IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Gita Brown, 401-456-8465, gbrown@ric.edu
Laura Hart, 401-456-8977, lhart@ric.edu
RIC student and Providence native Esi Mensah will perform in RIC Mainstage Theatre’s production of “Doubt,” a featured performance at the New England Theatre Conference’s (NETC’s) annual convention on Friday, Oct. 23, in Westford, Massachusetts.
In this Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, Mensah plays Mrs. Miller, the black mother of a boy who is attending a Catholic school in the Bronx. Mrs. Miller is called in by the school principal and is told that the parish priest is suspected of engaging in improper relations with her son.
“I know of few plays that so masterfully address so many complex issues as ‘Doubt,’” said RIC Professor of Theatre James Taylor, who is directing the RIC production. “This tightly written drama successfully deals with weighty concepts like conflicting approaches to education, parental responsibility, sexual identity, racial and gender inequalities and rebellion versus obedience, just to name a few.”
The 2008 film version starred RIC alumnus Viola Davis (Class of ’88), who received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
RIC offers a Bachelor of Arts program in theatre and has the only musical theatre program in Southeastern New England. RIC students stage four major productions annually and each year consistently earn top honors at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. Many of RIC’s theatre alumni have gone on to appear in prominent roles on television, stage and film.
The NETC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing its members with professional services, career development and recognition awards in the live theatre arts.
Serving Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont, NETC supports quality theatre and promotes excellence in all divisions of theatre. A recognized voice for practitioners in youth, secondary, university, community and professional theatre, NETC continues to expand its support of New England theatre in addition to nurturing and promoting new theatre activity.
Established in 1854, Rhode Island College serves approximately 9,000 undergraduate and graduate students through its five schools: the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the Feinstein School of Education and Human Development, the School of Social Work, the School of Management and the School of Nursing. For more information, visit www.ric.edu.
