Xavier Harris, a third-year MFA student in Theatre Arts, won runner up with his partner Lamar Hardy.��

“This is the festival in the U.S. for college theater,” said Theatre Arts professor Ariadne Calvano. “This just shows the quality coming out of this department. The hard work, dedication and talent of our students is getting the validation it deserves.” 

Kala Ross, a third-year graduate student, was Tate’s partner. She won the regional award last year and in Washington, DC.

“To get it two years in a row is just huge,” Calvano said.��

Numerous other students, faculty and staff were at the festival as well to stage Theatre Arts’ production of “,” by Anna Deavere Smith.��

The show was one of only three invited to perform this year out of more than 50 that submitted applications.��

“There was a lot of student leadership in this production, a tribute to the training they are getting,” Calvano said. “Several representatives from the Kennedy Center commented on the level they are at.”

“Fires in the Mirror” received the Golden Hardhat award for the most organized and safe load in and load out for a production under the direction of Charles Nasby, Theatre Arts’ technical production manager, and his son Lionel Nasby, who is a senior undergrad in the department.��

Several faculty were awarded accommodations  for the show as well, including Calvano for stage direction, Janna Segal for dramaturgy and Zhanna Goldentul for costume design.

Tate and Ross will go on to compete this spring for the distinguished  at the in Washington, DC.

Those who’d like to see Tate perform next on a UofL stage won’t have to wait long. Tate is starring in Theatre Arts’ production of John Guare’s “Six Degrees of Separation.” Directed by Geoffrey Nelson, the play examines the premise that everyone is connected by a chain of six acquaintances. It runs Feb. 20-March 1 in The Playhouse. for more information and to buy tickets.

The play, which explores perspectives on the 1991 riots in New York City, is written as a one-woman show.��But director Ariadne Calvano has cast eight actors to portray two-to-three roles each, which are both similar to and different from how they identify, whether by race, gender, ethnicity, class, religion, etc.��

“I began the process with a question: Can we ever truly understand something from another person’s point of view?” she said. “The production will challenge the audience to try to shift their perspective, experience and identity, rather than passively sitting in judgment.” 

The play is based on riots that occurred in the Crown Heights after a Hasidic man’s car jumped a curb, killing Gavin Cato, a black 7-year-old. Later, in what appeared to be an act of retaliation, Yankel Rosenbaum, a Hasidic rabbinical student, was stabbed to death.��

The play will contain an interactive element. The app “Poll Everywhere” will gauge audience perspective on complex issues throughout the performance.   

“This show remains relevant in many ways,” Calvano said. “Communication between folks from different backgrounds continues to polarize America today. It would be simplistic to boil down the show to tensions between the black and Jewish communities in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, or to believe that there is a single Jewish or Black perspective. Part of the challenge of this play is to unpack the levels of connection between the people represented while also marking their individualism.”

There also will be two post-show panel discussions led by UofL dramaturg Janna Segal:

Nov. 8: Theater artists will share how Smith’s work has influenced them. Panelists include: Calvano; Janelle R. Dunn, learning and creative engagement associate at Actors Theatre; Diana Grisanti, co-artistic director of Theatre 502 and Keith McGill, comedian, actor and Actors Theatre teaching artist.

Nov. 14: Conversation will address how the play resonates with Louisville today. Panelists include Rabbi David Ariel-Joel from The Temple; Cathy Hinko, executive director of the Metropolitan Housing Coalition and Marian Vasser, UofL director of Diversity ����ֱ�� and Inclusive Excellence.

This is the second production in Theatre Arts’ “” which kicked off in August with “King Hedley II.” 

Thrust Theatre is on UofL’s Belknap Campus, 2314 S. Floyd St. All plays start at 8 p.m. with 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday matinees. Tickets are $20 for general admission, $15 for UofL faculty and staff and $10 for UofL students. To order tickets or for more information, call the box office at (502) 852-6814 or click .��

“Fires in the Mirror” Cast

Undergraduate students: Chasidy Moore – Anonymous Lubavitcher woman, Rabbi Joseph Spielman and Sonny Carson; Junaid Shazad – Robert Sherman, Anonymous Young Man #1 and Rueven Ostrov; Megan Meyer – Scenic Designer; Lionel Nasty – Technical Director; Cece Phillips – Props Designer; Tyler Hieb – Lighting Designer; Steven York – Sound Designer

First Year MFA Students: Lamar Hardy – Reverend Al Sharpton, Angela Davis and Micheal S. Miller; Candace Spencer – Ntozake Shange, Rivkah Siegal and Norman Rosenbaum; Brandi Threatt –  Anonymous Girl, Leonard Jeffries and Carmel Cato

Second Year MFA Students: Alex Gordon – Aaron Bernstein, Henry Rice and Rosalyn Malamud; Tyler Tate – George C. Wolfe, Letty Cottin Pogrebin and Reverend Cannon Doctor Heron Sam; Jordan Tudor – Assistant Director

Third Year MFA Student: Manuel Viveros – Minister Conrad Mohammed and Anonymous Young Man #2