Drama Gives Voice to the Struggles of Female Authors

Ithaca College Theatre will present Elinor Jones’s A Voice of My Own, a play about female writers --- from Sappho to Alice Walker --- who struggled against prejudice and adversity in order to express themselves.

Previews of A Voice of My Own are scheduled for December 4 and 5, with regular performances running December 6–8. Curtain time for the Clark Theatre staging is 8:00 p.m.; there will also be a matinee performance on Saturday, December 8, at 2:00 p.m.

Tickets can be purchased at the ticket office in Dillingham Center, the Ticket Center at Clinton House, and Cornell University’s Willard Straight Hall, with prices ranging from $3.50 to $9.00. The College’s ticket office is open Monday through Friday, noon to 5:00 p.m.

For information call 274-3224. Discounts are available for groups of 15 or more by calling 274-3796.

A Voice of My Own explores how female writers, from 600 B.C. through the 20th century, created lasting voices in literature and how they overcame the obstacles thrust upon them by the conventions of society. Through the course of the play, 24 writers appear on stage and tell the stories of their lives and times. Included are Jane Austen, Mary Shelley, Dorothy Parker, Toni Morrison, Katherine Ann Porter, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Virginia Woolf, whose work A Room of One’s Own inspired Jones’s play.

The director of the Ithaca College production is professor of theater arts Arno Selco. He has received a Dana Teaching Fellowship for excellence in teaching and a Faculty Opportunity Award for achievement and service to the College, as well as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts gold medallion for excellence in service to the American College Theater Festival. A member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Screen Actors Guild, and the American Federation of Television and Radio Actors, Selco has appeared in Broadway and stock productions, on network television shows, and in feature films.

The cast of A Voice of My Own includes Amy Downing ’02, Katie Leigh Kozlowski ’02, Amanda Morton ’04, Jasmin L. Norwood ’03, and Janelle Velasquez ’04. Members of the artistic staff are scenic designer Ryan Tilke ’02, costume designer Jessica Frish ’03, lighting designer Ken Bruns ’02, technical director Derek Brashears ’03, stage manager M. Krug ’03, assistant stage manager Amy Monroe ’03, and musical director Amanda Morton ’04. Assistant professor of theater arts Krista Scott is the vocal and dialect coach.