Follow Us:

Director's Notes

 

SETTING

Assisi, Italy, 1211

There wll be one 15-minute intermission.

 

DIRECTOR’S NOTE

Welcome to the BGSU Department of Theatre and

Film’s production of Poor Clare. Playwright Chiara

Atik’s funny, contemporary take on the story of St.

Clare of Assisi, the real life Catholic saint who was one

St. Francis’s first followers, sheds light on questions

about wealth and poverty that have persisted across

centuries. While there are no easy answers presented,

I find that Clare’s entreaty to God offers a way forward,

“Lord help me be good. Don’t put me on this earth

just to be selfish. Just to be shitty. Just to think it’s

too bad but not do anything about it. God, help me be

good.” I hope you find Clare’s entreaty inspiring and her

story humorous (it’s okay to laugh!), while at the same

time considering how are we complicit in perpetuating

systems of poverty, what our obligation to the poor

might be, and perhaps most importantly, how to move

beyond “guilty avoidance” and truly see those who

have less.

Sara Lipinski Chambers, Director

 

CONTENT NOTICE

This production includes religious themes and strong language.

Cast

Creative Team

Crew

Acknowledgements

Please consider making a donation to the Department of Theatre

and Film. Your support helps the development of future theatre and

film professionals. To make a gift, visit bgsu.edu/theatrefilm and click

on “Give,” or contact the BGSU Advancement Office at 419-372-2424.

 

Land Acknowledgement Statement

The region in which Bowling Green State University and its campuses

are situated inhabit the Great Black Swamp and the Lower Great Lakes

region.This land is the homeland of the Wyandot, Kickapoo, Miami,

Potawatomi, Odawa and multiple other Indigenous tribal nations, present

and past, who were forcibly removed to and from the area. We recognize

these historical and contemporary ties in our efforts toward decolonizing

history and thank the Indigenous individuals and communities who have

been living and working on this land from time immemorial.

 

To individuals with disabilities, please indicate if you need special

services, assistance or appropriate modifications to fully participate

in this event by contacting Accessibility Services,access@bgsu.edu,or

419-372-8495, or Theatre and Film. Please notify us prior to the event

 

The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, part of the

Rubenstein Arts Access Program, is generously funded by

David M. Rubenstein.

Special thanks to The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust for

supporting the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ Kennedy

Center American College Theater Festival.

Additional support is provided by The Honorable Stuart Bernstein and

Wilma E. Bernstein; and the Dr. Gerald and Paula McNichols Foundation.

Kennedy Center education and related artistic programming is made

possible through the generosity of the National Committee for the

Performing Arts.

This production is entered in the Kennedy Center American College

Theater Festival (KCACTF). The aims of this national theater education

program are to identify and promote quality in college-level theater

production. To this end, each production entered is eligible for a response

by a regional KCACTF representative, and selected students and faculty

are invited to participate in KCACTF programs involving scholarships,

internships, grants and awards for actors, directors, dramaturgs,

playwrights, designers, stage managers and critics at both the

regional and national levels.

Productions entered on the Participating level are eligible for invitation

to the KCACTF regional festival and may also be considered for national

awards recognizing outstanding achievement in production, design,

direction and performance.

Last year more than 1,500 productions were entered in the KCACTF

involving more than 200,000 students nationwide. By entering this

production, our theater department is sharing in the KCACTF goals to

recognize, reward, and celebrate the exemplary work produced in

college and university theaters across the nation.

 

#Membership in Alpha Psi Omega

 

SPECIAL THANKS

Jonathan Chambers, Heidi Nees, Mary Natvig