A New York playwright who authored the first play of the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh 2019-2020 Theatre Season is slated to visit campus for several round-table discussions and a lecture.
Nathan Alan Davis, a lecturer in theatre at Princeton University, is author of Nat Turner in Jerusalem. Directed by Merlaine Angwall, the play will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 3-5 and at 2 p.m. Oct. 6 on the Oshkosh campus at the Fredric March Theatre, 1010 Algoma Boulevard.
The live theatre production also will have a run with a different cast of students at the Fond du Lac campus Prairie Theatre at 7:30 p.m. from Oct. 10 to 12.
In conjunction with the production, the theatre department will bring Davis to the Oshkosh campus with support from segregated student fees. Davis will conduct round-table discussions in honors, theatre and African American literature classes and will lecture from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 3 in Reeve Union Room 307. All UWO students are welcome to attend the lecture, with seating on a first-come basis.
John Zarbano, of the theatre department, said students should take advantage of the opportunity to learn about the creative process from an award-winning author and about the history and race subject matter of Nat Turner in Jerusalem.
Angwall said the playwright, Davis, will be present for the shows on Oct. 3 and 4. There will be a talk-back with Davis after each show.
“It’s a great opportunity for students to talk to a leading American playwright and to discuss his ideas about writing about Nat Turner in Jerusalem,” she said, adding that people will not want to miss the show with excellent student actors, designers and technicians who produce professional-quality work.
“Nat Turner in Jerusalem examines America’s racial history, but seems alarmingly close to the problems and issues we face today,” Angwall said.
UW Oshkosh Theatre has arranged for Wisconsin Public Television to record Davis’ campus lecture for broadcasting on WPT’s University Place.
In addition to Nat Turner in Jerusalem, Davis’ plays include The Refuge Plays (premiering at McCarter Theatre in 2020), Dontrell Who Kissed the Sea, and The Wind and the Breeze.
Davis received a Whiting Award in Drama in 2018. Other awards include Steinberg /ATCA New Play Citation, Stavis Playwright Award, Blue Ink Award and Lorraine Hansberry Award.
Dreamers, Lovers and Sinners
Additional productions in the UW Oshkosh 2019-2020 theatre season include:
The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare, Nov. 21-24, directed by Jane Purse-Wiedenhoeft.
Beast on the Moon, written and directed by Richard Kalinoski, Feb. 27-29, March 5-8.
Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, by Christopher Durang, April 30, May 1-3, directed by Merlaine Angwall.