WARRIORS DON'T CRY Set for 1/17 & 18 at Balch Street Theatre in Akron

The University of Akron's Center for Conflict Management and Akron's Center for Applied Theatre and Active Culture (CATAC) presents The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts national tour of WARRIORS DON'T CRY, sponsored by AETNA. An adaptation of the award-winning (American Library Association Award, 1995 Nonfiction Book of the Year; Robert F. Kennedy Book Award) memoir of the same name, authored by Dr. Melba Pattillo Beals, this newly produced one-woman performance comes to The Balch Street Theatre, 220 South Balch Street, Akron, OH, 44302 for two public performances on January 17 and 18, 2013 at 7:30pm.

This family-friendly (4th grade and above) performance, adapted by Zita Christian and Scott Galbraith, WARRIORS DON'T CRY recounts the story of one of the "Little Rock Nine." Fifteen-year-old Melba Pattillo of Little Rock, Arkansas endures violence and discrimination as she and eight other African-American students integrate Central High School in 1957. Directed by Richard C. Aven and performed by Almeria Campbell, the performance is sponsored by Akron's Center for Applied Theatre and Active Culture (CATAC) and New World Performance Laboratory (NWPL). This engagement is supported by the Arts Midwest Touring Fund, a program of Arts Midwest, is generously supported by the National Endowment for the Arts with additional contributions from the Ohio Arts Council and The University of Akron's Center for Conflict Management. CATAC/NWPL's 2012-2013 season is supported in part by the Akron Community Foundation.

"When we started working on 'Warriors' over three years ago, we knew it could resonate within the broader discussion of the achievement gap in schools across the nation," said Scott Galbraith, vice president of programming, The Bushnell. "There was no way to predict its relevance to the current discussions about bullying, immigration, and similar headlines. That's just an amazing, and disturbing, coincidence."

Tickets for WARRIORS DON'T CRY can be reserved by calling 330-867-3299. Tickets may also be purchased online at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/305999. Tickets are $10 adults and $5 students. There are still some tickets available for a school show on Friday, January 18 at 10am that is free of charge.

The Bushnell company will also conduct two public workshops, free of charge, as part of their residency in Akron. The workshops, entitled "Share Your Story," will be held on Wednesday, January 16 at 7pm and Friday, January 18, at 3pm in The Balch Street Theatre, 220 South Balch Street in Akron. Call 330-867-3299 for more information or visit CATAC/NWPL's website www.nwplab.com

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