SOUNDS OF DESIRE to Play Ware Center, 11/5

"Sounds of Desire" is as play that features monologues by nine highly distinctive Iraqi women, all played by one in a tour-de-force, highly reviewed actress. "Sounds" tells a story of what it means to be a woman in a strongly-Muslim country - torn apart by war -- with views different form our own of a woman's place in society. Ms. Raffo will be performing the concert version of this play which was originally commissioned and performed at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. During this performance, she will be accompanied by acclaimed Middle Eastern instrumentalists and vocalists. The one-night-only and only-in-Lancaster performance is scheduled for Tuesday, November 5, 2013 at 7:30 p.m., the Ware Center, 42 North Prince Street, Lancaster.

Heather Raffo, originally from Michigan, is an Iraqi-American playwright and actress. She is best known for her one-woman play 9 Parts of Desire. She has been awarded the highly regarded Lucille Lortel Award for excellence in New York's Off-Broadway theatre, as well as the Susan Smith Blackburn playwriting award and a nomination for outstanding performance by an actress in the Outer Critics Circle and Drama League.

Ms. Raffo has taught and performed at dozens of universities and arts centers both in the United States and internationally engaging students about the politics and arts of Iraq. She has an ongoing residency in the Department of Performing Arts at Georgetown University.

Currently, Heather is developing a libretto for an opera commissioned by the Annenberg Foundation and City Opera Vancouver. The opera details the life of a US Marine who served in Fallujah in 2004 and relates the haunting experiences of identity and belonging for veterans and their families, as well as Iraqis.

Tickets: $18 |$15 Seniors |$5 for Students. To reserve tickets, call 717-872-3811 or 717-871-2308; Online at artsmu.com; In person at the Ware Center Box Office (42 N. Prince St., Lancaster) or the Student Memorial Center Ticket Office (Room 103, on Millersville University's campus). The Box Office is open Mon.-Fri., 8:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m.. All seats are reserved. Tickets may also be purchased one hour prior to the performance.

For more information, contact Harvey Owen at 717-940-1181.