M-Uth Theater's PIECES to Play The Ware Center, 7/24-27

PIECES is a unique theatrical production featuring at risk, disadvantaged and handicapped youth selected to be the highlight of the American ALLIANCE THEATRE & Education Conference in D.C. M-Uth Theater's PIECES is directed by Barry Kornhauser and will run at The Ware Center in Lancaster, July 24-27, 2013. Free show!

PIECES is an original drama with music in which young ensemble members speak out about the violence in the lives of young people across our nation, particularly gun violence. "Piece" is slang for gun.

Millersville University's M-Uth Theater is an inclusive mixed-ability ensemble comprised of at-risk and disadvantaged youth, those living with disabilities (sensory, cognitive, physical) or facing other life challenges. Some have criminal records; others have been victims of abuse. There are those that are homeless. With refugee teens in the ensemble, Spanish, Nepali, Swahili, and other languages are spoken in the productions, as is American Sign Language, with all performances ASL interpreted.

The young people who comprise the ensemble are referred to the program from a wide variety of social welfare agencies, guidance counselors, therapists, etc. These teens work together to create dramas with social justice themes pertinent to their lives and the lives of their peers around the globe. By doing so, the participants express their views on matters of consequence, giving them a real voice and empowering them to use it. The program also provides area youth with a safe haven that fosters artistic, educational, and social and emotional growth, and provides a constructive outlet for their energies. Formalized assessment is conducted to determine the efficacy of the program in building arts skills and knowledge and personal and social growth for its participants.

"Pieces" is based on a real-life shooting incident in Lancaster and includes material adapted, with permission, from Voices From The Future: Children Speak Out About Violence In America. "If you listen to the children...you will hear a message from their hearts," remarks Susan Goodwille, the book's editor.

"Well, there is surely a piece of every ensemble member's heart in this play of theirs," Kornhauser explains. "Coming from many backgrounds, they are united by a common passion to help make a difference, to examine the ways young lives are sometimes shattered by violence, the ways we might begin to pick up the pieces of those lives and put them back together, and the ways we might one day find the will and the means to exchange "pieces" for peace."

All performances are free. No tickets required. The performance is at the Ware Center at 42 North Prince Street, Lancaster, PA: Wednesday, July 24 at 1 p.m.; Thursday, July 25 at 10:30 a.m.; Friday 7/26: Performance at 1 pm; Saturday 7/27: Performances at 2 pm and 7 pm.

The M-Uth Theater The program is free of charge and the participants meet five days a week at the Ware Center in downtown Lancaster through the month of July. The ensemble always performs free ofcharge to the public. This summer, along with shows at the Ware Center, the company has been invited to perform at a statewide conference on the Millersville campus and at the closing ceremony of the national annual conference of the American Alliance for Theatre & Education in Washington, DC. Goodwill donations are collected at the door of all performances, every penny of which is given to a charity or service organization selected by the company based on its pertinence to the themes of the play being performed. The M-Uth Theater is dedicated to creating art that reaches out to others with a message of hope and in celebration of the human spirit.

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