March 4, 2008
For Immediate Release
For an Interview:
Kathy French
(801) 863-8892
The original cast from Plan B Theatre production will be at UVSC March 6 at 7 p.m. to perform a staged reading of Mary Dickson’s, “Exposed.” The play combines oral history, personal experience and powerful documentation to show the human toll of four decades of nuclear testing.
From 1951 to 1992, the US government exploded 928 nuclear bombs in the desert near Las Vegas, Nev. “Exposed” tells the story of downwinders, combining Dickson’s experiences with actual government documents, including declassified portions of Atomic Energy Commission minutes, public testimony and interviews.
“Students will get a sense of the human cost of nuclear testing,” said Kathy French, professor of behavioral science. “The history of nuclear testing and the particular toll that Utahns paid is unknown to most young adults in Utah. The play portrays real events and real people, two of whom will be in attendance.”
Instead of leaving the audience with a sense of despair regarding nuclear war testing and its effects, the play gives hope and inspires action by telling the successful grassroots efforts to keep history from repeating itself.
“I suggest students ask their parents and neighbors; many families have lost loved ones to the nuclear fallout in Utah and other states, and many might like to join our campus community in seeing this,” said French. “The play is emotional, factual and very good.”
The play was nominated by the American Theatre Critics Association for best new play produced outside New York and was named best drama of 2007 by the Deseret Morning News. The reading is free and open to the public and will take place in the Centre Stage of the Sorensen Student Center.
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College Marketing Contact:
Megan Laurie
(801) 863-7149
Written by:
Melissa Plowman
(801) 863-7205