STATEMENTS AFTER AN ARREST UNDER THE IMMORALITY ACT Comes to New Repertory Theatre

New Repertory Theatre and Boston Center for American Performance present Statements After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act, performed January 27-March 3, 2018 in the BlackBox Theater at the Mosesian Center for the Arts, 321 Arsenal Street, Watertown. Tickets may be purchased by calling the New Rep Box Office at 617-923-8487 or visiting newrep.org. Statements After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act will be performed in repertory with Lonely Planet by Steven Dietz as part of New Rep's Statements of Survival Series.

"In our Statements of Survival Series, we chose plays that would resonate firmly with the social and political times in which we are now living," says New Rep Artistic Director Jim Petosa. "The fact that Athol Fugard's Apartheid-era play is so timely is telling, especially as we continue to navigate the treacherous waters of an increasingly divisive world. It is our hope that presenting this work will shed light on issues that unfortunately still plague us."

"New Rep's mission to present plays that speak powerfully to the vital ideas of our time could not be more relevant than during our Statements of Survival Series," says New Rep Managing Director Harriet Sheets. "Starting with the one-woman show Unveiled by Rohina Malik in January, continuing with Athol Fugard's Statements... and Stephen Dietz's Lonely Planet, and concluding with Ripe Frenzy by Jennifer Barclay this February, these plays are thought-provoking, important, and quintessential New Rep."

About STATEMENTS AFTER AN ARREST UNDER THE IMMORALITY ACT
In apartheid South Africa, where intimate interracial relationships are illegal, a black man and a white woman share more than just their love, baring all in the face of oppression and uncertainty. Athol Fugard's Statements... is a remarkable love story that stands as a strident reminder of the intolerance and cruelty of a not-so-distant past. Contains nudity.

Spotlight Symposium | Tuesday, February 20 at 7:30pm
BlackBox Theater at Mosesian Center for the Arts | Free and Open to the Public
Artistic Protest: Delving deeper into playwright Athol Fugard's stance against apartheid.

A Spotlight Symposium will be held on Tuesday, February 20 at 7:30pm and will feature panelists Zoliswa O. Mali, Coordinator of South African Languages at Boston University, Diana Wylie, Professor of African Studies at Boston University, Timothy P. Longman, Director of the African Studies Center at Boston University, and moderated by Kyna Hamill, Assistant Director of the Core Curriculum and a Senior Lecturer in the School of Theatre, Boston University. This event is free and open to the public. Contact symposium@newrep.org to reserve a space.

This program is funded in part by Mass Humanities, State-based affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

New Rep's Mission

New Repertory Theatre produces plays that speak powerfully to the vital ideas of our time.

What we do:

• Through the passion and electricity of live theater performed to the highest standards of excellence, New Rep seeks to spark community conversations on crucial contemporary issues.

• Our work expands and challenges the human spirit of both artists and audiences. We present world premieres, contemporary plays and classic works in several intimate settings. Our productions are designed to be accessible to all. We are committed to education and enrichment for learners of all ages, with a special dedication to the creation of innovative in-school programming and outreach to underserved audiences. We embrace theater as the basis for enduring connections with our community and as a springboard for meaningful civic engagement.

• New Rep is an active advocate for the arts and a major voice in the national dialogue defining the role of theater in our culture.

About New Repertory Theatre

New Repertory Theatre is the award-winning, professional theatre company in residence at the Mosesian Center for the Arts in Watertown, MA. For over 30 years, New Rep has been a leader of self-produced theatre in greater Boston, producing contemporary and classic dramas, comedies, and musicals in both the 340-seat MainStage Theater and the 90-seat BlackBox Theater. Annually, New Rep serves over 40,000 patrons, including 2,000 season subscribers. In addition to its mainstage productions, New Rep produces Next Voices, a program dedicated to developing new plays with playwrights through staged readings and world premiere production. Under its Lifelong Enrichment Arts Programs (LEAP), New Rep also produces its Classic Repertory Company, Page To Stage, Insider Experiences, and Spotlight Symposium Series.

About BOSTON CENTER FOR AMERICAN PERFORMANCE

Boston Center for American Performance (BCAP) serves as the professional production extension of the Boston University College of Fine Arts School of Theatre. Expanding the definition of the College as an "artistic home," BCAP is designed to foster significant interaction between members of the professional performing arts world and the College. BCAP employs professional artists to collaborate directly with student artists in a way that encourages intergenerational learning not only through the forging of strong teacher/student relationships, but through the creation of artistic collaborations between artists of differing levels of experience. It is the College's conviction that such collaborations will have a profound impact on the College's educational mission, become a significant source of inspiration for the creation of new work and/or new approaches to existing work, and provide the College with a professional extension of its expanding and diverse aesthetic.

