Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
DocuSign Envelope ID: 32D5DFOB-2201-494E-993F-C356323EDD56 <br /> Patrick Dougherty, world renown sculptor, has graced Hillsborough's Riverwalk <br /> with one of his stickwork sculptures. It is in the shape of a little castle, and is the <br /> perfect setting for a fairy-tale, one that appeals to children and adults alike. <br /> Rap'unzel will be written by Hillsborough Poet Laureate William Davis Jr. and <br /> directed by Hillsborough resident Francesca Talenti. It is a site-specific play, <br /> which audiences will walk to, watch, and participate in. <br /> WHO <br /> Francesca has exhibited her work from The Guthrie to Sundance and PBS <br /> National, by way of Mumbai, GOteborg, Casablanca and many others. She has <br /> won audience and "best of" awards, and has received grants from the <br /> Independent Television Service, Latino Public Broadcasting, and the Kauffman <br /> p g <br /> Foundation. Favorable reviews have appeared in The New York Times and The <br /> Washington Post. Francesca is a professor emerita at the University of North <br /> Carolina at Chapel Hill. Since her retirement, she has focused her energies on <br /> theater in Hillsborough, directing another site-specific play on 3 recurring <br /> occasions: Behind the Scenes, located at The Burwell School, was also written <br /> by local writers (Maureen Quilligan and Michael Malone), and sold out every <br /> single performance in June 2015, October 2015, and October 2016. <br /> 2016-18 Hillsborough Poet Laureate William Davis, who goes by the <br /> performance name "Endlesswill," is a spoken word artist dedicated to continuing <br /> the tradition of poetry in living form. His most recent poetry collection, Broken <br /> Perception, is largely autobiographical, exploring the themes of utilizing lessons <br /> of the past to positively shape one's future and the complexities of the human <br /> condition. <br /> Other artists involved in Rap'unzel will be three actors and two musicians, who <br /> will be cast in January 2017; Francesca will also benefit from the aid of an intern <br /> from UNC-Chapel Hill, who has signed on as Associate Producer. <br /> WHAT <br /> Rap'unzel is a pop-up site-specific performance, and comes from the tradition of <br /> Commedia dell'Arte: three stock characters (the "princess", usually the object of <br /> desire; the "prince", who desires; and the `obstacle" to their love, usually an older <br /> character— in this case Witchy Wild Woman). Bright costumes, stilts, and large <br /> props will highlight each character. <br /> What is different from the usual is that the three stock characters will go through <br /> all the possible permutations of the roles in the story, starting with the expected, <br /> described above, but ending with the unexpected: for instance, at some point the <br /> princess will become the obstacle to the desire the prince has for Witchy Wild <br />