williams, Marisa Tomei, Staceyann Chin, Lynn Redgrave, and others who share a passion for theater and social justice. Culture Project has garnered numerous awards, including the Times' #1 Play of the Year (2003), Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award (2005), a Drama Desk Award (2003), an Outer Critics Circle Award (2003), and Lucille Lortel Awards (2003, 2008).

THE Jack H. Skirball CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS AT NYU is the premier venue for the presentation of cultural and performing arts events for NYU and lower Manhattan. The programs of the Skirball Center reflect NYU's mission as an international center of scholarship, defined by excellence and innovation and shaped by an intellectually rich and diverse environment. Since 2003, the 860-seat Center has provided a unique venue for enhancing a sense of community while continuing the Greenwich Village traditions of creativity and artistic discovery with a broad range of compelling performance events at affordable ticket prices. Led by Executive Producer Jay Oliva (President Emeritus, NYU) and Director Michael Harrington, a natural and vital aspect of the Center's mission is to build young adult audiences for the future of live performance. www.skirballcenter.nyu.edu

Photo Credit: Peter James Zielinski