The 2008 Royal Shakespeare Company Residency will include a new play project.

During four weeks in the winter of 2008, a new play will be created on the campus of Davidson College. Davidson invites you to be part of the journey, from script to stage.

Because of the remarkable collaborative relationship it has developed with Davidson since the first residency in 2002, the Royal Shakespeare Company has chosen this campus as the place where highly-respected British playwright Rona Munro will develop a new play, set in the era when Cold War super powers were racing to conquer space.

Munro’s play is about a key moment in twentieth century history. Spanning twenty years, she replays the dramatic efforts leading to Apollo 11 and the first moon landing.

Using the vast backdrop of the Cold War to create an epic structure and focusing in on the domestic stories of the astronauts’ lives, Munro explores idealism and inspiration in a seemingly more innocent era: pre-Vietnam America.

Together with award-winning British director Roxana Silbert and a cast of RSC actors, Munro will be doing something exceptional at Davidson. Arriving with only a concept and preliminary scripting, she will spend an intensive four weeks developing the play.

While on campus, the playwright and director will engage students and faculty in discussions of this pivotal moment in American history. The insights gained from these discussions will directly impact the development of the scenes of the new work as they are sculpted into a complete narrative. Day by day, the creative team will build the new work in the rehearsal room, the script being informed by the actors’ and director's theatrical skills.

This collaborative process is both a product in itself and the means to an exciting end: a brand new work, seen for the first time in work-in-progress performances on the stage of the Duke Family Performance Hall on February 15, 16, and 17.

Performance times:
Friday, February 15: 7:30 pm
Saturday, February 16: 7:30 pm
Sunday, February 17: 2:00 pm

For more information, please contact Sherry Malushizky, Director of Artist Residency Programs, at shmalushizky@davidson.edu or by calling 704-894-2101.