People’s Light & Theatre Company presents I HAVE BEFORE ME A REMARKABLE DOCUMENT GIVEN TO ME BY A YOUNG LADY FROM RWANDA, written by Sonja Linden, from May 28 – June 22, 2008 on the Steinbright Stage. David Bradley directs. People’s Light & Theatre is located at 39 Conestoga Road, Malvern. For tickets call 610.644.3500 or visit www.peopleslight.org.

I HAVE BEFORE ME A REMARKABLE DOCUMENT GIVEN TO ME BY A YOUNG LADY FROM RWANDA is a wonderful, human story about a young refugee of the 1994 Rwandan genocide who attends classes in writing at a refugee center in London. She meets a struggling and disillusioned middle-aged novelist who helps her to write honestly about her tragic experiences. The power of this connection through storytelling ultimately benefits them both and helps them to heal their very different wounds.

The play’s author, Sonja Linden, is an award-winning playwright, whose plays have been produced in London and in regional theatres in the UK, as well as in the United States and Australia. I HAVE BEFORE ME A REMARKABLE DOCUMENT GIVEN TO ME BY A YOUNG LADY FROM RWANDA was written in response to Ms. Linden’s encounters with a number of young Rwandan refugees at the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture, where she was a writer in residence from 1997-2004. She set up the Write to Life Project, a creative writing program that encourages clients to discharge painful experiences through the act of writing.

People’s Light will present a series of banquet dinners and discussions in partnership with three area organizations – the Genocide Intervention Network, Rwanda Healing Project and Darfur Alert Coalition. Representatives from each of these organizations will be our guests at three dinner events that will be held on Sundays at 4pm during the run of the show (except for Sunday, June 1, 2008). Proceeds from each event will benefit that event’s participating organization. Speakers include Stephanie Nyombayire, a Genocide Intervention Network representative and Rwandan student now studying at Swarthmore College; Alan Jacobson, Rwanda Healing Project; Fatima Haroun, Vice President, Darfur Alert Coalition; and Jim Remsen, Vice President and Acting Executive Director, Darfur Alert Coalition. These events are open to the public. Tickets are $40 for the dinner and discussion, and tickets for the production must be purchased separately. Call the box office at 610.644.3500 for reservations. For more information on these events and speaker bios visit www.peopleslight.org.

Director David Bradley says, “We produce events such as these for our audiences so that we can put the production in the urgent context of what’s going on in the world now—the rebuilding of Rwanda, the ongoing genocide in Darfur, the need to make connections with those around the world who are in need. People’s Light believes that theatre is a meeting place and a catalyst for sharing stories that can inspire empathy and action, and that’s why we want not only to produce this play, but to inspire a deeper conversation that can take the ideas of the play out into our community and the world.”

I HAVE BEFORE ME A REMARKABLE DOCUMENT GIVEN TO ME BY A YOUNG LADY FROM RWANDA previews on Wednesday, May 28th and Thursday, May 29th at 7:30pm. The show opens on Friday, May 30th at 8pm and runs through June 22, 2008. Tickets are now on sale and cost $29 - $48, with special discounts available for students, seniors, and groups of 10 or more. Audiences are encouraged to join the artists after each Thursday night performance to discuss the production.

Two-show subscriptions for the remaining shows in the 2007/2008 Season are still available at a significant savings. The two-show package includes I Have Before Me a Remarkable Document Given to Me by a Young Lady from Rwanda (May 28 – June 22, 2008) and Sherlock Holmes & The Case of the Jersey Lily (June 18 – July 13, 2008). For information, tickets, and subscriptions, please call the box office at 610.644.3500 or visit www.peopleslight.org.

Special performances and discounts, in addition to discount meal packages and talk-backs with the artists are available for groups of 10 or more. For more information or to purchase group tickets, call 610.647.1900, ext. 134 or email group@peopleslight.org.

