GTA Discovery Series Presents RED This Weekend

In this winner of the 2010 Tony Award for BEST PLAY, master abstract expressionist Mark Rothko has just landed the biggest commission in the history of modern art, a series of murals for New York's famed Four Seasons Restaurant. In the two fascinating years that follow, Rothko works feverishly with his young assistant, Ken, in his studio in the Bowery. But when Ken gains the confidence to challenge him, Rothko faces the agonizing possibility that his crowning achievement could also become his undoing.

"RED", which is rated R for language, will perform tonight, November 7-11 as part of the Gainesville Theatre Alliance Discovery Series at the Ed Cabell Theatre on the UNG-Gainesville campus, 3820 Mundy Mill Road (Oakwood). The Discovery Series is GTA's alternate -- and often more experimental -- stage featuring senior thesis projects as well as smaller-scale professional productions that showcase some of the actors, directors and designers who mentor GTA students and frequently demonstrate a new paradigm of storytelling. Generally performed in smaller, more intimate theatres and sometimes in unusual, nontraditional spaces with simpler production elements, Discovery Series shows are for those adventurous spirits who want to see new ways of approaching familiar stories or themes.

The Gainesville Theatre Alliance is a nationally acclaimed collaboration of the University of North Georgia, Brenau University, theatre professionals and the North Georgia community.

Directed by Gay H. Hammond, GTA's Resident Dramatist and an Assistant Professor at Brenau, "RED" is the senior thesis project of two well-known GTA actors who've had major roles in both straight and musical shows. Joseph Harris, who portrays the famous artist Mark Rothko, and Benny Higgins, who plays his fictional assistant, Ken. Harris is a member of the current GTA Repertory Company and has appeared in many GTA shows including last season's "Chicago" as Amos, "Guys and Dolls" as Nathan Detroit, "The Grapes of Wrath" as Uncle John Joad, "Hairspray" as Edna Turnblad and "Briar Patch" as Br'er Bear. Higgins appeared in this season's WonderQuest production of "Sleeping Beauty" as Lord Bamboo but patrons would know him best for his rolls in "Sense and Sensibility" as Colonel Brandon, in "Guys and Dolls" as Rusty Charlie, and "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" as Barfee, the foot-speller. Both are students at the University of North Georgia.

Raw and provocative, "RED" is a searing portrait of an artist's ambition and vulnerability as he tries to create a definitive work for an extraordinary setting. The New York Times calls it, ""Intense and exciting...a study in artist appreciation, a portrait of an angry and brilliant mind that asks you to feel the shape and texture of thoughts...RED captures the dynamic relationship between an artist and his creations."

Performances are at 7:30pm tonight, November 7-9. The show is FREE to the public with general admission seating - theatre doors open at 7:10pm. For more information visit www.gainesvilleTHEATREalliance.org or calling the Box Office at 678.717.3624, Monday - Friday from 10am to 4pm.