Harper Lee Classic 'To Kill a Mockingbird' Kicks Off Brind School's Main Stage Series

The Ira Brind School of Theater Arts at the University of the Arts kicks off its 2009 - 2010 Main Stage performance series with Harper Lee's 1960 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel "To Kill a Mockingbird." The production is the first of four Main Stage shows to be presented by the Brind School this season.

Adapted for the stage by Christopher Sergel, "To Kill a Mockingbird" is a gripping coming-of-age tale about honor and injustice set in a virulently prejudicial fictional town of Maycomb, Ala. The world's beauty and savage inequities are seen through the eyes of a young girl, "Scout" Finch, as her father, Atticus Finch, a crusading local lawyer, risks everything to defend a black man unjustly accused of a terrible crime.

"‘To Kill a Mockingbird' is widely known and loved as a great work of literature," said Brind School Director Charles Gilbert. "Presenting this work onstage gives us a wonderful opportunity to bring the characters and the drama to life in a memorable way."

The production is directed by University Associate Professor Amy Feinberg, head of the Brind School's Directing, Playwriting and Production program, and producing artistic director of New York City's Hypothetical Theatre Company. "Mockingbird" is a special production to Feinberg, who says she feels "a kindred spirit with Scout." Feinberg, a Jewish Southerner who split her childhood between Columbus, Ga., and Atlanta, was raised by her African-American nanny, Clara.

"My family experienced blatant discrimination," said Feinberg, "When I was in seventh grade, I came home to a swastika on my front door with a threatening note to be gone within two weeks. My father packed up the house and we moved inside of the deadline to a more accepting neighborhood.

"Memory is a funny thing. It can be romantic and nostalgic on one-hand and haunting on another. The narrative point of view, revisiting your past for the sake being able to learn the lessons that were taught once again as an adult is a very powerful and stage-worthy journey."

The production stars Theater Arts senior Nick Muni (Sewell, N.J. / Washington Township H.S.) as Atticus Finch; Theater Arts sophomore Mary "Brandi" Burgess (Birmingham, Ala. / Alabama School of Fine Arts) as Jean Louise; Theater Arts senior Jacqui Real (Bayville, N.Y. / Locust Valley H.S.) as Scout Finch; Theater Arts senior Joe Matyas (Wharton, N.J. / Seton Hall Preparatory School) as Jem Finch; Theater Arts senior Hannah Gavagan (Stafford, Va. / Brooke Point H.S.) as Maudie Atkinson; and Theater Arts sophomore Jeff Budner (Santa Ana, Calif. / Orange County School of the Arts) as Dill.

The show will be staged at the University's Arts Bank Theater (601 S. Broad St.) and runs October 9 - 10 and 15 - 17 at 8 p.m. and October 10, 11 and 17 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $20 for general admission, $10 for senior citizens (65+) and non-University of the Arts students, and $5 for children (9-14) and University of the Arts alumni. Tickets are available online at uarts.ticketleap.com.

For over 25 years, the Ira Brind School of Theater Arts at the University of the Arts has trained aspiring professionals for careers in the theater. Each of its four BFA programs - Acting; Directing, Playwriting and Production; Musical Theater; and Theater Design and Technology - combines highly focused technique training with a comprehensive exploration of the artist's role in society. Brind School alumni like Jen Childs (artistic director of 1812 Productions) and Ben Dibble (winner of the F. Otto Haas Emerging Artist Award) are well known to Philadelphia audiences. On the national scene, Brind School alumni can also be found in the cast and backstage at Broadway shows like "Hair," "Wicked" and "August Osage County," and popular television shows (Ana Ortiz in "Ugly Betty" and KaDee Strickland in "Private Practice"). Get all the latest Brind School developments on the Web, "Now on Stage" page, Twitter feed or Facebook page.

The University of the Arts is the nation's first and only university dedicated to the visual, performing and communication arts. Its 2,400 students are enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs on its campus in the heart of Philadelphia's Avenue of the Arts. The institution's roots as a leader in educating creative individuals date back to 1868.