Disturbed teen, estranged parents and a road trip: distances explored in ASU MainStage Season’s opening production, 26 Miles

Who
The ASU School of Theatre and Film in the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts

What
The ASU School of Theatre and Film in the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts unveils its 2010–11 MainStage Season Oct. 8 with the coming-of-age drama-meets-road-trip, 26 Miles. Written by Tony®-Award winning playwright Quiara Alegría Hudes and directed by guest artist Jerry Ruiz, 26 Miles offers fast-paced dialogue and witty repartee to depict a conflicted young woman contending with the usual adolescent angst and estranged parents, but also torn between multi-ethnic identities. The daughter of a Cuban immigrant and a third-generation Ashkenazi Jew, Olivia struggles to find herself.

26 Miles is a play that explores distances -- between an estranged mother and daughter (Beatriz and Olivia), between Olivia and her cultural heritage, between the present and the past. The relationships in the family shift profoundly over the course of the road trip as the distance between them closes.

“Audiences will experience a production that matches the imagination and poetry of Quiara Hudes' writing, Ruiz says. "She takes us on a journey into America, into the great wide open. Our production design will take the audience on that journey by creating a fully engaging experience for the audience."

The 2010–11 MainStage Season comprises seven plays, including a dramatic re-visioning of works by Aeschylus and Franz Kafka, and a continuation of the popular New Works Series, as well as the annual Student Film Festival. The plays carefully were selected from a pool of works by international playwrights and represent a season that explores the ties that bind one person to another. Audience members who embark on the MainStage journey experience the pain of a mother-to-be grappling with a horrible decision; visit a young boy as he ambles through his ancestral village; glimpse inside the mind of Charles Darwin as imagined by School of Theatre and Film students; watch as 50 Greek sisters flee from marrying as many brothers; and endure a traveler’s pain as he recounts his experience witnessing torture.

"The season is filled with contemporary and original works, which together offer a unique perspective on our relationships with one another, our families, and even our nemeses,” says Guillermo Reyes, interim director of ASU School of Theatre and Film.

Where
Lyceum Theatre, 901. S. Forest Mall, ASU Tempe campus

When
Oct. 8–9, 14–16, 7:30 p.m.; Oct. 9, 16, 2 p.m.

Cost
$8–$23; Half-price tickets are available on the First Friday of any MainStage Season production. Student tickets are $8. ASU faculty and staff receive $12 tickets on Friday– Saturday performances, $10 Sunday–Thursday.

Public Contact
Herberger Institute box office, 480.965.6447
School of Theatre and Film, 480.965.5337
http://mainstage.asu.edu

The School of Theatre and Film in the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at Arizona State University provides a comprehensive range of courses in performance and directing; design and production; new work development; theatre and performance studies; film; and theatre for youth. Its Theatre for Youth program is nationally ranked in the top three and the dramatic writing/playwriting program is ranked 15th among public institutions by U.S.News & World Report. To learn more about the School of Theatre and Film, visit theatrefilm.asu.edu.

Media Contact:
Laurie A. Trotta Valenti 
ASU School of Theatre and Film
480.965.3381
laurie.trotta@asu.edu