ArtsEmerson And A.R.T. Announce CITIZEN READ

ArtsEmerson and American Repertory Theater invite individuals and groups from the Greater Boston area to sign up for Citizen Read, a 4-part series of dynamic events activating a public dialogue on race and identity in America. From January through March 2018, participants in Citizen Read will engage in works by acclaimed author, poet, playwright, and MacArthur Fellow Claudia Rankine through text, facilitated conversations, and performance, exploring the questions Rankine investigates through her work.

Space in Citizen Read is limited. More information and registration are available at ArtsEmerson.org and americanrepertorytheater.org/citizenread or by calling 617.824.3005. or emailing citizenreadproject@gmail.com.

Citizen Read occurs in conjunction with ArtsEmerson's world premiere presentation of the American Repertory Theater production of The White Card by Claudia Rankine, directed by A.R.T. Artistic Director Diane Paulus, dramaturgy by P. Carl.

"I'm glad that ArtsEmerson and A.R.T. have joined together to help foster ways that folks in Boston and Cambridge can engage in necessary discussions on race, privilege, and equity, and I look forward to sharing The White Card with audiences this spring," says Rankine.

In January and February, Citizen Read participants will read Claudia Rankine's 2014 New York Times bestselling book of poetry Citizen: An American Lyric individually or with a book club and engage in group conversation around the issues raised in this provocative mediation on race with trained facilitators. They will also have the opportunity to purchase specially reserved tickets to The White Card and to attend a Public Dialogue on race with Rankine at the Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre on March 4, 2018.

Participation in Citizen Read is free of charge, including access to curriculum and facilitators; copies of Citizen: An American Lyric may be available at your local library or must be purchased; tickets to The White Card also must be purchased. All are welcome and encouraged to sign up. Citizen Read community partners include the Boston Public Library, Facing History and Ourselves, and The Museum of African American History.

The White Card begins February 24, 2018 at the Emerson Paramount Center's Robert J. Orchard Stage. Every performance will include a facilitated conversation that will give audiences the opportunity to continue exploring the questions raised by the play. Tickets to The White Card are currently available to ArtsEmerson and A.R.T. Members only and will go on sale to the public in January.

ABOUT CITIZEN: AN AMERICAN LYRICCitizen: An American Lyric recounts mounting racial aggressions in ongoing encounters in twenty-first-century daily life and in the media. Some of these encounters are slights, seemingly slips of the tongue, and some are intentional offensives in the classroom, at the supermarket, at home, on the tennis court with Serena Williams and the soccer field with Zinedine Zidane, online, on TV-everywhere, all the time. The accumulative stresses come to bear on a person's ability to speak, perform, and stay alive. Our addressability is tied to the state of our belonging, Rankine argues, as are our assumptions and expectations of citizenship. In essay, image, and poetry, Citizen is a powerful testament to the individual and collective effects of racism in our contemporary, often named "post-race" society.

ABOUT THE WHITE CARDBy Claudia RankineDirected by Diane PaulusDramaturgy by P. CarlBegins February 24, 2018At a dinner party thrown by an influential Manhattan couple for an up-and-coming artist, questions arise about what-and who-is actually on display. Claudia Rankine's 2014 New York Times best-selling book, Citizen, unpacked the insidious ways in which racism manifests itself in everyday situations. Now, this world premiere play poses the question, "Can American society progress if whiteness stays invisible?" The White Card is commissioned by ArtsEmerson, Boston, MA, in association with American Repertory Theater, Cambridge, MA, and The Broad Stage, Santa Monica, CA.

ABOUT ARTSEMERSON ArtsEmerson is Boston's leading presenter of contemporary world theatre. It is dedicated to engaging all communities through stories that reveal and deepen connections to each other. By cultivating diversity in the art and in the audience, ArtsEmerson ignites public conversation around the most vexing societal challenges as a catalyst for overcoming them. ArtsEmerson is committed to welcoming everyone into its landmark venues, located in Boston's downtown Theatre District, for a diverse program of contemporary theatre, film, and music from around the city and around the world. In addition, ArtsEmerson engages in a range of community partnerships and produces a series of initiatives that make visible the rich diversity of cultural activity in the region. These programs are core to ArtsEmerson's mission and expresses commitment to civic responsibility to create a more cohesive society. ArtsEmerson is the professional presenting and producing organization of the Office of the Arts at Emerson College and is led by Artistic Director David Dower and Executive Director David Howse. For more information, visit ArtsEmerson.org.
Based in Boston, Massachusetts, opposite the historic Boston Common and in the heart of the city's Theatre District, Emerson College educates individuals who will solve problems and change the world through engaged leadership in communication and the arts, a mission informed by liberal learning. The College has 3,780 undergraduates and 670 graduate students from across the United States and 50 countries. Supported by state-of-the-art facilities and a renowned faculty, students participate in more than 90 student organizations and performance groups. Emerson is known for its experiential learning programs in Los Angeles, Washington, DC, the Netherlands, London, China, and the Czech Republic. The College has an active network of 39,000 alumni who hold leadership positions in communication and the arts. For more information, visit emerson.edu. ABOUT THE AMERICAN REPERTORY THEATERThe American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University is a leading force in the American theater, producing groundbreaking work in Cambridge and beyond. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Diane Paulus and Executive Producer Diane Borger, the A.R.T. seeks to expand the boundaries of theater by programming events that immerse audiences in transformative theatrical experiences. A.R.T. is the winner of nine Tony Awards since 2012 for All the Way, The Glass Menagerie, Pippin, The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, and Once. The A.R.T. collaborates with artists around the world to develop and create work in new ways, including a collaboration with Harvard's Center for the Environment that will result in the development of new work over several years. Under Paulus's leadership, the A.R.T.'s club theater, OBERON, has been an incubator for local and emerging artists and has attracted national attention for its innovative programming and business models.

As the professional theater on the campus of Harvard University, the A.R.T. catalyzes discourse, interdisciplinary collaboration and creative exchange, acting as a conduit between its community of artists and the university. The A.R.T. Institute for Advanced Theater Training at Harvard University, run in association with the Moscow Art Theatre School and the Harvard Extension School, offers graduate training in acting, dramaturgy, and voice. A.R.T. also plays a central role in Harvard's newly launched undergraduate Theater, Dance, and Media concentration, teaching courses in directing, dramatic literature, acting, voice, design, and dramaturgy. The A.R.T. actively engages more than 5,000 community members and local students annually in project-based partnerships, workshops, conversations with artists, and other enrichment activities both at the theater and across the Greater Boston area.
Through all of these initiatives, the A.R.T. is dedicated to producing world-class performances in which the audience is central to the theatrical experience.
@artsemerson @americanrep #CitizenRead #TheWhiteCard.

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