Theater-by-the-Grove at Indiana University of Pennsylvania to Present I AND YOU

Theater-by-the-Grove at Indiana University of Pennsylvania will present "I and You" as its opening production of the season.

This award-winning play by Lauren Gunderson will be performed at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and Sept. 30 to Oct. 3, and at 2 p.m. Sunday. Performances will take place on the Waller Hall Mainstage of IUP's Performing Arts Center.

"I and You" is a provocative play about the strange and transcendent connections between us all, bringing a collective conversation to audiences of all ages.

Only in high school would two completely unconnected people - cranky, chronically ill Caroline and levelheaded basketball star Anthony - be paired to collaborate on a project.

Their assignment is to deconstruct a poem about the interconnectivity of everything. But as the two teens cram to finish their presentation on Walt Whitman's "Leaves of Grass," they eventually learn how to work together and much more.

Gunderson is a playwright, screenwriter and short story author from Atlanta. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in English and creative writing at Emory University and her Master of Fine Arts in dramatic writing at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. At Tisch, she was also a Reynolds Fellow in Social Entrepreneurship.

Gunderson was awarded the prestigious Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award for "I and You."

The play is directed by Carrie J. Cole, a member of the theater faculty at IUP, where she focuses on integrative theater studies. She has also taught at the University of Arizona's School of Theatre, Film and Television. Cole received her Bachelor of Arts degree in theater from Willamette University, her Master of Arts degree from Arizona State and her Ph.D. from the University of Maryland.

Set Design by Mikaela Naugle, Costume Design by Kate Twilley, Lighting Design by KeriAnna Ferguson, Sound Design by Chelsea Kikel and Stage Managed by Andrea Cary.

The Cast Includes Brian Kane and Ray Solis as Anthony and Riva Walker and Rachael Wingfield as Caroline. Mr. Kane and Ms. Walker will alternate performances with Mr. Solis and Ms. Wingfield.

Tickets for "I and You" are available online at IUPTickets.com or iup.edu/LivelyArts and at the Hadley Union Building, located on Pratt Drive of the IUP campus.

Tickets may also be purchased with a credit card by calling the HUB box office at (724) 357-1313.

Seats remaining will be sold at the door starting one hour prior to the performance.

General admission tickets are priced at $15 for regular admission, $12 for senior citizens and groups of 15 or more, and $10 for students and children.

For more information, contact the Lively Arts at (724) 357-2787 or email lively-arts @iup.edu.

Theater-by-the-Grove is produced by the Department of Theater and Dance and the College of Fine Arts. It is funded, in part, by the IUP Student Cooperative Association.