Westport Country Playhouse Sets Community Engagement Events for THE INVISIBLE HAND

Westport Country Playhouse will present a community engagement initiative, "Money, Power, and Belief: Reflections on 'The Invisible Hand'," July 17 through August 8. The series of events, free-of-charge and open to the public, will run concurrently with The Playhouse's production of the topical thriller, "The Invisible Hand," written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Ayad Akhtar, and directed by David Kennedy, Playhouse associate artistic director.

"Money, Power, and Belief: Reflections on 'The Invisible Hand'" will include speakers, discussions, a film screening, and a month-long lobby exhibit. The enrichment programs are designed to deepen the audience's experience of the play.

A complete calendar of community engagement events with details, dates, times, and locations, is available on-line at westportplayhouse.org, or a special brochure may be requested by calling The Playhouse box office at 203-227-4177.

The series of events begins on Sunday, July 17, at 7 p.m., with a film screening of "The War Within," offering insight into the Muslim-American experience in the United States. Written by and starring "The Invisible Hand" playwright Ayad Akhtar, the 2005 movie tells of Hassan, a Pakistani engineering student living in New York City with his immigrant family. When a childhood friend suddenly arrives on their doorstep with news that he has also come to live in America, none of them imagines the deadly reason why he is really there. Will this visitor be successful in carrying out his mission? The screening, presented in partnership with the Westport Cinema Initiative, will be followed by a brief talkback. Additional support provided by the Joseph and Joan Cullman Foundation for the Arts. RSVP at WestportCinema.org. Location is in the Lucille Lortel White Barn Center at The Playhouse.

Westport Library's PageTurners will host two book discussions of "American Dervish" by Ayad Akhtar, the author of "The Invisible Hand," on Tuesday, July 19, at 11 a.m. and 7:30 p.m., in the Library's Sheffer Reading Room. The book is about a young Pakistani-American boy growing up in the American Midwest and his struggle with his identity and religion. For copies of the book, call Westport Library at 203.291.4821. New participants in PageTurners are welcome.

Author talks will include engineer, writer, and academic Haris Durani discussing his fiction debut "The Technologies of Self," on Wednesday, July 20, at 6:30 p.m., in the Lucille Lortel White Barn Center at The Playhouse. In this sci-fi novella, the Westport native immerses readers in the life of a young American Muslim struggling to understand himself in the context of his family, classmates, and contemporary urban life. The talk is presented in partnership with the Westport Library and TEAM Westport

Sunday Symposia include "The Hands at Play: Culture, Politics, and Grievance in 'The Invisible Hand'," on Sunday, July 24, with DR. Martin Nguyen, associate professor of Islamic Religious Traditions at Fairfield University, and Khadija Gurnah, founder of Project Ejaba, an organization that advocates for Muslim youth as they consider the many complex factors confronting them. Also, "International Finance and Global Terror," on Sunday, July 31, will be a panel discussion on the financing of global terrorism and the international efforts to disrupt it, with Jibey Asthappan, Charles A. Morgan, and Howard Stoffer of the University of New Haven's National Security Studies Program. The Symposia will be presented after the 3 p.m. performances in the Jason Robards Theater at The Playhouse.

"Audience Reflections: Conversations Inspired by 'The Invisible Hand'" will offer patrons an opportunity to discuss their thoughts on the themes and issues presented in the play after they've seen a performance. The salons will be on Mondays, July 25, August 1, and August 8, from 7 to 8 p.m., in the Lucille Lortel White Barn Center at The Playhouse.

All events, speakers, dates, and times are subject to change.

2016 marks the seventh consecutive year that The Playhouse has undertaken an enhanced programming initiative surrounding one of its productions. This year's community partners for "Money, Power and Belief: Reflections on 'The Invisible Hand'," are the Department of Religious Studies, Fairfield University; Norwalk Community College; Project Ejaba; TEAM Westport; University of New Haven, National Security Program; Westport Cinema Initiative; and Westport Library. Sponsors of the initiative are the National Endowment for the Arts and CT Humanities.