October 8, 2018 – Ten student actors in Theatre Santa Fe explore the serious issue of sexual assault on a college campus in their performances of “Student Body.” The production opens Thursday, Oct. 11, and has daily performances at 7:30 p.m. through Saturday, Oct. 13, at the Santa Fe College Fine Arts Hall.
Tickets are $15 for adults; $9 for seniors, children and University of Florida students; and free for SF faculty, staff and students with college identification cards. For ticket information, call the SF Box Office at 352-395-4181 or visit the SF Fine Arts ticket website at sfcollege.edu/finearts.
Producer Terry Klenk calls “Student Body” an example of “using theater for social change by focusing on discussions rather than solutions. The play has clearly struck a chord because many colleges across the country that are concerned about rape on campus are producing it. Because ‘Student Body’ deals with such serious subject matter, we’re collaborating with SF Counseling Center to have a community discussion after the opening night performance Oct. 11. There will also be an information table in the lobby during the run of the play, so students can get support if they need it.”
Following the performance, there will be an after-show panel of cross-college representatives including Ms. Jasmine Gibbs – Title IX officer, Dr. Kalpana Swamy – Counseling Center, Chief Ed Book – SFPD, Dr. Dan Rodkin – Conduct Officer and Dr. Naima Brown – Vice President for Student Affairs.
“The whole cast represents the diversity of our student population,” Klenk explained. And we’re very fortunate to have the support of the strong technical theater team we’ve assembled—the people who work on sets, costumes, lights and sound.”
According to Klenk, the play does a good job of sparking discussion. “The cast members have their own ideas about the issues involved,” he said, “and the cast has had the same kinds of discussions as the characters in the play.”
The playwright, Frank Winters, is a writer, director and actor who in 2014 received the Clifford Odets Ensemble New Play Commission through the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. He is a graduate of the State University of New York-Purchase Acting Conservatory and a Co-Artistic Director of Strangemen and Company.
For more information about “Student Body,” call Terry Klenk at 352-395-5092.