Nilaja Sun to Play Coast to Coast Engagements of 'No Child'

Direct from a triumphant year-long Off Broadway run, starring the acclaimed teaching artist and solo performer Nilaja Sun brings her tour-de-force exploration of the New York City public school system, No Child…, to theaters across the country for the 2007 - 08 season.  Sun fearlessly transforms with rapid-fire precision into the teachers, students, parents, administrators, janitors and security guards who inhabit our schools and shape the future of America, making this play one of the most acclaimed theatrical events in recent years.

Under the direction of Hal Brooks, No Child… is a riotous and touching master class not to be missed by anyone who is concerned about the state of our education system…and how we might fix it.

Engagements have been announced for the following prestigious venues:

Lookingglass Theatre Company - Chicago, IL
www.lookingglasstheatre.org
October 3 - November 11, 2007

American Repertory Theatre - Boston, MA
www.amrep.org
November 23 - December 23, 2007

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company - Washington, DC
www.woollymammoth.net
January 21 - February 10, 2008

Center Theatre Group, Kirk Douglas Theatre - Los Angeles, CA
www.centertheatregroup.org
March 6 - April 13, 2008

Berkeley Rep - Berkeley, CA
www.berkeleyrep.org
May 11 - June 8, 2008

No Child… began its remarkable life in 2004 when Sun was commissioned by Epic Theatre Ensemble (formerly Epic Theatre Center) to write a play based on her unique work in New York City's toughest schools, among them Martin Luther King, Jr. High School.  Martin Luther King Jr. High School was specifically created in 1972 as a fully integrated public school that brought non-white students into the Lincoln Center community.  In his book, Shame of the Nation, Jonathan Kozol cites MLK as a perfect example of "apartheid schooling" as it currently enrolls no white students.  No Child… was presented by Epic in the spring of 2006 at the Beckett Theatre on Theatre Row, where it played for 47 performances.  The show then transferred to the Barrow Street Theatre where it ran Off Broadway in a commercial run for 311 performances, with Scott Morfee, Tom Wirtshafter and Epic Theatre Ensemble producing.

Among the many accolades Sun received for writing and performing No Child… are a Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Solo Performance, an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Solo Performance, the John Gassner "Outstanding New American Play" Award, a Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Solo Show, a Theatre World Award, an Obie and the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival Jury Award for Best One Person Show. 

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