HSU to Perform Play Inspired by Abilene
By: News Release
Updated: February 7, 2012
When Hardin-Simmons University presents Shauna Kanter's new play "Birds on a Wire" this month, it will be the world premiere of the same production HSU students will later perform in Scotland at the International Collegiate Theatre Festival at the Fringe in Edinburgh in August 2012.
An experience in Abilene inspired playwright Shauna Kanter as she wrote "Birds on a Wire," a play about the Dust Bowl and a West Texas family who had the fortitude to stay despite the added trouble of foreclosure.
In a blog called TheaterSpeak, Kanter writes that she became interested in the history of Texas while in Abilene directing Shakespeare's Measure for Measure several years ago: "I got to know a lot of the locals and became very interested in the history of Texas. Then, I read a book called The Worst Hard Times, which talked about the Dust Bowl, and I was hooked. Birds on a Wire is about a family who has an unbelievable amount of resilience."
"Shauna is currently in residence here in Abilene to develop the play with our students," says HSU Theatre artistic director and assistant professor of theatre, Ronald Dean Nolen.
Birds on a Wire will open on the HSU campus Feb. 16 - Feb. 26, 2012, Van Ellis Theatre.
An experience in Abilene inspired playwright Shauna Kanter as she wrote "Birds on a Wire," a play about the Dust Bowl and a West Texas family who had the fortitude to stay despite the added trouble of foreclosure.
In a blog called TheaterSpeak, Kanter writes that she became interested in the history of Texas while in Abilene directing Shakespeare's Measure for Measure several years ago: "I got to know a lot of the locals and became very interested in the history of Texas. Then, I read a book called The Worst Hard Times, which talked about the Dust Bowl, and I was hooked. Birds on a Wire is about a family who has an unbelievable amount of resilience."
"Shauna is currently in residence here in Abilene to develop the play with our students," says HSU Theatre artistic director and assistant professor of theatre, Ronald Dean Nolen.
Birds on a Wire will open on the HSU campus Feb. 16 - Feb. 26, 2012, Van Ellis Theatre.
