RIT Players Put on “The Exception and the Rule: A Brecht Show” Feb. 2-5

The Rochester Institute of Technology College of Liberal Arts Department of Fine Arts, with RIT Players, will celebrate the brilliance of Bertolt Brecht—one of the 20th century’s most influential playwrights—with a production combining documentary material and dramatic performance in February.

“The Exception and the Rule: A Brecht Show,” will run at 8 p.m. Feb. 2-4, and at 2 p.m. Feb. 5, in Ingle Auditorium in the Student Alumni Union.

This two-part production begins with a documentary-style presentation of selections from Brecht’s drama and poetry from the period, 1928-38, including three scenes from Fear and Misery in the Third Reich. The second part of the show is a performance of Brecht’s 1930 musical learning-play, The Exception and the Rule.

Brecht, an all-around controversial artist and irritant to the Nazi regime, is known for a number of plays and as the originator of the theory of “epic theatre,” a form that combines presentational theatre style and topical dramatic content, well illustrated by The Exception and the Rule.

“Students taking part in this show are learning how complex it is to make theatre, especially of an experimental kind,” says Peter Ferran, professor of fine arts and producing director and composer. “They are also learning about a very important modern playwright. And they are learning how the theatre might make people think critically about things everyone takes for granted.”

Tickets—$3 for students, $5 for the general audience—are available at the door. An audience-ensemble discussion will follow each performance. Sign language interpretation has been requested for the Friday and Sunday performances.

For more information, contact Ferran at pwfgsh@rit.edu.


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