Center Stage - A State Of Grace!
"With the integrity of URT and the beauty of Grace Paley's work, I think this is a match made in heaven."
-An audience member.
The November 16th reading of A State of Grace at Cambridge Family YMCA's Durrell Hall was a great success with an estimated 300+ audience members in attendance.
URT Artistic Director Debra Wise gave the crowd of Paley enthusiasts a lot to chew on with her adaptation of several of Grace Paley's short stories. In URT tradition, puppets, actors and music worked together to bring the stories to life. Over half of the audience stayed for the post-reading discussion and Grace Paley herself was present and took command of the audience with her quiet, determined manner and simple yet elegant insights. The audience provided much constructive feedback:
"I liked how the puppets interacted with the characters. I was left with a sense of hope and honesty."
"I liked the notion of 'repair of the world' [it] was a compelling thread that went in and out of the play - that 'holding the world' is a shared task."
"With the integrity of URT and the beauty of Grace Paley's work, I think this is a match made in heaven. I really think you're onto something."
Grace Paley: "It is hard for me to talk about it in a useful way right now. I know all the damn lines. A lot of it comes to me in an interesting way. Well done. ... These were written as short stories. It's now a theater piece and something different entirely."
The work doesn't stop there. We are actively raising production support funds from individuals, corporations and foundations for A State of Grace. In addition, grant funds from the National Endowment for the Arts will help to bring the script and play to the next level over the winter and spring months. Go to this season's annual appeal at www.undergroundrailwaytheater.org to learn more about how to get involved.
Watch for information regarding a potential March reading of the play at Suffolk University and the world premiere production in Cambridge for the 2005-6 season.