 March 1999 |
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Text and Community Focuses on Fairy Tales
The 1999 Text and Community program announces a semester-long series of events focused on fairy tales. The program, sponsored each spring by the George Mason University English Department, encourages thoughtful discussion of a particular text or theme by exploring differing interpretations from multiple perspectives. When the English Department decided to focus this year's program on drama, Text and Community committee members examined the many plays being produced in the Washington area. According to Lorraine Brown, English professor and coordinator of Text and Community, they then decided that, in the interest of attracting campuswide participation, they would focus their attention on a production of Grimm Tales by George Mason's own professional theater company, Theater of the First Amendment. Grimm Tales is described as "a magical, musical, marvelous collection of stories" based on the tales of the Brothers Grimm. "From there, we concentrated all of our workshops, lectures, and readings around the theme of fairy tales," says Brown, who believes that the schedule of events offers something for everyone. All Text and Community events are free and open to the entire community. This year's schedule includes the following events. Feb. 25--27: Ever After This recent film, starring Drew Barrymore and Anjelica Huston, is a retelling of the classic Cinderella fairy tale. Johnson Center Cinema. Thursday, 5 and 8 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m. March 8: Performance Workshop with Professional Actor/Writer Jeff Thaiss Participants receive instruction and practice in performing the roles of various fairy tale characters. Thaiss experiments with voice, movement, gesture, and gender to make the characters come alive in complex and compelling ways. Johnson Center. 4:30 p.m. March 24: English 325 Lecture with Folklorist Margaret Yocom "Peekholes, Marauding Wolves, and Bloody Body Parts in Tales for Children and the Home (1812): What Were the Grimm Brothers thinking of?" Enterprise Hall, Room 80, 5:55 to 7:10 p.m. March 24--April 11: Grimm Tales Stage production by Theater of the First Amendment. Adapted by Carol Ann Duffy. TheaterSpace. Wednesday through Saturday, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 2 p.m. April 8: Storytelling with Susan Gordon A professional storyteller, Gordon invites adult audiences on an otherworldly journey as she tells "Dummling" (based on "The Golden Goose"), "The Handless Maiden" (based on "The Girl without Hands"), and "The Juniper Tree." Johnson Center, West Lounge. 4:30 p.m. April 20: A Reading of Poetry and Fiction Influenced by Fairy Tales University Bookstore. 8 p.m. In addition to the above events, a fairy tale writing competition will be included in this year's schedule. For more detailed information and updates on times and locations, visit the Text and Community website at www.gmu.edu/pubs/text/fairytale. |