‘Sight Unseen’ in
Rochester July 27-28

The White River Valley Players and BigTown Gallery will co-sponsor a pair of performances of the play "Sight Unseen" by Donald Margulies Friday, July 27 and Saturday, July 28 at 8 p.m. in an outdoor venue behind the gallery on Main Street in Rochester. A discussion of the play with the director and cast will follow the first performance.

The play will be performed by the theater company, Credo, a Middlebury based performing arts company dedicated to ensemble collaboration and artistic risk. Their stated mission is to produce edgy, socially minded plays and bold original works for the stage, while creating a transforming and deep connection to community. Prior to coming to Rochester, Credo will have presented "Sight Unseen" at FlynnSpace in Burlington and at the Vergennes Opera House.

"One of the most exciting aspects of Credo’s production of Donald Margulies’ Sight Unseen is that we are presenting it in three different venues over three weeks," notes director and producer Jeanne Rogow. "It’s an ambitious undertaking, but it is really fun and gives us the opportunity to bring this marvelous play to a wide audience in Vermont." Rogow adds that, "Credo is all about connecting with communities, rather than focusing on one town and one audience. We are custom-designing the set to take advantage of each venue’s particular appeal. The Rochester venue is interesting in that it is outside under a theatrical tent. In all three venues, the audience surrounds the stage on three sides. I feel so lucky to have all these incredibly talented people working on this show: four wonderful actors, including one Equity member, Bill Carmichael and all the amazing producing and technical people."

In March, Credo staged a reading for a small audience.

"Afterwards, they wanted to hear it again, they didn’t feel done with it," Rogow said. "The play stirs people up, which is one of the reasons we added a discussion opportunity to follow the performance on July 27^th in Rochester.

Winner of the Obie Award and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, Margulies’ "Sight Unseen" tells a smart and funny story of unreconciled passion. Jonathan Waxman, a superstar painter revisits his former lover and her British husband at their English farmhouse. In taut scenes that dart from past to present and back, time and memory transform feelings as characters wrestle with perceptions of art, Jewish identity, the past and their own relationships and longing.

For tickets to the Rochester performances of "Sight Unseen," call the BigTown Gallery at 767-9670.

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