Event: The University of Texas at Austin Department of Theatre and Dance presents playwright Bruce Norris’ acclaimed plays, “The Pain and the Itch” and “Clybourne Park,” featuring the students of the Master of Fine Arts Acting class of 2013. Norris’ biting social satires explore class, race and the complexities of the American psyche.
When: “The Pain and the Itch”: April 2730 at 8 p.m. and May 1 at 2 p.m.; “Clybourne Park”: May 47 at 8 p.m. and May 7 at 2 p.m.
Where: Lab Theatre (LTH), west of the F. Loren Winship Drama Building (WIN)
Tickets: Performances are free and open to the public. Tickets are available at the Lab Theatre starting one hour prior to curtain.
Background: Bruce Norris is a writer and actor whose other plays include “The Infidel” (2000), “Purple Heart” (2002), “We All Went Down to Amsterdam” (2003) and “The Unmentionables” (2006).
“The Pain and the Itch” introduces the audience to a privileged, suburban family that isn’t all it appears to be. As the story unfolds, the audience become voyeurs of the characters’ imperfect lives.
“Clybourne Park” was named one of the Best Ten Plays of 2010 by The New York Times and The London Times. Directed by Senior Associate Chair and Associate Professor Lucien Douglas, “Claybourne Park” presents a community in Chicago that is divided over the neighborhood’s changing demographic and gradual gentrification. Norris’ dialogue reveals how far ideas about race have and haven’t progressed in 50 years.
