Student theater performance brings evocative letters to life

Cornell's Department of Theatre, Film and Dance will present the riveting "Very Truly Yours ...," an original piece developed and directed by undergraduate students Kathleya Afanador, Katherine Galasso and Satya Stainton. Performances will be held Nov. 12-14 at the Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts.

Inspired by the best-selling book Letters of the Century, edited by renowned journalists Lisa Grunwald and Stephen J. Adler, this production explores the emotion of the personal letter by translating written correspondence into a multimedia performance. Letters are explored through the use of the spoken word, dance, 16mm film projection and live music.

The personal correspondence reflects an extraordinary chronicle of our collective history, through the words of men and women who lived in its greatest moments. Some are heartbreaking, others uplifting; all are intensely personal: A man whose wife had an emergency hysterectomy due to the disastrous Dalkon Shield IUD of the 1970s writing a letter to the child he would never have; Ernest Hemingway's letter to his great friend F. Scott Fitzgerald, discussing his perfect vision of heaven complete with his "nine beautiful mistresses" and "illegitimate children that lined the roads"; a Beatles fan writing to the band proposing marriage, declaring that she would make "some Beatle a lovely wife" but would give "first choice to the prettiest one," George Harrison.

The talented cast includes: Brandt Adams, Daniel Crawford, Anya Degenshein, Elizabeth DeSantis, Diane Gabl, Tiffany Garcia, Alexander Herrald, Laura Karlin, Max Klein, Yvonne Sain, Micheal Somersel, Kate Shearman and Vijay Vachani. Live music is directed by Robert Whalen and performed by Katherine Skovira (flute), Lenora Schneller (clarinet), Ye-Jin Shin (violin), Abraham Katzen (cello), Joshua Groffman (piano) and Robert Whalen (percussion).

Performances will be held Friday, Nov. 12, at 4:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 13, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 14, at 7:30 p.m. at the Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets are available at the Schwartz Center box office and are $2 in advance. Call 254-ARTS or visit the box office 12:30-5:30 p.m. weekdays for more information.