'The Race 2020'

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Virginia Tech School of Performing Arts

"The Race 2020" investigates how theatre can promote an active conversation about leadership and campaigns.

Online registration for "The Race 2020" has ended. 
Performances for "The Race 2020" are:
Oct. 30 at 7 p.m.
Oct. 31 at 2 p.m.
Nov. 1 at 2 pm.
Nov. 2 at 7 p.m.
Please visit our website at https://www.performingarts.vt.edu/ for other School of Performing Arts events.

“THE RACE 2020”Script/Score by Michael RohdONLINE TICKET RESERVATIONS WILL END ONE HOUR BEFORE THE PERFORMANCE START TIME.Sunday&#x27;s performance will be ASL-interpreted.This productionʼs adaptation by TeAsya Hudson, Keith Patrick McCoy, Courtney Surmanek and Taylor Wood in collaboration with ensemble members Robert &#x27;Doc&#x27; Barham, Riley Gordon, Olivia Holland, Destinee Jones-Elliott, Jack Powell and Chandra Sheppard(show was originally developed and created in 2008 by Sojourn Theatre ensemble members Michael Rohd, Shannon Scrofano, Liam Kaas-Lents &amp; Courtney Davis alongside the original Georgetown University cast)What can we build together in this immense time of culture shift? And who are the leaders we need to call on to trailblaze a rapidly-changing world? &quot;The Race 2020&quot; is an interactive live-streamed workshop theatre performance that combines spectacle and collaborative conversation to investigate the state of our democracy. The production blends performance, call and response, question and answer, dance and karaoke into a participatory, highly choreographed, and at times improvised exploration. In this era of increased partisanship and division, &quot;The Race 2020&quot; examines how theatre can promote an active conversation about leadership and campaigns - a race to discover what binds us together and tears us apart.&quot;The Race 2020&quot; is developed in collaboration with The Civility Project: a hub for inquiry, skills-sharing, and experimentation in civil dialogue and community trust building. Through both projects, we seek to inspire social repair through communication and healthy deliberation. Drawing on social science methods for building empathy and understanding, we’ll explore how storytelling and human communication function in digital environments. We seek to better equip ourselves and our communities to make decisions, and to build consensus around polarizing topics.&quot;The Race 2020&quot; will be presented across the nation in 2020 as part of a festival of performances leading up to the Presidential Election. This adaptation will be created in collaboration with co-directors Courtney Surmanek and Taylor Wood; co-director and costume designer Keith Patrick McCoy; production manager Kendall Payne; co-writer Te’Asya Hudson; multiform artist Tacie Jones; technical director Joe Link; social engagement manager Rachel Pottern Nunn; scenic and props designer Diksha Pilania; intimacy director Cara Rawlings; lighting designer Rachel Weis; planning, policy and collaborative governance expert Todd Schenk; and production assistant Susie Young.​All viewers will be invited to contribute to the conversation via YouTube&#x27;s chat feature during the performance. CODE OF CONDUCTYou will be invited to contribute to the conversation via YouTube&#x27;s chat feature during the performance. We ask that you follow these guidelines:* Be respectful of others in the discussion, which involves being thoughtful in the language you choose * Do not make personal attacks under any circumstance* Be ready to (really) listen as much as, if not more than, you speak* Try to suspend judgment, but do question assumptions* Ask powerful questions. Attempt to understand rather than just persuade* Speak from the “I,” as in “in my experience…” “I believe…” Don’t make assumptions about others* Aim to speak honestly about your reasons for expressing a particular concern or point of view, and avoid holding ‘hidden agendas’.This adaptation of &quot;The Race 2020&quot; is developed in collaboration with TeAsya Hudson, Keith Patrick McCoy, Courtney Surmanek and Taylor Wood, in conjunction with a creative team comprised of Virginia Tech students, faculty, and New River Valley community members.&quot;The Race 2020&quot; is produced by the Virginia Tech School of Performing Arts as part of the Fall 2020 Online Season and supported in part by the Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology’s Major SEAD Grant.If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, please contact Susan Sanders at least 10 business days prior to the event.

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'The Race 2020'

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