Kuntu Repertory Theatre Launches 2002-2003 Season With "Hieroglyphic Graffiti"

October 3, 2002

PITTSBURGH—The University of Pittsburgh's internationally known Kuntu Repertory Theatre launches its 2002-2003 season dedicated to "mentors and protégés" on Oct. 17 with Chadwick Boseman's "Hieroglyphic Graffiti."

Running through Nov. 2, "Hieroglyphic Graffiti" is a modern retelling of the ancient Egyptian myth of Ausar, featuring gods in an urban setting who have a profound impact on a contemporary family.

Boseman received the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Howard University. He also is a graduate of the British Dramatic Academy at Oxford University and a Drama League Directing Fellow. His mentor is Sybil Roberts, a poet, playwright, and professor of theatre arts at Howard University. (Kuntu will perform Roberts' production of "Mumia" Nov. 8-10.)

As an actor, Boseman has played Romeo in "Romeo and Juliet" and Malcolm in "Macbeth" with the National Shakespeare Company of New York. He recently appeared in Ron Milner's "Urban Transitions at the New Federal Theatre in New York City. He also is a cowriter and performer in the hip-hop theater production "A Rhyme Deferred," and this summer he performed a one-man show titled "Red Clay and Carved Concrete" at the Hip-Hop Theatre Festival in New York City.

"Hieroglyphic Graffiti" was performed previously at the National Black Theatre Festival in Winston-Salem, N.C.

The cast for the Kuntu production includes Leslie Howard, Erick Irvis, Vanessa German, Haston Lowman, Robert Brown, and Jayson Brooks.

"Hieroglyphic Graffiti" is supported with grants from Dominion, Equitable Gas Company, and WDUQ-FM.

Performances are held Thursdays through Sundays in the Seventh-Floor Auditorium of Alumni Hall (formerly the Masonic Temple), 4227 Fifth Avenue, in Oakland. Performances start Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. Sunday curtain time is 4 p.m. There will be a special student and senior citizen matinee at 11 a.m. on Oct. 31.

For ticket and group sales information, call 412/624-7298, or visit www.kuntu.org. Season subscriptions as well as student and senior citizen discounts are available.

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10/3/02/tmw