Georgetown University

Washington, D.C. -- Georgetown University’s Theater and Performance studies program, in cooperation with the American studies program present the world premiere of “The Race,” a civic theater project that is part class, part performance piece and part political forum.

Conceived and directed by visiting professor Michael Rohd, “The Race” attempts to break down the traditional walls of a theatrical production by incorporating a cross-section of voices into an on-stage conversation about some of the most important issues raised by the upcoming election: Who will vote for whom? Who won’t? Why? And most specifically, what does leadership mean today?

Rohd, the founding artistic director of the celebrated Sojourn Theatre in Portland, Ore., and 2005 recipient of Americans for the Arts’ Animating Democracy Exemplar Award, has long focused on devising performance pieces dealing with issues of civic engagement and community dialogue. Both he and professor Derek Goldman, director of Georgetown’s theater and performing studies program, felt that the upcoming election and the unique political character of Georgetown provided a prime opportunity to create a socially relevant work exploring the 2008 presidential election.

Unlike a traditional rehearsal process for a play or performance, “The Race” didn’t begin with a script. The students in Rohd’s class -- Performance of Political Identity -- have been working with him and collaborators from Sojourn Theatre to create and shape this event using research, public interactions and studio-based improvisation and physical work. The show, itself, is a three-act event. Act I is a performance that sets up the rules and questions for what follows. Act II asks the questions and uses interactive media and deceptively simple structures to involve the audience and participants from around the country in the conversation. And Act III mines completely different territory by marrying elements of a town hall meeting and a karaoke bar.

“At Sojourn, we’ve been exploring the relationship between performance and participation a lot this last year, partly in anticipation of this project here in D.C.,” says Rohd. “An election season brings up issues of civic engagement and theater in really intriguing ways. Candidates have to tell the story they think we want to hear. We have to decide what role in the story we play, if any, beyond audience. Are we participants in the messiness of democracy, or are we merely observers? How can a theater event ask this question, and other questions that invite us to consider what we want from a national conversation about leadership?”

Thanks to the talents of production designer Shannon Scrofano and Stage Manager Liam Kaas-Lentz, both members of Sojourn Theatre and artists in residence at Georgetown this semester, “The Race” will also present a multimedia facet that will bring a national chorus of people on stage via live videoconferencing to take part in the discussion.

In addition to the staged production, Rohd has worked in tandem with Diana Owen, chair of the American studies program, to create a weekly public interview series, “The Race Is On!”

The interview series has brought a wide range of voices into the election discussion on campus, featuring some of the leading political scholars and experts and members of media in the region, including Rock The Vote communications director Stephanie Young, Politico’s Jonathan Martin, electoral history experts and Georgetown professors Michael Kazin and Stephen Wayne and playwright and performer Josh Kornbluth.

Performances of “The Race” run Oct. 30 through Nov. 1 at 8 p.m., Nov. 2 at 2 p.m. and Nov. 5-8 at 8 p.m. in the Gonda Theatre at the Davis Performing Arts Center with a Special Election Night Event on Nov. 4. The second production in the theater and performances studies program’s 2008-2009 season, Worlds in Motion: Politics and Citizenship in Flux, “The Race” is representative of the collaborative work going on at the Davis Performing Arts Center.

“This season looks to have our boldest, most unpredictable and far-reaching programming to date” Goldman says. “The Davis Center will be filled with students at work and play with many of the region and the nation’s most celebrated artists, including our unmatched community of theater and performance studies faculty and staff, as well as a remarkable roster of esteemed visitors.”

In addition to Rohd’s direction, a number of artists have made the production possible: Shannon Scrofano, set design; Robbie Hayes, lighting; Ana Marie Salamat, costumes; and Daniel Corral, sound design.


About Georgetown University

Georgetown University is the oldest and largest Catholic and Jesuit university in America, founded in 1789 by Archbishop John Carroll. Georgetown today is a major student-centered, international, research university offering respected undergraduate, graduate and professional programs in Washington, DC, Doha, Qatar and around the world. For more information about Georgetown University, visit www.georgetown.edu.