Actress Carolyn Zeller. Photo credit: Will & Company
New Faces of America, a multimedia theatre production that introduces Americans of diverse background, comes to Walsh University in North Canton on Monday, November 1 at 7:30 pm at the Barrette Business Center and is free for the general public.
This is Will & Company’s fifth national production, building its reputation as a leader in providing “diversity-themed” Tours for colleges, theatres and special events nationwide.
New Faces of America, a one-person play, adapted from the original Faces of America production which has been described as “the first truly multicultural portrayal of Americans ever created,” covers a wide range of ethnic, socioeconomic and religious issues with monologues taken from interviews of college-aged students recounting their experiences of their America.
The productions are multimedia in design and include performance, video and post-show discussions featuring the following characters:
- A Female Biracial College Student
- A Southern Gay Minister
- A Young Female Veteran from the Iraq War
- A Native American Teenager
- A Young Migrant Worker
- An Appalachian College Student
- A Deaf African-American
Presented in almost every state in its original format, the production has been added to several universities’ regular curriculums and has been chosen to perform at this year’s National Conference on Suicide Prevention because of the show’s depiction of the topic through its characters.
“With one in three teen suicides being gay, it’s a subject that’s hard to ignore,” said Will & Company Founder and Artistic Director, Colin Cox.
Each character is introduced by video and includes a post show discussion with the audience, actors and Cox. This highly successful formula often promotes some deeply personal exchanges from the audiences that very much influence the development of new characters in the series.
“These discussions stir audience members to share their own experiences with racism- even experiences that have occurred on college campuses,” said Cox.
PORTRAITS OF COURAGE, another Will & Company series, features an established production of Six African-Americans You Wish You Had Known and has been honored by the NAACP.
American Women, the new production in the PORTRAITS OF COURAGE series is presently in development and will be available in March 2010 to coincide with Women’s History Month.
Will & Company, a not-for-profit theatre ensemble is based in Los Angeles and was founded in 1988 by Artistic Director Colin Cox. Committed to providing theatre for the people, about the people, and with the people, over the years their productions have included contemporary works blending educational and historical materials with entertainment.
“This is more than theatre…it’s actually transforming the way people think and behave,” said Cox.
For more information on Will & Company and its productions go to: www.willandcompany.com.
