Performance

The Silencer
November 1, 2, and 3
Location: Newman House, 203 Otey Street (directions)
8 pm

By Rhiannon Tise

Dr. Brian Heath must decide whether to protect his family or publicize his alarming findings about the impending threat of climate change. His predicament stands for our own as individuals, and collectively. The Silencer presents confronting the truth about global warming as a matter of conscience, which we cannot undertake without the willingness to leave our comfort zone behind. This is a workshop production of The Silencer, originally developed for the award-winning Y Touring Theatre Company of London. It will premiere in London in 2007 and be performed throughout the United Kingdom.

There will be a discussion with the cast, director, and Choices and Challenges participants following the performance.

Rhiannon Tise graduated with an MA in Theatre, Film and Television Studies from the University of Glasgow in 1998. Since then she has written for theatre, radio, and television and has worked for a diverse range of companies as well as leading numerous writing workshops and courses around the UK for adults and young people alike. She was Playwrighting Tutor at the University of Glasgow 2000-2002. Rhiannon’s first radio play, The Waltzer, which was commissioned after she was a member of the BBC Sparks writers group, was published in 2004 by Capercallie Books after winning The Society of Authors Richard Imison Award.

Workshops: Engaging Science and Technology Through Theatre

These free workshops will explore how theatre can be used as an innovative tool to facilitate education, debate, dialogue, and public engagement amongst students and communities about social and ethical issues related to emerging sciences and technologies. The workshops are recommended for students, educators, and community members interested in exploring the relationships between science, technology and society; promoting public engagement and dialogue; and/or creating community-based theatre.

The workshops will be led by Nigel Townsend, founder and artistic director of London¹s award-winning Y Touring Theatre Company, dedicated to exploring contemporary issues through theatre and drama. In partnership with organizations including the Wellcome Trust, the Nuffield Foundation, the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, the BBC, the National Theatre, and departments in the UK government, Y Touring has produced over 35 national and international tours of plays with debates, workshops and online resources for over half a million young people, teachers, youth leaders, health and science professionals, and members of the general public, exploring topics including social and ethical issues related to advances in biotechnology and new biomedical research.

WORKSHOP 1
M Oct 30
4-6 pm
Graduate Life Center at the Donaldson Brown (Otey Street), Room F
Virginia Tech

WORKSHOP 2
F Nov 3
1-3 pm
Newman House (203 Otey St), Downtown Blacksburg (directions)

These workshops are free and open to the public. Please contact Jane Lehr for more information. Registration is not required, however, we would be delighted to know in advance if you plan to attend.