Theatre Bristol announces two post-show panel discussions following the March 5 and March 12 Sunday 2:30 p.m. matinee performances of “The Diary of Anne Frank” at Theatre Bristol ARTspace, 506 State Street, Bristol, Tennessee. Audiences are invited to remain after two matinee performances and listen and engage in a discussion and question and answer period on the Holocaust, survivor testimonies, and more.
Presented with ENT & Allergy Consultants, the panel discussions will feature educators Carrie Cornett, Marie-Amalie Farris, and Tawny Anderson, and director of “The Diary of Anne Frank,” Camille Gray.
Tawny Anderson is a Master Teacher in Holocaust Studies and History, who teaches through the lenses of identity, memory and legacy to promote social justice, individual advocacy and historical awareness. She is a Lerner Fellow (Jewish Foundation for the Righteous) and has been recognized as Social Studies Teacher of the Year in Palm Beach County, Florida, and received the Theron Trimble Award as the state Social StudiesTeacher of the year, as well as the Harry T. Moore Award for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties in Education. After retiring, she returned home to the Bristol area.
Marie-Amalie Farris is also a Master Teacher in Holocaust Studies and History. She is a Lerner Fellow (Jewish Foundation for the Righteous) as well and was recognized as Palm Beach County Social Studies Teacher of the Year. She recently moved back to the Bristol area from Florida.
Carrie Cornett has taught high school English for 14 years in the Bristol area and each year incorporates a study of the Holocaust into her lessons. She emphasizes the importance of transparency and for students to be able to ask questions and talk freely, helping them navigate difficult conversations. Carrie created a display viewed during the run of the performances for students and adults that connects real testimonies and experiences with those portrayed in “The Diary of Anne Frank.”
Camille Gray is the director of “The Diary of Anne Frank.” Camille, a graduate of Emory & Henry College, with a B.F.A. in Directing, has been involved with Theatre Bristol for 20 years as an actor, director, choreographer, and designer. In addition to directing and volunteer support, she is the coordinator of the Cathy F. DeCaterina School of Theatre Arts.
This original stage adaptation of Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, edited by Otto Frank, won the 1956 Pulitzer Prize, Tony Award, Critics Circle Award, and virtually every other coveted prize of the theatre. “During the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, Anne Frank began to keep a diary on June 14, 1942, two days after her 13th birthday and twenty-two days before going into hiding with her parents, sister, and three other people. Hiding in the sealed-off upper rooms of the annex of her father’s office building in Amsterdam, Anne and the others cope with the day-to-day struggles of life in cramped quarters, as the spectre of tragedy looms, ever-present, over their every move.” (Concord Theatricals) Playwrights “Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett have fashioned a wonderfully sensitive and theatrically craftsmanlike narrative out of the real-life legacy left us by a spirited and straightforward Jewish girl… as bright and shining as a banner.” –The New York Herald-Tribune
Performances are March 3 – 19, Fridays at 7:30 pm, Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. at Theatre Bristol’s ARTspace stage, 506 State Street, Bristol, Tennessee. Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for students and seniors, plus processing fees.
Director Camille Gray is supported by stage manager Ann Vance, assistant stage manager Emma Cornett, producer Samantha Gray, costume designers Adriel Slaughter and Leticia Peltzer, and properties artisan Rebecca Ryan, sound operator Carrie Cornett, lightboard operator Nicole Intagliata, master electrician Albert Tester, and master carpenter Ken Cornett, along with Theatre Bristol crew.
The role of Anne Frank is shared by Lucy Claire Foy and Erica LaFollette. Anne’s father, Otto Frank, is played by Dan Gray, and Shannon Bolick portrays the role of Anne’s mother, Edith Frank. Becca Bolick is Anne’s sister, Margot Frank. Mike Locke and Leah Graham fill the roles of Mr. and Mrs. Van Daan, and Ethan Baker plays their son and Anne’s love-interest, Peter Van Daan. Tony DeVault is Jan Dussel, Anne’s roommate. The protectors, Miep Gies and Mr. Kraler, are played by Amber Wiley and Richard Albright, respectively.
Theatre Bristol is pleased to present The Diary of Anne Frank as part of its family-friendly 58th season of ARTspace and The Paramount Center for the Arts shows, including The Diaries of Adam & Eve, Real Heroes, Winnie-the-Pooh, The Seussification of Romeo & Juliet, Oklahoma!, A Christmas Carol, PLAYtime in the ARTspace weekly children’s show, School of Theatre Arts classes and workshops, and The StART of Adventure Summer Camp. “The Diary of Anne Frank” is presented through special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service. www.dramatists.com.
Founded in 1965 by Cathy DeCaterina, Theatre Bristol is a community theatre serving all ages that also has the distinction as the oldest continually running children’s theatre in northeast Tennessee. Located on historic State Street in Bristol, it also serves southwest Virginia. Its Main Stage season consists of drama, comedy, and musical productions that take place in the 100-seat blackbox ARTspace and at the Paramount Center for the Arts. Theatre Bristol is a volunteer-operated community organization and we invite you to get involved.
For tickets and information, visit www.theatrebristol.org, follow TheatreBristolTN on Facebook, call 423-212-3625, or email [email protected].
