The University at
Albany Performing Arts Center, operating under the auspices of the College of Arts and Sciences, in conjunction with
the New York State Writers Institute is pleased to present a celebration of
author Frank McCourt (1930 – 2009) on Tuesday,
October 13, 2009. The evening will
begin at 7pm with a memorial tribute to the Pulitzer Prize winner with film
clips from the Writers Institute's archive and commentary by fellow author and
friend William Kennedy. Immediately
following at 7:30pm, American Place
Theatre will present its stage adaptation of McCourt’s memoir Teacher
Man. The show is
directed by Wynn Handman, the company’s Artistic Director, and performed by Michael
McMonagle. McCourt, who was on the
Advisory Board of American Place Theatre and was also a recipient of their
Literature to Life award in 2008, collaborated with them on the production. The performance will be followed by a
discussion led by American Place Theatre Executive Director David Kener.
One of the master
storytellers of American literature, McCourt was the author of three books: Angela’s Ashes (1996), a memoir of his impoverished childhood in Limerick,
Ireland; ‘Tis (1999), an
account of his early years as a struggling immigrant in America;
and Teacher Man (2006), a reminiscence of his
thirty-year teaching career. Renowned for his irreverent charm and
self-effacing wit, he first became a literary star at the age of 66. McCourt was the winner of a Pulitzer Prize, National Book Critics Circle Award, Salon
Book Award, American Library Association Award and Los Angeles Times Book Award. His first book was adapted
as a major motion picture in 1999, directed by Alan Parker. With brother Malachy, he penned the stage play, A
Couple of Blaguards, a two-man show about their lives and experiences.
The production of Teacher Man is a one-person theatrical
adaptation of McCourt's witty and heartbreakingly honest memoir recording the
trials, triumphs and surprises he faced in public high schools around New York City during his
30 years as a teacher. "I thought I was teaching. I was learning," McCourt
confessed. As did the book, the show
features hilarious anecdotes about life in the classroom, his many battles with
blockheaded school bureaucrats, run-ins with particularly difficult student and
his creative teaching philosophy.
The history of The
American Place Theatre is rich and varied with a consistent commitment to
nurturing the talents of American authors, playwrights and actors. Based in New York
City, it is committed to producing high quality new
work by diverse American writers and to pursuing pluralism and diversity in all
its endeavors. Its Literature to Life series offers professionally
staged theatrical adaptations of significant American literary works. The
series was featured at the UAlbany Performing Arts Center last season with
performances of Sherman Alexie’s Flight
and Sue Monk Kidd’s The Secret Life of
Bees. Other works on the Literature to Life
roster include Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite
Runner, Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451,
Richard Wright’s Black Boy and Lois
Lowry’s The Giver. The Theatre, having received over 30
Obies and 16 Audelcos, is critically acclaimed as a birthing place for artistic
endeavors at the crossroad of literature and live performance for 47 years.
Actors
for whom American Place has been a launching pad include Mary Alice, Ellen
Barkin, Roscoe Lee Browne, Kathleen Chalfont, Michael Douglas, Faye Dunaway,
Sandy Duncan, Morgan Freeman, Richard Gere, Joel Grey, Dustin Hoffman, Frank
Langella, Mary MacDonnell, Zakes Mokae,
Howard Rollins, John Spencer, Ralph Waite, Sam Waterson and Sigourney Weaver.
Tickets for the
performance are $15 for the general public, $12 for seniors and UAlbany
faculty-staff and $10 for students. For
reservations and further information, contact the Box Office at (518) 442-3997
or visit the Performing Arts Center website at www.albany.edu/pac.
There will also be
a special morning matinee performance of Teacher
Man for high school groups. This performance is scheduled for Wednesday, October
14 at 10am. Information and
reservations for this matinee are available by calling the Performing Arts
Center office at (518) 442-5738.
American Place Theatre
will return to the UAlbany Performing Arts Center in the spring for performances
of Greg Mortenson’s New York Times
bestseller, Three Cups of Tea, on
March 18 & 19, 2010.
PAC
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