Silence!

The department of theatre at the College of the Holy Cross will present the world premiere of Brian Dykstra's play, Silence!, on Oct. 25-27 and Nov. 1-3 at 8 p.m. in Fenwick Theatre, located in O'Kane Hall.

Silence! is based on the true story of Dykstra's experience teaching playwriting to "at risk" high school students in Fargo, N.D. The playwright felt that he could best reach the students by getting them to express their issues in the form of drama. For example, one young man was put in the program after trying to kill himself over fear of his father's reaction to his homosexuality. He eventually wrote a play as a way of coming out to his parents. This play was paired up with other students' plays to form one long performance.

However, the boy's father never saw his play because the administration canceled the entire performance, deeming it inappropriate. They believed that the students' play raised questions about respect for authority, sexual orientation and use of profanity. Silence! is the story of these students and what they learned that summer about expressing themselves, censorship and growing up.

Brian Dykstra is a New York-based playwright who has produced plays in London, New York, Pittsburgh and Los Angeles. His recent success, Forsaking All Others, received rave reviews in London, and the production of Strangerhorse at the prestigious Carnegie Mellon Summer New Plays Project received standing ovations from sold out audiences. Dykstra has written several screenplays and is currently working on the romantic comedy, Baggage Claim, with actress Minnie Driver.

The director, Margarett Perry, is no stranger to the Holy Cross stage as she was both a graduate and visiting professor. A member of the Class of 1986, Perry directed Equus as a student and Psycho Beach Party as a professor. She has directed several Dykstra productions including Forsaking All Others and Strangerhorse. Perry is the producing director of the Access Theater in New York City.

For reservations call the Fenwick Theatre Box Office at 508/793-2496. Tickets are $10 for the general public and $7 for the Holy Cross Community. Fenwick Theatre is not handicapped accessible.

Related information:

# Theatre Department