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02.06.08

Contacts: Arts at Emory, Jessica Moore, 404-727-1687, jkmoore@emory.edu
Theater Emory, Hunter Hanger, 404-712-9118, hhanger@emory.edu

Release written by Christie Pettitt-Schieber

Theater Emory’s “Bury the Dead" Challenges the Price We Pay To Go To War

Theater Emory presents Irwin Shaw’s “Bury the Dead” (Feb. 21-Mar. 2, 2008), in which six soldiers killed in battle rise up from their graves and refuse to be buried. Set in 1936 in a post-World War I context, Shaw’s brilliantly simple text comes to life as the 27-member cast creates an imaginary war that looks uncannily like World War II. Tim McDonough, director of the production and Theater Emory’s artistic director, describes this poignant story as a “challenge for the audience on what we sign off on” when our nation goes to war. Drawing heavily on his personal experiences of the draft during the Vietnam War, McDonough is excited about the “brilliance and simplicity” of the play, as it refuses to abandon the notion that “life is better than death.”

“Bury the Dead” is performed in the Mary Gray Munroe Theater, Dobbs University Center, 605 Asbury Circle, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322. Performances are 7 p.m. on Feb. 21-23, Feb. 27-29 and Mar. 1, and at 2 p.m. on Febr. 24 and Mar. 2. The Pay-What-You-Can Performance is Feb. 27. Pay-What-You-Can tickets can be purchased at the door only and are subject to availability. Advance tickets for the performance can be purchased at the regular price. For tickets ($18; $14 for discount category members) and information, the public can call 404-727-5050 or visit www.arts.emory.edu.

While other plays in Theater Emory’s season of war take a broader angle on the effects of conflict, this piece magnifies the lives of a few individual characters, depicting them not as numbers, but as young men with full lives ahead of them. He adds that as the characters refuse to be buried, “it brings closer to home the rhetoric of ‘patriotic duty’,” emphasizing the individual realities of sacrifice in a time of war. Through a combination of what McDonough calls “American Absurdism” and more realistic characters, “Bury the Dead” attempts to break down the wall of anonymity which war creates, casting a harsh light on the price we pay to go to war.

McDonough is again working with a young cast, comprised mainly of Emory student actors. “Emory’s contribution to the Atlanta theater community is its ability to do plays which require resources which other theaters don’t have,” McDonough explains of the 27-person cast. In response to why Emory should produce a play with themes, such as conscription, which affect few of the Emory community, McDonough says, “The fact that we don’t face the draft is all the more reason to put ourselves in the shoes of those who don’t have the alternative options that we do.”

The cast also includes professionals Theresa DeBerry, Hunter Hanger, Marc McPherson, Justin Welborn, and Steven Westdahl. Set design is by Sara Ward. Costume design is by Sandra Payne. Sound and lighting are by Judy Zanotti. Performance parking is available in Peavine and Fishburne Visitor parking decks. For Theater Emory information, visit www.theater.emory.edu.

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NOTE: Digital photos are available upon request

THEATER EMORY

Theater Emory is the producing organization of Emory University and is affiliated with the Department of Theater Studies. It is a member of the Atlanta Coalition of Performing Arts and operates under a season agreement with Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States.

ARTS AT EMORY MISSION

Emory University provides a dynamic, multi-disciplinary environment for the study, creation and presentation of the arts.

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