Ashley Lucas Goes Inside "Doin' Time" Next Tuesday and Wednesday at ISU

Ashley Lucas plays many roles. She is a playwright, actor, author and editor, as well as producing artistic director at the Teatro Latina/o Series and a member of the Dramatic Arts faculty at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

Lucas is especially interested in the issues surrounding women and criminal justice; her work in that area includes co-editing a book called "Razor Wire Women: Prisoners, Activists, Scholars, and Artists," with sociologist Jodie Lawston and a play, "Doin' Time," a one-woman piece based on interviews with over 400 prisoners across the United States.

When Lucas arrives at Illinois State University next week for a special residency, she will perform "Doin' Time,"which "uses monologues, voiceovers and video to take the audience through a variety of perspectives on the families of the incarcerated," according to ISU's press release. Lucas is herself the child of an imprisoned father, and she wove together strands from her own experience with the interviews and letters she'd collected from prisoners, their family members, and prison workers to create "Doin' Time."

Lucas will perform "Doin' Time" at ISU's Westhoff Theatre at 7:30 pm on Wednesday, September 19, and that performance will be followed by a panel discussion. Before that, she will offer a workshop for the English Department on "Writing Social Justice" at 10 am on Tuesday, September 18, and a discussion of MURAP, the program at the University of North Carolina that prepares and supports minority students interested in PhDs, with ISU's School of Theatre and Dance, at 5 pm on the 18th.

Rooms have not yet been assigned to the latter two events, so stay tuned for more info before Tuesday.

All three of Lucas's events are open to the public and completely free. Her residency is being sponsored by the Crossroads Project, a committee within the School of Theatre and Dance "dedicated to encouraging and exploring performances and symposia that address the issues and experiences of underrepresented ethnic peoples in the United States and the experiences of international cultures, including Asia, The Middle East, Africa, Latin American, and the Indigenous Peoples of the World."

For more information, you can visit the Facebook page set up for these events.

"Opera Créole" Brings New Orleans to Normal

In the second of three big theatrical events this week, ISU's Crossroads Project is bringing Opera Créole, a New Orleans based operatic ensemble, to Normal for a lecture and demonstration, a master class and, of course, a full-scale performance.

Opera Créole was founded to honor and remember the long history and profound contributions of New Orleans musicians who combined opera with influences from Africa, Spain, and Haiti as they helped create the distinctly American sound of jazz. Or, as their press materials put it:

"Opera and classical music in New Orleans and around the world have always included the contributions of persons of color. The Créoles of New Orleans have made contributions to the music and culture of New Orleans. It is their participation in opera, as well as the music of Africa, Spain, and Haiti that contributed to the birth of jazz. Join Guest Artist Opera Créole as we explore theatre and music from New Orleans, ' The First City of Opera!'"

Their repertoire includes scenes and arias from major operas such as "La Traviata," "Carmen," "Rigoletto," and "Porgy and Bess," as well as arias and art songs by 19th Century New Orleans free composers of color, operatic works by other composers of African descent, and Spanish Zarzuela, which offers scenes that alternate between spoken and sung sequences, with the song portions using both operatic and popular music as well as elements of dance.

Opera Créole's trip to ISU will include an "Opera as therapy" lecture and demonstration on Thursday, March 29th at 11 am in Cook Hall 308, and then later that day, a master class with the artists from Opera Créole at 1 pm in Kemp Recital Hall. Last, on Saturday, March 31, they will offer a performance that includes community choirs in the Center for the Performing Arts Concert Hall from 5 to 6 pm .After the concert, ISU's Black Actors Guild will host a reception in their honor in the CPA lobby.

To make it a complete operatic experience, you may want to attend the Opera Créole concert, stay for the reception, and get a ticket to ISU's performance of "La Bohème" that takes place immediately after.