UW School of Drama to Close Season with THE WORKROOM, 5/28-6/8

The University of Washington School of Drama showcases the work of first year students in their Professional Actor Training Program (PATP) in the final show of their 2013-2014 season. Jean-Claude Grumberg's The Workroom is a stunning portrait of two male and six female laborers surviving in Paris after World War II. This challenging play presents the PATP students with an opportunity to broaden their dramatic acting skills as they relay the emotional story of eight survivors desperately trying to sew together the fragments of their severed post-war lives.

"The Workroom explores the collective denial about the deportation of Jews from Paris in 1942, and the legacy of shame that the citizens of France were left to struggle with," states director and School of Drama Associate Professor Andrew Tsao. "Every character in the play has a secret. A secret shame that they keep hidden. But this shame is also something they need to have taken away. So, what we had to do with our young company of actors was go into decidedly uncomfortable places in order to acknowledge the complicity, collaboration, defiance, resistance or, simply, avoidance of what happened."

The Workroom is in previews May 28 & 29 and runs May 30 - June 8. Performances are Wednesday-Saturday at 7:30 pm and Sundays at 2 pm. Tickets range from $10-20 and are available online or over the phone through the ArtsUW Ticket Office, 206-543-4880 / drama.uw.edu/performances. The ArtsUW Ticket Office is located at 1313 NE 41st Street, open Monday-Friday, 11 am-6 pm.

Performances are in the Glenn Hughes Penthouse Theatre, located on the UW campus near the north entrance at NE 45th St. and 17th Ave. NE.

Cast members include: Michael Adams, Moises Castro, Claire Fort, Christen Gee, Rebekah Patti, Beverly Poole, Rudy Roushdi, Kellyn Traenkenschuh, Tara Velan, and Zach Virden. Creative team includes Jenna Heo - Scenic Designer, Maya Ogasawara - Costume Designer, Evan Anderson - Lighting Design.

Photo by Mike Hipple

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