February 19, 2003

BOISE STATE THEATRE MAJORS TO READ ANTI-WAR PLAY AS PART OF INTERNATIONAL PROTEST

Boise State University Theatre Majors Association will present a staged reading of selected scenes from the 2,300 year-old Greek Comedy "Lysistrata," at 12:40 p.m. on Monday, March 3, at the North Patio of the Student Union, with a rain location of the Student Union Brava Stage. The local production is part of the international Lysistrata Project, in which theatre artists worldwide are raising their collective voices in protest against possible war with Iraq by producing readings of the anti-war classic on the same day. The readings are intended as a theatrical act of dissent and the first-ever world wide theatre event for peace.

Written by ancient Greek dramatist Aristophanes (c.447-c.385 B.C.), "Lysistrata" tells the story of a group of women from opposing city-states who unite in Athens to end the Peloponnesian War. After matronly "stormtroopers" take over the building where public funds are kept, the women rise up to end the war by withholding sex from their mates – until, desperate for intimacy, the men finally agree to lay down their swords and find a way to achieve peace through diplomacy.

Lysistrata Project was conceived by New York actor Kathryn Blume, who says, "I wanted to organize a reading of ‘Lysistrata’ in New York as a benefit for humanitarian organizations working in Iraq. As I shared the idea with friends, it snowballed. Before I knew it, we were producing an international grassroots peace movement by uniting the voices of theatre artists throughout the world."

The Boise State Theatre Majors Association reading of "Lysistrata" will be a free event, but donations will be accepted to benefit the Education for Peace in Iraq Center (EPIC). EPIC is dedicated to improving humanitarian conditions in Iraq and defending the human rights of the Iraqi people who have been affected by the United Nations sanctions.

For more information the international Lysistrata Project, go to www.lysistrataproject.com. For more information on the Boise State reading, contact Christine Burnett at 344-4227.

Christine Burnett

Theatre Majors Association

344-4227

Pat Pyke

communications and marketing

426-1987

Patri Ann Thompson

communications and marketing intern

426-3196

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