TABLE OF CONTENTS

CONTACT: Suzanne C. Miller
Assistant Director of Public Relations
Office: (717) 691-6027 ext. 1
E-mail: scmiller@messiah.edu

Messiah College's Theatre for Social Change to present "The Two Americas: Healthcare"

	Messiah College students will perform "The Two Americas: Healthcare" at the Whitaker Center in Harrisburg. Click on image to download print-quality version

GRANTHAM, Pa. ( Nov. 11, 2004) — Messiah College’s Theatre for Social Change class will present “The Two Americas: Healthcare” on Dec. 2-3 at 8 p.m. at Harrisburg’s Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts, Stage Two Underground. Tickets cost $8 for adults and $4 for students. For more information or to purchase tickets, call the Messiah College ticket office at (717) 691-6036.

Co-sponsored by the college’s Harrisburg Institute for Community Research and Collaborative Partnerships and the Department of Theatre, “The Two Americas: Healthcare” is a dialogue on healthcare in the United States presenting documentary stories from residents in the greater Harrisburg area who are insured, underinsured and uninsured.

The Theatre for Social Change class encourages students to use peacemaking skills within their own communities through performance and engagement.

“The college’s mission to educate young women and men toward maturity of intellect, character and Christian faith requires the Messiah College student to interface with complex local and global issues,” said Valerie Smith, course professor and chair of the theatre department. “This course proceeds with both grace and skepticism as it considers the work of social activists and artists who use theatre to expose unjust social and political systems.”

During their Theatre for Social Change class at Messiah College, students used their training and certification in human subject research to conduct interviews with members of the central Pennsylvania community about healthcare. These interviews were then used as the dialogue for “The Two Americas: Healthcare” script. The culmination of the class’ work is this production, based upon the assumption that Pennsylvania has a health care problem.

About Messiah College

Messiah College, a private Christian college of the liberal and applied arts and sciences, enrolls more than 2,900 undergraduate students in 50 majors. Established in 1909, the primary campus is located in Grantham, Pa., near the state capital of Harrisburg. A satellite campus affiliated with Temple University is located in Philadelphia.

# # #

ARTICLE DATE: THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 11 , 2004
ARTICLE NUMBER: MC-150-04

[an error occurred while processing this directive]