MCCC West End Student Theatre And Theatre Arts Program To Present Sam Shepard’s ‘A Lie Of The Mind’‏

Photo: Students Tess Devlin and Tyler Sanderson rehearse for Montgomery County Community College (MCCC) West End Student Theatre and Theatre Arts program’s “A Lie of the Mind,” April 21-23, at 7 p.m., with a 12:30 p.m. performance Friday, April 22. All performances will be held in the College’s South Hall Community Room, 101 College Drive, Pottstown. Photo by Sandi Yanisko.

Pottstown, PA—Montgomery County Community College (MCCC) West End Student Theatre and Theatre Arts program are proud to present “A Lie of the Mind,” a darkly comic family drama by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Sam Shepard. Show dates are Thursday, Friday and Saturday, April 21-23, at 7 p.m., with a 12:30 p.m. performance Friday, April 22.  All performances will be held in the College’s South Hall Community Room, 101 College Drive, Pottstown.

Tickets cost $10 for general admission and $5 for students and seniors. To purchase tickets, please visit http://www.mc3.edy/livelyarts or call 215-641-6518.  A portion of the proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to Laurel House, offering services for victims of domestic abuse and their families.

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Sam Shepard’s “A Lie of the Mind” follows two families in the Montana plains, connected by one marriage and a brutal incident which leaves the wife, Beth, in her family’s care.  Filled with enormous vitality, and humor, it explores the destinies of Jake and Beth, torn apart by jealousies and distrust, welded together by the needs of the human heart and the destructiveness which it can engender.

“This is the reason why I feel art is so powerful,” says director Samantha Clarke. “One in four women will experience abuse in their life. With numbers like that, it’s hard not to accept that abuse knows no race, gender, socioeconomic status, or creed. However, abuse, harassment, and discrimination often go without a voice; this play gives us a voice in which to speak for those who cannot, will not, or know not how.” This production contains adult language and themes.

In conjunction with the production, the students of West End Student Theatre will be creating a ‘Post Secret’ wall to offer a voice for members of the community who are facing domestic abuse, bullying, harassment, and discrimination. Anonymous drop boxes will be available on campus, and students and community members may leave a note to be posted on the ‘Post Secret’ wall at the South Hall Community Room during performances.

“The drop boxes will also have resources and literature available,” says West End Student Theatre advisor Tim Gallagher. “We want the opportunity to speak to empower the members of our community who are dealing with these issues.”

Samantha Clarke and stage managed by Morgan Carasquillo, the cast includes Kayla Velasquez, Eric Reyes, Hailee Tyson, Tess Devlin, Hunter Thorsen, Tyler Sanderson, and Joe Donley. The production is designed, produced and presented by the students of the West End Student Theatre, under the guidance of Tim Gallagher and Christopher Kleckner.

Some Pennsylvania Towns Evict Tenants Based On 911 Calls

Despite a state law signed last year to avoid such circumstances, some communities are still applying parts of local ordinances that allow them to have “disruptive” tenants evicted if more than a few calls to 911 have been made from a residence — even when those calls result from domestic abuse.

The American Civil Liberties Union is involved in a current case in Verona and worked with a woman in Mount Oliver who faced a similar situation last summer. In 2013, the ACLU filed a federal lawsuit against Norristown, Pa., after the organization said officials there pushed for the eviction of a woman who was a victim of domestic violence.

Sara Rose, an attorney at the ACLU of Pennsylvania, said it’s hard to tell how often these types of ordinances —  intended to prevent disruptive behavior — are being used as punishment when tenants call 911. Several municipalities in the state have such ordinances, but Ms. Rose said she’s not aware of any towns that have repealed or changed them since then-Gov. Tom Corbett signed the new law in November.

“Just having it creates a chilling effect on tenants who might be afraid to call the police,” she said.

Read more:

http://www.post-gazette.com/local/2015/04/04/Some-Pennsylvania-towns-evicting-tenants-based-on-911-calls/stories/201504040090