Women In To Light
The NIU School of Theatre and Dance will present “Women In To Light,” in conjunction with the annual Freshman BFA Showcase from Wednesday, Dec. 2, through Sunday, Dec. 6.
“Women In To Light” is directed by NIU faculty member Kay Martinovich, who describes the work as “devised” because she and the all-female cast created it from writings of women forgotten by history and popular culture.
Each character presented uses dialogue taken directly from primary research materials such as first person narratives, poems, journals and autobiographies.
The women’s stories center around a journalist who has been beaten up, tortured and thrown in prison. While in prison, she meets women from throughout a history that spans the 10th century to the present – and whose voices have not been heard aloud until now.
Many of the women depicted are activists, have been imprisoned themselves or have done remarkable things; they offer what they can to assist and heal the journalist while she struggles to survive.
This journalist is “constantly on the verge, between consciousness and unconsciousness, and life and death,” Martinovich says. “It is hard to tell if they are real, or if they’re figments of her imagination. Who are these women?”
Freshman BFA Showcase
A journalist’s fear of death, she adds, is both inside and outside the doors of their home, work or, in this case, a prison cell. Any journalist can be threatened and put in danger at any time. Threats, intimidation, blackmail and torture become very real for those brave enough to embrace a passion for truth.
This style of storytelling, Martinovich says, helps audience members “open their eyes to what’s going on in the world around them.” Although the characters portrayed are all women, what happens to them impacts everyone.
“Women In To Light” will stage following the Freshman BFA Showcase in the Holmes Student Center Diversions Lounge Theatre. Weeknight and Saturday performances begin at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday performances at 2 p.m. All general admission tickets are $7 and can be purchased online or at the Holmes Student Center Box Office.
For more information, call (815) 753-1600 or email sotdboxoffice@niu.edu.
Click Here To Submit A News Tip Or Story