Theatre Arts Program Presents Event for Public, Campus This Week
03/23/2015
Contacts for media:
Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944 or Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu
LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell Theatre Arts Program will host a series of campus events this month featuring Drew Hayden Taylor, internationally recognized playwright, screenwriter, filmmaker, author and humorist.
Taylor, who is an Ojibway from the Curve Lake First Nations in Canada, will visit UMass Lowell from Tuesday, March 24 through Sunday, March 29 and will hold a free program that will include a lecture and question-and-answer session for the public on Wednesday, March 25 at 3:30 p.m. in O’Leary Library Learning Commons, located at 61 Wilder St. on UMass Lowell’s South Campus.
Taylor has taken on many roles in his career, from performing standup comedy at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., to serving as artistic director of Canada’s Native Earth Performing Arts, the premier theater company representing that nation’s indigenous peoples. An award-winning playwright whose work has been staged in more than 70 productions, he has also served as a columnist for several Canadian newspapers and magazines, as well as writing short stories, novels and TV scripts. He has worked on more than a dozen documentaries exploring the native experience and most notably, he wrote and directed “Redskins, Tricksters and Puppy Stew,” a documentary on native humor for the National Film Board of Canada.
During his stay at UMass Lowell, Taylor will participate in a variety of classroom visits, Q&A sessions and a master class on script-writing, as well as presenting the March 25 program for the public and the campus. That program, which will be held at UMass Lowell’s English Department on the fourth floor of O’Leary Library, will focus on Taylor’s work, including as a humorist. The talk will last approximately 90 minutes with light refreshments and a reception to follow.
The events will be a highly valuable opportunity to speak directly with an internationally known, multifaceted professional involved in comedy, multicultural exchange and performance, publishing, film, television and theatrical script writing, and spreading the word of his native culture, according to organizers. More about Taylor is available at www.drewhaydentaylor.com.
“Drew brings a wealth of global experience that crosses both cultural borders and academic divisions to share with UMass Lowell and the greater Lowell community in a uniquely humorous and insightful manner,” said Dale Young, an assistant professor in UMass Lowell’s Theatre Arts Program, which is presenting the events featuring Taylor. They are part of a series called “Theatre Lives,” which strives to broaden perspectives of creative possibilities in the performing arts.
UMass Lowell’s Theatre Arts Program offers a concentration in theatre arts for English majors as well as a minor open to any UMass Lowell student. The program boasts an outstanding faculty of theater artists and scholars offering coursework in subjects such as acting, directing, design, technical theater, play-writing, dramatic literature and theater history.
UMass Lowell is a national research university located on a high-energy campus in the heart of a global community. The university offers its more than 17,000 students bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in business, education, engineering, fine arts, health, humanities, sciences and social sciences. UMass Lowell delivers high-quality educational programs, vigorous hands-on learning and personal attention from leading faculty and staff, all of which prepare graduates to be ready for work, for life and for all the world offers. www.uml.edu