The Phoenix Theatre of Indianapolis Hosts Play Performances Following SUNLIGHT

The Phoenix Theatre of Indianapolis will be presenting two post-play discussions following the March 5th and 14th performances of the National New Play Network (NNPN) Rolling World Premiere of Sunlight. Written by Sharr White and winner of the 2009 Edgerton Foundation New American Play award, Sunlight is a political thriller that addresses the topics of the redefining torture, suspension of Habeas Corpus, law in 21st century America and civil liberties. Post-play discussions are an important part of the Phoenix mission and have been offered throughout the theatre's 27-year history.

Winner of the 2009 Edgerton Foundation New American Play award, Sunlight is a political thriller that tells the story of Matthew Gibbon, liberal lion, attorney and president of a small, prestigious university. Matthew is passionate about the law, his country and his daughter (who happens to be married to his former protégé, the conservative law school dean.) With three of the four characters being attorneys, the play asks if in a world where our family is the ultimate court of justice is it ever more important to be "right" than to be loyal?

As the play opens we find that in retaliation for his son-in-law Vincent (Bill Simmons) being the author of legal memos authorizing torture of Afghan detainees, Matthew (Rich Komenich) has trashed his protégé's office and tried to close down the university newspaper for not agreeing with his views on torture and more. Matthew's daughter Charlotte (Angela Plank) is a tough-as-nails Reagan conservative, sparring with reporters and university trustees on the phone and proactively shredding documents that could show Matthew in a less-than-positive light. Midge (Gayle Steigerwald) is Matthew's long-time assistant and the only non-attorney character in the cast.

AfterWords: Friday, March 5, 2010

A post-play discussion after the 8:00 pm performance (start time approximately 10:15 pm) will be hosted by IUPUI School of Public and Environmental Affairs faculty members Sheila Seuss Kennedy and Jim White. Sheila specializes in civil liberties and civil rights. She was also the Executive Director for the Indiana Civil Liberties Union from 1992 to 1998. Jim White is a retired member of the Indiana State Police with over twenty years of service. His extensive public safety background includes over 37 years of military experience and service as a security planner for the 1993 World University Games, the 1994 World Cup Championships, the 1995 World Rowing Championships, and the 1996 Atlanta Centennial Olympics. Jim is currently serving as the Director of Emergency Management for Indianapolis Marion County.

AfterWords: Sunday, March 14, 2010

A post-play discussion after the 2:00 pm performance (start time approximately 4:15 pm) will be hosted by history professor Peter DiMeglio. Dr. DiMeglio received his PhD in 20th Century History in 1968 from St. John's University, Jamaica, NY. He taught for 37 years at the University of Wisconsin, specializing in history of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries and World Civilization, specializing in the years from the Industrial Revolution to the modern era. He was also the director of the University of Wisconsin's Institute of International Studies, and he built for his university and for the entire University of Wisconsin System several short term, semester and full year academic study abroad programs. Many were based in Europe but there were programs in Mexico and in Asia as well. As a result of these programs Dr. DiMeglio traveled extensively through Europe, Mexico and various parts of the Middle East and Asia. Along with these programs, he conducted many adult and student programs abroad. He is the recipient of many awards for academic excellence.

Production Staff

Bryan Fonseca, Producing Director at the Phoenix, is directing this Rolling World Premiere that has already opened at Marin Theatre Company (Mill Valley, CA) and will open later this year at New Jersey Repertory Company (Long Branch, NJ). Bryan stated that Sunlight was first brought to his attention by Sharon Gamble, Phoenix Managing Director, who was serving on a play reading committee for NNPN. "We saw a staged reading of Sunlight at an NNPN showcase at Orlando Shakespeare Theatre in December 2008 and we agreed it would be an impressive addition to our season. We knew it would be a popular script, so as soon as we came back to Indy, we raced to complete the paperwork and get our name in the running to produce the play."

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