Artistic Bios

EVE KAGAN* (A White Woman) returns to New Repertory Theatre after performing in Rent, Passing Strange, and the touring production of The Scarlet Letter. Other Boston credits include Sunfish, How Many Miles to Basra, The Cutting, Gypsy, and Around the World in 80 Days (Greater Boston Stage Company); Talking to Terrorists (Súgán Theatre Company, IRNE nomination for Best Supporting Actress and Best Ensemble); The Scarlet Letter and The Miracle Worker (Foothills Theatre). Other theatre credits include leading roles in The Vagina Monologues (YogaSoup, Santa Barbara); Bite Size Plays (White Room Theatre, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, 'Pick of the Fringe'); Hello Herman (Grove Street Playhouse, NYC); The Little Foxes and The Sisters Rosensweig (Inside the Ford Theatre, LA); Equus and The House of Yes (Wesleyan University); Women and Wallace (Williamstown Theatre Festival apprentice program); and Twelfth Night (LAMDA). Eve appeared in the film The Notebook, the recent independent film Shot with Noah Wyle, and several television series including Alias, The L Word, The Parkers, and Columbo Likes the Nightlife with Peter Falk. Ms Kagan is an international theatre teaching artist with an Ed.M. in Arts in Education from Harvard, having taught locally with New Repertory Theatre, Huntington Theatre, Wheelock Family Theatre, Brandeis University, Boston Conservatory at Berklee, Gordon College, and most recently at the University of Mary Washington in Virginia.

MICHAEL OFORI (A Colored Man) makes his New Repertory Theatre debut. Credits include directing The Prison Graduate and Sizwe Bansi is Dead (Ohio University); Gem of the Ocean and The Train Driver, assistant directing By the Bog of Cats, and acting in Much Ado About Nothing (Boston University). Michael is a multifaceted performer who is originally from the Ashanti Region of Ghana, and has performed with the Kyeremateng Playhouse, The Ashanti King's Singing and Drumming Ensemble, The Ghana Dance Ensemble at University of Ghana, The National Dance Company at the National Theater of Ghana, Azaguno Inc. and Noyam Dance Institute, among others. Michael holds a BFA in Theater and Dance from University of Ghana, an MA in African Studies from Ohio University, and is currently a Theatre Education graduate student at Boston University.

Tim Spears* (A Policeman) returns to New Repertory Theatre after performing in Good, The Elephant Man, Amadeus, and Mister Roberts. He also appeared in Good Off-Broadway at PTP/NYC. Other New York City credits include A Question of Mercy and Assistant Director on Monster (PTP/NYC); and JUMP! and Realism (The Exchange). Other Boston credits include Clybourne Park (SpeakEasy Stage Company); Uncle Jack, Monster, House (IRNE Nomination), Good, and A Question of Mercy (Boston Center for American Performance); and The Devil's Teacup (Boston Playwrights' Theatre). Mr. Spears received a BFA in Acting and an MFA in Directing from Boston University. Born in Texas, he now resides in Somerville.

Jim Petosa (Director/Artistic Director) joined New Repertory Theatre as an award-winning theatre artist, educator, and leader in 2012. He has served as Director of the School of Theatre, College of Fine Arts, at Boston University since 2002, and Artistic Director of Maryland's Olney Theatre Center for the Arts and its National Players educational touring company (1994-2012). While at Boston University, he established the Boston Center for American Performance (BCAP), the professional production extension of the Boston University School of Theatre, in 2008. Throughout the Northeast, Mr. Petosa has directed for numerous institutions, including Ideation, The Gift Horse, Brecht on Brecht, Good, Freud's Last Session, The Testament of Mary, Broken Glass, Assassins, On the Verge, The Elephant Man (IRNE Nomination), Amadeus, Three Viewings, The Last Five Years, and Opus at New Rep. In Boston, his work was nominated for two IRNE awards for A Question of Mercy (BCAP). He has served as one of three artistic leaders for the Potomac Theatre Project (PTP/NYC) since 1987. In Maryland, his work earned over 25 Helen Hayes Award nominations as well as the award for outstanding direction of a musical for Jacques Brel is Alive and Well... His production of Look! We Have Come Through! was nominated for the Charles MacArthur Award for outstanding new play, and he earned the Montgomery County Executive's Excellence in the Arts and Humanities Award for Outstanding Artist/Scholar. A member of Actors' Equity Association, Mr. Petosa has served on the executive board of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, and currently serves on the Board of Directors for StageSource. Originally from New Jersey, he was educated at The Catholic University of America and resides in Quincy.

Athol Fugard (Playwright) is an internationally acclaimed South African playwright whose best-known work deals with the political and social upheaval of the apartheid system in South Africa. He was educated at the University of Cape Town. His plays include Blood Knot, Master Harold...And the Boys, Exits and Entrances, The Captain's Tiger, Valley Song, My Children! My Africa, A Lesson from Aloes, The Island, and the award-winning Sizwe Banzi is Dead. Mr. Fugard has received six honorary degrees from esteemed colleges and is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature

To post a comment, you must register and login.