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Loyola University Opens Spring Season with
9 Parts of Desire Plus a Visit from the Playwright
“A triumph…an example of how art can remake the world.”—The New Yorker
“speaks the quiet truth of those whose voices have been silenced”—San Jose Mercury News
(New Orleans)– Inspired by Heather Raffo’s trip to the Saddam Art Center in Baghdad, where she saw room after room filled with billboard-sized portraits of Saddam Hussein before discovering a painting, hidden in a back room, of a nude woman clinging to a barren tree. “There was a light in front of her like a sun,” Raffo remembers, ...Read More
Loyola University Opens Spring Season with
9 Parts of Desire Plus a Visit from the Playwright
“A triumph…an example of how art can remake the world.”—The New Yorker
“speaks the quiet truth of those whose voices have been silenced”—San Jose Mercury News
(New Orleans)– Inspired by Heather Raffo’s trip to the Saddam Art Center in Baghdad, where she saw room after room filled with billboard-sized portraits of Saddam Hussein before discovering a painting, hidden in a back room, of a nude woman clinging to a barren tree. “There was a light in front of her like a sun,” Raffo remembers, “and her head was hanging, bowed. It was titled Savagery.” Curious about the artist who created this striking work and the world that inspired her, Raffo began interviewing Iraqi women ultimately collecting the stories and experiences that have created the play’s composite characters.
Directed by Laura Hope, 9 Parts of Desire is a work so compassionate, so heartbreaking, so soul-shatteringly, human that it promises to change forever the way you'll think about the women (indeed, the people) of the Middle East. John Lahr, The New Yorker, "An example of how art can remake the world and eloquently name pain."
A portrait of the extraordinary — and ordinary — lives of a whole cross-section of Iraqi women; this work lifts the veil on exactly what it means to be a woman in the age-old war zone that is Iraq.
The Loyola University Department of Theatre Arts & Dance is thrilled to welcome Playwright Heather Raffo during the run of the department’s production of her play 9 Parts of Desire. During her stay at Loyola Ms. Raffo will teach master classes and workshops for Loyola students. The public will have two opportunities to meet the playwright. Ms. Raffo will give a talkback session after the Sunday, February 24 2:00 PM performance, and a public lecture after a special 7:00 PM performance on Wednesday, Feb. 27. Both discussions will follow the performance in Lower Depth Theatre. This will be a true gift to the students who will have the opportunity to work with the actual playwright of the show they are working on.
Parts of Desire will run in the Lower Depths Theatre at Loyola University, 6363 St. Charles Avenue, on February 22, 23 28, 29 and March 1 @ 8:00 p.m. and February 24 @ 2:00 p.m. followed by a talk-back session with Ms. Raffo. There is also a special public performance on Feb. 27 at 7:00 PM followed by a lecture by the playwright.
Tickets are $12, general admission and $8, students and senior citizens. Group rates are available. Please call (504) 865-2074 for information.
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