Shakespeare Walla Walla presents a staged reading of “Auschwitz and After” by Whitman College Emeritus Professor Pat Henry at the Gesa Power House Theatre on Wednesday, January 20, at 7:00 p.m. The playwright will be on hand for a talkback session after the reading.
About the Play:
Pat Henry, Emeritus Professor of Foreign Languages and Literature at Whitman College, was inspired to write this play by his ongoing interest in Holocaust Studies. Adapted from the memoirs of Charlotte Delbo, “Auschwitz and After” recounts the comradeship which allowed a group of French women to survive imprisonment in Nazi concentration camps and their difficulty in creating new lives upon their return to Paris.
This staged reading is directed by Whitman College Theatre Professor of Dramatic Art Emerita Nancy Simon, and has a cast of 11 actors: Shauna Lilly Bogley, Angelica Dimmock, Chanel Finnie, Sarah Hurlburt, Julie Jones, Patty Leeper, Danielle McMahon, Jennifer Pope, Lisa Rasmussen, Dyani Turner, and Jackie Wood.
About the Playreading Series:
This is the third presentation in Shakespeare Walla Walla’s Works in Progress series of staged readings which began in 2015. Each reading is of a work by local authors and includes a talkback/Q&A afterwards. Actors will present the material with scripts in hand. Minimal costumes, lighting and sound effects may be used.
“Theater is about telling stories,” says SWW Executive Director Ron Williams. “We have bold voices here in Walla Walla telling stories and we are thrilled to bring them into the spotlight.”
The purpose of a staged reading is to give the author the opportunity to test drive a script with actors and an audience. The audiences is invited to participate in the development process, and will have the opportunity to give feedback directly to the playwright.
Media Links:
- 2014 Whitman College Website Interview with Pat Henry on “Teaching the Holocaust“
Permissions:
- This play is performed through arrangement with Georges Borchardt, Inc., on behalf of Charlotte Delbo. All rights reserved.
- Houghton Mifflin Harcourt grants permission to cite Richard Wilbur’s 1965 translation of Moliere’s *Le Misanthrope.”
