New Performing Artist Series Debuts at SCU; Award-Winning Playwright Terrence McNally to Meet Public and Students

Business Wire, Oct 12, 2004

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Playwright Terrence McNally will be the first artist to participate in the Center of Performing Arts' new Performing Artist Series on Wednesday, Oct. 20, at 7:30 p.m. in the Mayer Theatre.

Michael Zampelli, S.J., director of CPA, and Aldo Billingslea, assistant professor in the theatre department, will host a discussion with McNally on his career as a playwright and the impact of the performing arts on social issues. The talk and accompanying reception will be open to the public. Admission is free.

"We are fortunate to begin SCU's Performing Artist Series with Terrence McNally whose professional career reflects a wide-ranging passion for theater and music," said Michael Zampelli, S.J. "McNally's work invites us to experience performance not only as entertainment, but also as an avenue for considering the things that really matter -- to individuals and communities."

SCU's Performing Artist Series will provide a platform for exploring the connection between the performing arts and contemporary culture. This yearlong series invites artistic professionals to engage SCU students and the local community in meaningful dialogue about vocation, and how it can help influence social change upon the world.

"I hope the series helps the Center of Performing Arts grow into a place that invites artists to reflect on their work in relationship to the things that are significant to us here at Santa Clara: spirituality, justice, the pursuit of the common good," said Zampelli.

Renowned for his broad range of provocative works and insightful explorations of human nature, Terrance McNally is considered one of America's leading playwrights. Since 1963, McNally has had more than 15 plays and musicals staged on Broadway, including the Tony Award-winning plays "Ragtime," "Master Class," "Kiss of the Spider Woman," and "Love! Valour! Compassion!" He has also authored numerous books, films, and TV scripts, such as "Andre's Mother," for which he received an Emmy Award.

Additional awards include two Guggenheim Fellowships, a Rockefeller Grant, and a Lucille Lortel Award. Most recently, McNally was honored with the Helen Hayes Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre Award at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. His newest play, "Dedication or the Stuff of Dreams," will open in New York in June at Primary Stages.

McNally's daylong visit will also include private sessions and class lectures for SCU students, faculty, and staff. For more information on the Center of Performing Arts Performing Artist Series, please contact Lisa Rademacher at 408-554-4073. On the web at www.scu.edu/cpa.> About the Center of Performing Arts

The Center of Performing Arts at Santa Clara University includes the University's Department of Theatre and Dance and Department of Music. Graduates include Emmy award winners, Broadway directors and performers, designers, and administrators. SCU students have gone on to graduate programs at some of the country's leading schools such as the Curtis Institute, Eastman, Cleveland Institute, Indiana, USC, UCLA, and the American Conservatory Theatre. For more information on the CPA or scheduled performances, visit www.scu.edu/cpa.> About Santa Clara University

Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located in California's Silicon Valley, offers its 8,047 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, and engineering, plus master's and law degrees. Distinguished nationally by the second-highest graduation rate among all U.S. master's universities, California's oldest higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. More information is online at www.scu.edu.