TRT2 to Stage WHITE PEOPLE, 10/3-20

TRT2 will launch it's third season by producing J.T Rogers' controversial play White People opening October 3rd at the Silver Meteor Gallery in Ybor City. The show will run Thursday, October 3rd through Sunday, October 20th. Performance times are 8:00pm Thursday through Saturday and 3:00pm on Sundays. Admission is $15 at the door or online at tamparep.org/wp. Groups of eight or more can purchase tickets at a group rate of $12 per person. The Silver Meteor Gallery is located at 2213 E. 6th Avenue, Ybor City.

White People is directed by Owen Robertson, his directing debut with Tampa Repertory Theatre's incubator company TRT2. Robertson has been seen many times on area stages, most recently in Jobsite Theatre's Behind the Gates.

White People premiered in 2000 and has been called "a sobering, unsettling but deeply rewarding look at a combustible issue many of us prefer to sidestep...White People is not easy to sit through. It raises questions as it challenges our assumptions about race." (Salt Lake Tribune)

J.T. Rogers asks "what is it to be white in America today?" In current day America we continue to see people readily define others by the color of their skin. Many try to rise above the issue but racism advances as a cancer that knows no boundaries or limitations. It extends beyond economic, educational and social boundaries. Rogers looks at the cultural evolution of America, a country that will soon no longer be defined as having a "white" majority. Rogers' characters ask questions of their place in this changing demographic: "is there a place for us?" "How will we fit in?" At the same time Rogers explores the historical root of racial inequality as well as attacking the notion that being white entitles one to privilege. Ultimately the answer lies in being willing to overcome our past, to overcome the hatred, to begin, to listen, to talk and learn from each other.

Bringing these questions to light is Dana Kovar (Jobsite's Hay Fever and Fahrenheit 451) as Mara Lynn Dodson, Jason Vaughan Evans (Jobsite's Much Ado About Nothing and Gorey Stories) as Martin Bahmueller, and Matthew Frankel (TampaRep's A Streetcar Named Desire and Alcestis) as Alan Harris.

TRT2 is focused on creating opportunities for local artists and dedicated to working on challenging, controversial, and thought-provoking pieces. More information on TampaRep and TRT2 can be found on our website www.TampaRep.org.