KEY BIOS

David Bradley (Director) is a long-time company member at People's Light and from 2002-2006 was Associate Artistic Director, jointly leading Project Discovery. He has just returned from Indianapolis, where he directed James Still's Iron Kisses at the Indiana Repertory Theatre. Prior to that, he was at the National Constitution Center, where he's Artistic Director of Living News, a theatre piece about constitutional issues which began its fourth cycle of performances this spring. His more than 20 People's Light productions include the pantos Treasure Island, Robin Hood and Jack & the Beanstalk, as well as The Giver, The Crucible, Holes, He Held Me Grand, A View from the Bridge, Jungalbook, Pretty Fire, The Diary of Anne Frank and Hush: An Interview with America. He has also directed Searching for Eden and He Held Me Grand at Indiana Repertory Theatre, and has directed at Children's Theatre Company in Minneapolis. He is currently writing a play on youth civic engagement to be produced by Scholastic, Inc. at Democracy Plaza in Rockefeller Center prior to the fall election. In addition to directing and writing, David works as an arts educator and consultant, collaborating recently with World Café Live, Philadelphia Young Playwrights, Spiral Q Puppet Theater, the Rosenbach Museum, A Total Approach and TRF. A graduate of Yale University, David lives in the Mt. Airy section of Philadelphia with his wife Margaret and sons Jacob and Noah.

David Ingram (Simon) last appeared at People’s Light in the role of Mitch Albom in Tuesdays with Morrie. Before that, he played the Knight/Falconer in Midons, or The Object of Desire, Jerry in Once in a Lifetime, Antrobus in The Skin of Our Teeth, and Dodo/Chandebise in A Flea in Her Ear. David has also directed here, most recently The Foreigner, and The Yellow Line and July 7, 1994 as part of 30Fest. Elsewhere, he was seen in Rounding Third (Theatre Exile), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Philadelphia Shakespeare Company), It’s All True (Interact Theater), among others. David is part of the Theater Department of Temple University, where he produces New Voices, Temple’s annual collaboration with Philadelphia Young Playwrights, and directs Shakespeare Live!, Temple’s annual touring show.

Miriam Hyman (Juliette) made her debut with PLTC in The Man from Nebraska, for which she received a 2006 Barrymore nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress. She returned last season to play Viola in Twelfth Night and was nominated for an F. Otto Haas award for an emerging artist. Since earning a BFA from UArts in ‘03, she’s been in The Big Friendly Giant (Arden Theater Company), The Merchant of Venice and the Linny Fowler Tours of Taming of the Shrew and Romeo and Juliet (Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival), The Story (Philadelphia Theater Company), Resurrection Blues (The Wilma), The Skin of Our Teeth (Bristol Riverside Theater), An Artist’s Workshop (Azuka Theater Collective), Live and In Color (Black Theater Festival), Black Nativity (Freedom Theater) and countless productions with Philadelphia and Delaware Young Playwrights Festivals. Her TV and film credits include The Wire, Conviction, Law & Order, the HBO feature film Angel, Inclinations and Big Picture Alliance’s Music City. Miriam is a member of AEA and SAG.

Sonja Linden (Playwright) is an award-winning playwright whose plays have been produced in London and in regional theatres in the UK, as well as in the United States and Australia. I HAVE BEFORE ME A REMARKABLE DOCUMENT GIVEN TO ME BY A YOUNG LADY FROM RWANDA was written in response to her encounters with a number of young Rwandan refugees at the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture, where she was a writer in residence from 1997-2004. Here she set up the Write to Life Project, a creative and testimonial writing program offering clients of the Foundation the opportunity to discharge their painful experiences of persecution and exile through the act of writing. Her concern to make these voices public led to her founding iceandfire theatre company, of which she is currently the Artistic Director.

WHAT:
I HAVE BEFORE ME A REMARKABLE DOCUMENT GIVEN TO ME BY A YOUNG LADY FROM RWANDA by Sonja Linden

WHEN:
May 28 – June 22, 2008 on the Steinbright Stage

WHERE:
People’s Light & Theatre Company
39 Conestoga Road, Malvern, PA 19355

PRICES:
Tickets are $29 - $48, with special discounts available for students, seniors, and groups of 10 or more.

GROUPS:
Meal and ticket packages available for groups of 10 or more at Places! Bistro, an on-site restaurant. Call Adria Charles for more information at 610.647.1900, ext. 134 or email group@peopleslight.org.

CONTACT:
For tickets or information call the Box Office at 610.644.3500 or visit www.peopleslight.org

PRODUCTION TEAM:
By Sonja Linden
Directed by David Bradley
Scenic Design by Arthur R. Rotch
Costume Design by Abbie Wysor
Lighting Design by Dennis Parichy
Original Music and Soundscape by Michael Keck
Dialect Coaching by Lynne Innerst
Dramaturgy by Elizabeth Pool

CAST:
Simon - David Ingram
Juliette - Miriam Hyman