Tense Courtroom Drama 12 ANGRY JURORS at USC's Benson Theatre
February 5, 2013
COLUMBIA, SC – February 28 – March 3, 2013 – The Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of SC invites you to take your place in the jury room as they present the provocative courtroom drama 12 Angry Jurors, February 28 – March 3, 2013, at Benson Theatre.
Show time is 8pm each evening. Tickets are $5 and available on a first-come, first-served basis at the theatre each evening. Patrons are encouraged to arrive early as seating is limited. Benson Theatre is located in the University’s Benson Building at 226 Bull Street.
Adapted from the Emmy Award-winning 1954 teleplay 12 Angry Men by Reginald Rose, which later became an Academy Award-nominated film, 12 Angry Jurors is an unflinching look at a jury deciding the guilt or innocence of a 19-year-old accused of fatally stabbing his father. The stakes are further raised by the knowledge that a guilty verdict will mean an automatic death sentence. What appears to be an open-and-shut case quickly explodes into a tense fight among the twelve men and women, as they struggle to decide the ultimate fate of the accused. Rose’s script won the 2005 Tony® Award for Best Revival of a Play.
This is definitely not a tired, old piece, especially when I look at today’s headlines, says director K. Dale White. Just recently, I read about a few guys who, thanks to modern DNA testing, were found to have been wrongly convicted and were released from death row. Like those headlines, this play really gets you thinking about our justice system and the immense weight of how the decision of twelve people can cause a potentially innocent person to be sentenced to the ultimate punishment.
White says the play also reveals societal prejudices which have an impact on how the jurors interact with each other as they fight to agree upon an unanimous verdict. Each character on this jury is an easily identifiable stereotype, and that’s on purpose. You’ve got the conservative, the liberal, the bigot…. Ultimately, the conflict of the play centers on the jurors’ individual judgmental attitudes and their struggle to simply get along.
As Production Manager for the theatre program, White has been in charge of stage management for countless shows, navigating the complex responsibilities of keeping a production’s many parts moving smoothly. 12 Angry Jurors marks the first time White has directed at the university since he came on board twelve years ago.
What a stage manager doesn’t get to do a lot is express his or her artistic side, and that’s something that I need to do once in a while, White reveals. Here in Columbia, I’ve done some costume and lighting design, as well as some event management that has allowed some creative input, but occasionally I realize that the more expressive things I’m doing on the side just aren’t satisfying all of my artistic desires.
He adds, with a laugh, The experience of directing this show will probably satisfy me for a while.
Under the guidance of acting coach, Professor Robyn Hunt, a talented undergraduate cast will bring the jury’s heated conflicts to a boil each night. Student actors cast in the production are: Megh Ahire, Mason Branham, John Floyd, Kamille Hayes, Sarah Hearn, Elizabeth Houck, Katie Middleton, Kristina Montgomery, Emily Olyarchuk, Rachel Player, Grace Stewart, Maryam Tehranie, Kelsea Woods and Jordan Youmans. Lacey Taylor will stage manage. Bakari Lebby is in charge of the play’s soundscape.
This is a play that will definitely challenge each audience member’s beliefs, says White. I hope it leaves them talking, about the play, about the fifth amendment, about the death penalty. I hope it inspires people to start a conversation about their beliefs.
For more information about 12 Angry Jurors or the theatre program at the University of South Carolina, please contact Kevin Bush by phone at (803) 777-9353 or via email at [email protected].
