Spring Break
Theater group encourages local activism
Community issues focus of group
ERIN LOVETT
Issue date: 8/26/08 Section: Variety
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The Red & Black
Ten years ago, a bohemian district in the capital of Lithuania, gained its independence from the country. Named Uzupis, it is the first republic founded as an artistic socialist society. It has been a hub of creation and unique thought and a center for cultural freedom.
It has also been called a modern day Athens, Greece - and recently, it has found its way to Athens, Ga.
Founded in 2007 by Kyle Collins and University alum Brandon Deyette, Uzupis Theater Company aims to bridge the gap between stage and audience, to be a hub of creation and to spark community action in Georgia's own artistic epicenter.
"The goal is to create a theatrical forum for change to be utilized by the community to speak about the challenges and opportunities we face," Deyette said. "It is an artistic way to speak one's mind."
Deyette is the producing artistic
director of Uzupis, which, only in its
second year, has sent waves throughout
the local community. Its first production, "Nickel and Dimed," after the novel by Joan Holden, examined the struggles of
life on minimum wage. Deyette
said it played an important part in a
debate on the Athens-Clarke County poverty rate.
The show's goal was to "motivate [the audience] to speak about the issues at hand and perhaps do something about it to make a change," Deyette said.
The group also provided informational pamphlets and donated a portion of its proceeds to OneAthens, a non-profit organization that works with members of the community to identify the underlying causes of Athens poverty and develop solutions to those causes.
"It's great to not only entertain but to inform as well, and empower the audience to make decisions for themselves," Deyette said.
Uzupis also hosts an education program begun in early 2008 that sends actors to Barrow County high schools in an effort to raise awareness about issues such as teen pregnancy, eating disorders, depression and to spark discussion amongst the students.
The company's next project focuses on the story behind local non-profit music resource center Nuçi's Space, and the lives that have been touched by the center since its creation in 1999.
Uzupis will be holding auditions this evening at 7 p.m. on North Campus behind the arch and seeks all positions.
In the event of rain,
the auditions will be
postponed to next week. For more information
visit Uzupis Web site at
utcathens.com.
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