Staged Reading of REMEMBER THIS: WALKING WITH JAN KARSKI Set for 4/24 at Georgetown University

The Davis Performing Arts Center and the Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics at Georgetown University, a joint initiative between the Theater and Performance Studies Program and the School of Foreign Service, are pleased to announce a world premiere staged reading of "Remember This: Walking with Jan Karski," featuring Academy Award Nominee David Strathairn ("Good Night and Good Luck", "Lincoln," "Bourne Ultimatum") as Jan Karski (1914-2000), with an ensemble of Georgetown students. The work, written/adapted by Prof. Derek Goldman and Clark Young (COL '09) and directed by Prof. Derek Goldman, will be presented on Thursday April 24, 2014 at 5 p.m., on Karski's centennial, in the Davis Performing Arts Center's Gonda Theatre.

In 1942, as the Nazis began mass deportations of Jews from occupied Warsaw to the death camps, Jan Karski, a courier for the Polish Underground, volunteered at great personal risk to carry an eyewitness report of the destruction of the Jewish people of Poland to the Free World. From the underground tracks of Polish resistance to the unimaginable despair of the Warsaw Ghetto and the Nazi camps, to the Oval Office and his decades as a beloved Georgetown Professor, this work explores and celebrates the complex life and legacy of a witness, spy, diplomat, hero, and teacher who overcame overwhelming odds to "shake the conscience of the world."

"Remember This: Walking with Karski" is free, but ticketed. Tickets can be reserved at performingarts.georgetown.edu.

Co-writer/adapter and director Prof. Derek Goldman says,"It is a tremendous honor to participate in telling the extraordinary and too-little known story of Jan Karski on the occasion of his Centennial here at Georgetown, where he spent so many of the most rewarding years of his life. This project is emblematic of the intersection of artistic expression and global politics so at the heart of our work at Georgetown and in our Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics. Delving into Karski's story and legacy has provided a transformative window into the nature of true heroism and courage, and it is humbling to share this inspiration through this collaboration with David Strathairn, not only one of our finest actors, but a human being and artist of great conviction and character, alongside some of our most talented Georgetown students. The story of the life of Jan Karski is one that every person should know and remember."

This reading is offered in conjunction with the School of Foreign Service's "Responsibility to Protect," a panel discussion featuring Professor Robert Egnell, Visiting Professor, Security Studies Program and Associate Professor at the Swedish National Defence College; The Honorable Melanne Verveer I'66, Ambassador at Large for Global Women's Issues, 2009 - 2013; Executive Director, Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security; The Honorable Stephen Mull F'80, U.S. Ambassador to Poland; and moderated by Acting School of Foreign Service Dean, James Reardon-Anderson.

The discussion also requires an RSVP here:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-centenary-anniversary-tribute-to-jan-karski-tickets-11073427921
and runs from 3-4:30 p.m. in Lohrfink Auditorium, Hariri Building - also on Georgetown University's main campus--preceding the reading in the Davis Performing Arts Center

Visit performingarts.georgetown.edu and the events' landing page for information on all the April 24 events.