MOUNT VERNON, OHIO— The Public Library of Mount Vernon and Knox County is delighted to collaborate with Theater of War Productions and Kenyon College to present a reading, open rehearsal, and post-play discussion of scenes from An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen, in a new version by Bryan Doerries. The play tells the story of a doctor who discovers the water supply in his small country town has been poisoned by a tannery. Despite his efforts to convey the truth to the public, the doctor fails to save his community from disaster and is ultimately scapegoated for his whistleblowing. What does a play first produced in Norway in 1892 have to do with life in contemporary Knox County? Join us in Veterans Hall at Knox Memorial Theater on Thursday, February 8 at 7:00pm to find out.
Featuring an array of local talent— including Mount Vernon Mayor Matt Starr, Gambier Mayor Leeman Kessler, Kenyon College Department of Drama faculty Jon Tazewell, Wendy MacLeod, and Ben Viccellio; Library Director John K. Chidester, and Alyssa Gomez Lawrence— the event draws area actors and community members into the creative process by performing Doerries new script for the first time. After the reading, Doerries invites the cast and audience to join in a post-show discussion about how the play resonates in “America’s Hometown” today.
Theater of War presents community-specific, theater-based projects that address pressing issues and foster open dialogue aimed at generating connection, understanding and compassion. Knox County is an important part of the company’s latest project: An Enemy of the People will premiere in Washington D.C. in late February, with a second set of presentations scheduled in Knox County in early April: at Knox Memorial Theater in Mount Vernon at 6:00 p.m. on April 6, and at Oden Hall in Gambier on April 7 at 4:00 p.m. Persons wishing to get involved with the April production as a cast member, panelist, usher or volunteer may visit https://forms.gle/f6iDVWrhreSHmmcU9 to indicate their interest(s).
An Enemy of the People: A Theater Project From America’s Hometown is co-presented by Theater of War Productions, the Public Library of Mount Vernon and Knox County, Mount Vernon Arts Consortium and Kenyon College, with generous support from the Ohio Arts Council’s ArtStart program, a National Endowment for the Arts Challenge America Grant, Kenyon College Office for Community Partnerships, an LSTA Competitive Grant from the State Library of Ohio, and the Kenyon College Bicentennial Fund.
As with all Library programs, this event is free and open to the public. For more information about this project and other Library programs, please visit www.knox.net, call (740) 392-BOOK, extension 259 or email knoxwrites1@gmail.com.
