'MY REPORT TO THE WORLD' Workshop with David Strathairn Sets D.C. Performance

Fresh from numerous successful workshop performances in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Warsaw, Poland, My Report to the World: The Story of Jan Karski, is headed for enhanced development and public staged reading performances this July, in a workshop residency to be held at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in downtown Manhattan. As part of this Residency, one performance will be held in D.C. on Monday, July 20 at 7:30 p.m. at the Shakespeare Theatre Company's Lansburgh Theatre in D.C., co-sponsored by the US Holocaust Memorial Museum and in partnership with Bisno Productions, and The Jan Karski Educational Foundation. This ticketed event is FREE with an RSVP: http://jan-karski.eventbrite.com.

Starring David Strathairn, the Oscar-nominated actor (Good Night and Good Luck; Lincoln), the play recounts the astonishing and largely unknown story of Polish World War II hero and Holocaust witness Jan Karski, whose determination to save Jews from extermination in his native Poland sent him on a dangerous mission, alerting the Americans and British to the horrors of the Holocaust. A rousing adventure story with elements of a spy thriller, Karski's journey is an inspiring story of extraordinary heroism and courage.

My Report to the World: The Story of Jan Karski is written by Clark Young and Derek Goldman, and directed by Goldman, award-winning director, playwright, professor, and Artistic Director of the Davis Performing Arts Center at Georgetown University and Co-Founding Director of the Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics.

The project launched at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., with a reading of the play presented by The Laboratory for Global Performance as part of the Karski Centennial celebration in April 2014. Karski, who received a Ph.D. from Georgetown in 1952 and went on to teach at the university for 40 years following the end of WWII, was a beloved member of the faculty and a much sought-after lecturer.

The workshop ensemble includes actors Kersti Bryan*, Nicholas Carriere*, Connie Castanzo*, Josh Landay*, Mariko Parker*, PJ Sosko*, and Robbie Tan*. Reflecting the D.C. origins of the piece, the creative team is joined by local designers Misha Kachman (Scenic Design), Eric Shimelonis (Sound Design), Ivania Stack (Costume Design), and Emma Jaster (Choreography), and joined by New York designers Kate Freer (Projections Design) and Jen Schriever (Lighting Design).

This unique theatrical event takes audiences from Karski's childhood in the Polish countryside, to the Warsaw Ghetto and Nazi camps, to a fateful meeting with President Roosevelt, to Karski's shattering and revelatory testimony in Claude Lanzmann's epic documentary Shoah. As realized through Strathairn's sensitive portrayal, Karski is shown to be a man of deep courage, faith, and remarkable wit.

From the Director: "Karski's story reminds us that wherever people had the courage to speak up, lives were saved. It is no accident that Karski himself was such a passionate believer in theater, as the story of his life lends itself to what theater does best - bearing witness, bringing history alive, and moving us toward a deeply felt awareness of our world."

*Member of Actors' Equity Association

Photo by Walter McBride

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