March 23, 2005

Purdue Theatre to present world premiere of 'His Occupation'

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue Theatre will present the world premiere of the Ross Maxwell play "His Occupation" on March 31-April 10 in the Black Box Theatre, Creative Arts Building 3.

Kristine Holtvedt, associate professor of theatre at Purdue, will direct the production.

"His Occupation" opens at 8 p.m. on March 31, with additional performances scheduled for 8 p.m. on April 1-2 and April 5-9. Sunday matinees of the play also take place at 2 p.m. on April 3 and April 10.

Admission is $5.50 per person for each performance. Tickets are available at Stewart Center's Loeb Box Office or by calling (765) 494-3933 or (800) 914-SHOW toll-free.

Taking its inspiration from "Oresteia," the classical Greek drama by Aeschylus, "His Occupation" offers a tragicomic tale of revenge in contemporary suburbia.

As the action begins, Daniel Gates has just returned from the current war in Iraq, the sole survivor of an ambush in a Baghdad museum. At home, he discovers that his father is dead, his stepmother has remarried, his sister is unexpectedly pregnant, and a television news crew is planning to broadcast the faltering family’s Thanksgiving dinner.

"The central theme of the play revolves around the issue of whether vengeance ever is justified," Holtvedt said. "Along with that are themes of military domination, the terrible results of war on a human being and the notion of one’s responsibility to family,

"It’s also very funny, sometimes in an ironic way and sometimes in a purely humorous way. It has been an interesting challenge for us to capture the seriousness and depth of ideas in the play while also capturing the comedy, allowing the audience to go both places."

Maxwell is a member of Youngblood, a collective for playwrights that operates out of the Ensemble Studio Theatre in New York City. He is a graduate of the University of Oregon and a member of Partial Comfort Theatre Company.

Writer: Aaron Martin, (765) 496-3133, martinac@purdue.edu

Source: Lori Sparger, Purdue Theatre marketing director, (765) 494-3084, LSparger@cla.purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

Note to Journalists: Photographers may take still rehearsal photos from 7-9 p.m. on Wednesday (March 29) in the Black Box Theatre, Creative Arts Building 3. Contact Lori Sparger, Purdue Theatre marketing director, at (765) 494-3084, theatre@purdue.edu if a photographer will attend.

Related Web sites:
Purdue University Home Page

To the News Service home page