In the third faculty-directed production of the year, the theatre program presents Necessary Targets, directed by Cláudio Medeiros'90. Obie Award-winning playwright Eve Ensler '75 (The Vagina Monologues) tells the story of two American women, a Park Avenue psychiatrist and a human rights worker, who go to Bosnia to help women refugees confront their memories of war. Though the two have little in common beyond the methods they use to distance themselves from their subjects, they emerge deeply changed as they confront their own fears and, as the playwright herself has stated, an "insane humanity in the face of catastrophe."
A service learning component of this production gives the students the opportunity to work with Bosnian women living in Middlebury. This element is one of the main reasons that Medèiros chose the text for production. In addition, Necessary Targets is a central event in the Feminist Action at Middlebury symposium, "Art as Activism: Exploring the Intersection of Rape, Pornography and Violence," which takes place on the same weekend as the production. Details are forthcoming. For more information, contact Karin Hanta, director of Chellis House, at 802-443-5937.
Learn more about Necessary Targets at a free Behind-the-Scenes Lunch and Discussion on Tuesday, April 5 at 12:30 p.m. at the Center for the Arts, Seeler Studio Theatre. Members of the cast and crew share insights on their work. Lunch is provided.
Performances of Necessary Targets take place on Thursday, April 7, Friday, April 8, and Saturday April 9, at 8:00 p.m. each evening, with a 2:00 p.m. matinee on Saturday only, all in the Seeler Studio Theatre. Tickets are $5/4/3 and go on sale March 17 at the Center for the Arts Box Office.