College recognizes "elder statesman" of American theater
Middletown Cultural Affairs at Orange County Community College is presenting three programs, through its Lyceum Series, about Director/Author/Critic Harold Clurman. All three programs will take place in Orange Hall Theater. Harold Clurman grew up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan and came to formulate his vision of a new American theater through his life experiences with Yiddish Theater, his roommate and cousin Aaron Copland, the Provincetown Players and Actor/Director Lee Strasberg. The first program in the series is a lecture by Jane T. Peterson, Ph.D., titled "Harold Clurman, The Group Theatre, and His Influence on Broadway." The lecture, scheduled for 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 17, is free and open to the public. Dr. Peterson is the chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance at Montclair State University, where she teaches theater history, literature, criticism and theory courses in the undergraduate and graduate programs. The second program is a play created by and starring Ronald Rand, titled "Let It Be Art!: Harold Clurman’s Life of Passion." The performance will take place at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 22. Tickets are available at $8 adults; $7 senior citizens, alumni, faculty and staff; $4 for non-SUNY Orange students; free for SUNY Orange students. Group rates are also available. The third program in the series is a workshop titled "The Art of Transformation," during which Ronald Rand demonstrates how an actor immerses himself into a role and embodies the character both physically and mentally. This workshop is set for 2:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 23, and is free and open to the public. In addition to studying with Harold Clurman, himself, Rand has attended the New York University School of the Arts and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. Orange Hall, which is universally accessible, is located at the corner of Wawayanda and Grandview Avenues on the SUNY Orange campus in Middletown. Call 845-341-4891, e-mail cultural@sunyorange.edu or visit www.sunyorange.edu/lyceum for more information.