TimeLine Presents 'Race In America' Public Discussion 12/2

TimeLine Theatre Company announces Race in America: A Discussion With No Walls, a panel discussion open to the public on Tuesday, December 2, 2008, from 6 - 8 pm. The event will be held at the International House at the University of Chicago, 1414 E. 59th Street, Chicago. Admission is free but reservations are encouraged; call (773) 281-8463 x24.

The panel discussion will be moderated by Dr. Harvette Grey, formerly executive director of the DePaul University Cultural Center. Featured panelists are:

Dr. Eric Arnesen, professor of History and African-American Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago, specializing in race, labor and civil rights; Melissa Barton, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of English at the University of Chicago who is currently teaching the course Staging Race: African-Americans and Theater in the 20th Century; Dr. Valerie Johnson, associate professor of Political Science at DePaul University, specializing in African American politics and education policy, who previously served as national education spokesperson for the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. and the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition; Dawn Turner Trice, a columnist for the Chicago Tribune and moderator of the Tribune's online project 'Exploring Race' A Discussion With No Walls is inspired by and presented in conjunction with TimeLine Theatre's Chicago premiere of Thomas Gibbons A House With No Walls, now playing through December 21.

The discussion is co-sponsored by the International House at the University of Chicago and the Center for the Study of Race, Politics and Culture at the University of Chicago.

This event will also feature brief excerpts from A House With No Walls, featuring cast members A.C. Smith, Amber Starr Friendly and Steve O'Connell, to help inspire the discussion.

For complete information, including directions and biographies of all participants, visit timelinetheatre.com/discussionwithnowalls

In the play A House With No Walls, Philadelphia wants to build its new American Museum of Liberty on the site of George Washington's home and slave quarters. Soon a conservative academic star and a liberal political activist are confronting each other with polarizing questions of African-American identity and legacy. Elegantly juxtaposed with this contemporary conflict is the true story of one of Washington's slaves as she contemplates escape. The result is a thought-provoking drama that asks vital questions about race in America, both where we've been and where we go next.

A House With No Walls is a provocative and innovative play that addresses not only race relations in this country, but also the challenges that come from trying to even discuss race relations, said TimeLine Artistic Director PJ Powers. Honestly, it's not a conversation we've had enough at TimeLine, and we're very much looking forward to engaging in that dialogue with a diverse audience from around Chicago at this special event.

TimeLine Theatre Company
615 W. Wellington Ave.
Chicago, IL 60657