Documentary Theatre Project FACES OF CHANGE Returns to Asolo Rep This Year

Asolo Rep proudly its annual documentary theatre project: FACES OF CHANGE. FACES OF CHANGE collects stories, personal experiences, and interviews from community members of diverse backgrounds, assembles an original script, and presents free readings followed by post-show discussions.

This season's FACES OF CHANGE takes its theme from the theatre's upcoming production of Ayad Akhtar's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama DISGRACED, a provocative look at what it means to be a Muslim American in a post-9/11 world.

There will be a public reading on April 16 at 2pm in the Historic Asolo Theater on the set of DISGRACED. Additional free readings will be held at partner locations including Temple Beth Sholom on Thursday, April 14 at 1pm and Fogartyville Community Media Arts Center on Monday, April 18 at 7:30pm. All three readings are followed by a community conversation.

This central question of this season's project, inspired by DISGRACED, is "How does faith both connect and divide us in America today?" Directed by Asolo Rep Education & Outreach Specialist Ria Cooper, this season's FACES OF CHANGE will feature stories gathered through partner organizations including Bethlehem Baptist Church, Blessing Bags, Center for Religious Tolerance, Goldie Feldman Academy, Humanists of Sarasota Bay, Islamic Society of Sarasota and Bradenton, Salvation Army, St. Wilfred Episcopal Church, The SOURCE at Planned Parenthood, Temple Emanu-El, Temple Sinai, Visible Men Academy, and Women's Interfaith Network.

"Our mission at Goldie Feldman Academy, as a Hershorin Schiff Community School, is to impact the world by creating a community where children of all faiths demonstrate integrity, academic excellence and a desire to improve the world," said Robin Sweeting, K-8 Director, Goldie Feldman Academy, one of this season's participating organizations. "By promoting interfaith understanding, GFA is uniquely positioned to bring down the barriers between different faiths."

Goldie Feldman Academy joined this year's FACES OF CHANGE by hosting multiple group theatre sessions to explore elementary students' stories about religion in their lives, and will host the performance at Temple Beth Sholom for an audience of their students as well as the public. The other performance site, Fogartyville Community Media and Arts Center, will host a performance for a second year in a row, after collaborating on the 2015 FACES OF CHANGE project exploring economic hardship and homelessness in the greater Sarasota area.

"FACES OF CHANGE uses theatre as a tool for education and community-building," said Ria Cooper, Asolo Rep Education and Outreach Specialist. "This kind of theatre-making is about asking questions, as opposed to providing answers. Creating community-based documentary theatre offers us the opportunity to participate in critical inquiry and reflection about who we are and who makes up our community, and to explore what matters to us."

Admission is free; however, tickets are required. Tickets for all three performances are available by visiting Asolo Rep's Box Office, located in Asolo Rep's lobby, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, by visiting www.asolorep.org or calling 941.351.8000 or 800.361.8388.

FACES OF CHANGE is sponsored by the Koski Family Fund for New Audiences.

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FACES OF CHANGE 2016 PERFORMANCES:

Thursday, April 14 at 1pm
Temple Beth Sholom
1050 S. Tuttle Ave. in Sarasota
Tickets: www.asolorep.org or 941.351.8000 or 800.361.8388.

Saturday, April 16 at 2pm
Historic Asolo Theater
5401 Bay Shore Road in Sarasota
Tickets: www.asolorep.org or 941.351.8000 or 800.361.8388.

Monday, April 18 at 7:30pm
Fogartyville Community Media Arts Center
525 Kumquat Court in Sarasota
Tickets: www.asolorep.org or 941.351.8000 or 800.361.8388.

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