[110] MTSU Theatre Opens New Season With 'Dear Finder' On Oct. 22-24

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Sept. 24, 2009
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Lisa L. Rollins, NPA, 615-898-2919 or lrollins@mtsu.edu

MTSU THEATRE OPENS NEW SEASON WITH ‘DEAR FINDER’ ON OCT. 22-24
Holocaust-Themed Production Coincides with Biennial Holocaust Conference at MTSU

(MURFREESBORO)—MTSU Theatre will perform “Dear Finder,” a show that unearths many truths about the past and the present, at 7:30 nightly Oct. 22-24 on the stage of the Boutwell Dramatic Arts Auditorium’s Tucker Theatre.
Staged with 14 actors performing monologues from the letters and journals of actual Holocaust survivors, “Dear Finder,” said the show’s director, Jacqueline Springfield, “shows a new perspective of the Holocaust, illustrating a connection between their experiences and contemporary incidents of racial genocide.”
The show was written by a group of students at the University of Minnesota and has been performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. The MTSU production will be performed in coordination with the 9th biennial International Holocaust Studies Conference at MTSU on Oct. 22-24.
As director, Springfield, assistant professor of speech and theatre, said she intends to “tell this story as honestly and simply as possible, out of respect for the victims whose experiences we will never really understand.”
Moreover, she added, “I hope audiences leave the theater knowing these events and struggles happened and that they feel challenged to fight the hatred that is still inflicting today’s society.”
Joining Springfield in presenting the MTSU show will be Kim Neal Nofsinger, director of MTSU Dance Theatre, who has choreographed movement for the play.
“We hope the powerful staging will help create moments to convey the emotional and physical struggles of these people,” he said.
For those who take in the “Dear Finder” performance, Springfield said she hopes the show will “bring remembrance to the lives that were lost and raise awareness to the intolerance that spawned such a tragedy.
“Intolerance is an active thing,” she continued. “We are fighting social structures that were set upon us years before. We can no longer let our prejudices be the totality of how we see each other.”
• TICKET INFO: Advance tickets are available by calling 615-494-8810 or by visiting the Tucker Theatre lobby box office between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Tickets will also available at the door prior to the performance.
Tickets are $10 for general admission and $5 for MTSU staff and K-12 students. MTSU students will receive free admission with valid ID.
For more information, please access www.mtsu.edu/theatre.

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• ATTENTION, MEDIA: To request interviews with the show’s director or performers, or to request review tickets, please contact Lisa L. Rollins in the Office of News and Public Affairs at MTSU at lrollins@mtsu.edu or by calling 615-898-2919. Related artwork is expected to be available upon request after Oct. 2.