Download FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 12, 2014 CONTACT: StageOne

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 12, 2014
CONTACT:
StageOne Family Theatre
Hannah Wemitt
[email protected]
Muhammad Ali Center
Jeanie Kahnke
[email protected]
The Kentucky Center
Rob Thomas
[email protected]
StageOne Family Theatre, Muhammad Ali Center, Kentucky Center
To hold joint press conference on upcoming Muhammad Ali Partnership
StageOne Family Theatre, in partnership with the Muhammad Ali Center and the Kentucky Center, will hold a press conference on
Thursday, August 21, at 10 a.m. in the Auditorium of the Muhammad Ali Center to announce their upcoming New Play Development
Series project, And In This Corner…Cassius Clay; which will serve over 25,000 area school children at little to no cost. Press
conference speakers will include Mayor Greg Fisher, JCPS Superintendent Dr. Donna Hargens, and Playwright Idris Goodwin; along
with Executive leaders Peter Holloway (Producing Artistic Director, StageOne), Donald E. Lassere (President and CEO, Ali Center), and
Kim Baker (President, The Kentucky Center).
With more than 30 world premieres over its long history, StageOne Family Theatre has always been committed to the creation of
new plays for young audiences. Focusing on human rights issues, StageOne reached out to nationally acclaimed playwright Idris
Goodwin to commission a new play on a young Cassius Clay, now known as Muhammad Ali, who grew up in a deeply segregated
Louisville, KY. StageOne felt it was important to share Ali’s boyhood story, through the eyes of Goodwin, with the youth in this
community in order to preserve Ali’s legacy and inspire the next generation of young leaders.
Sharing similar missions of inspiration and compassion, the Muhammad Ali Center and The Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts
were immediately approached as partners in this project. Collectively, a dual-venue experience was established for students grades
four through twelve, providing them the opportunity to not only experience the play in the state-of the-art Bomhard Theater at the
Kentucky Center, but also to tour the world-renowned Muhammad Ali Center at little to no cost. This collaboration aims to serve
more than 25,000 students in just under a month.
Recognizing the tremendous impact this would have for these students, JCPS Superintendent Dr. Donna Hargens and Director of
Curriculum Suzanne Wright set a goal for EVERY middle school student in the JCPS system to have this experience, and are working
with StageOne to create a scholarship pool that would underwrite ticket costs for low-income schools, removing any financial
barrier.
“Our investment in the arts is truly an investment in the future of our community,” said Dr. Donna Hargens, JCPS Superintendent.
“The arts not only teach empathy, but build connections between students and the world around them; empowering each young
mind with the ability to think for themselves and consider the kind of person they want to be.”
This project aligns with the Muhammad Ali Center’s goal of empowering young people to find their voice and become leaders in
social justice issues.
“The Muhammad Ali Center could not be more pleased about this community partnership that will provide a whole new generation
with the inspiring story of Muhammad Ali’s youth,” said Donald Lassere, President and CEO of the Muhammad Ali Center. “We hope
this theatrical rendition furthers the community pride in Louisville’s hometown hero, provides motivation for our young people to
pursue greatness, and creates more excitement about Muhammad Ali’s legacy and its Louisville connection.”
Both organizations are proud to provide this opportunity to so many students across the community, many of whom would never be
exposed to the arts outside of their schools. This experience would not be possible without the support and cooperation of The
Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts, which strives to provide artistically diverse performances of the highest quality. Since The
Center’s opening in 1983, StageOne Family Theatre has been THE resident theater group of the Moritz Von Bomhard Theater; and
continues to operate in tandem with the Kentucky Center through education and initiatives which expand and diversify audiences
while enhancing their understanding, appreciation and support for the arts.
“The Kentucky Center is excited about this partnership because it harnesses our collective expertise to provide a very powerful and
important educational experience to the youth in our community,” said Kim Baker, president of the Kentucky Center. “We strive to
work with many organizations in an effort to grow our state’s arts heritage and to fulfill our mission. We are also proud to be a
leader in the Compassion movement along with Mayor Fischer and other organizations. The Kentucky Center is fully committed to
upholding the Charter for Compassion with elements such as empowerment, transparency, hospitality and abundance in all that we
do.”
In total, And In This Corner…Cassius Clay will run for 41 performances from January 20 – February 15, 2015. A preview night gala is
planned for Saturday, January 17, 2015, Ali’s 73rd birthday. Justin Cornwell, a Chicago-based actor who graduated from Louisville’s
Eastern High School and continued his education at the University of Louisville, is cast as Cassius.
Public performances are scheduled for January 19, 24 and 31, and February 7 and 14. Ticket buyers will also have the opportunity to
experience the play and tour the Ali Center as both organizations will be offering discounts when they show their ticket stub. For
more information about the dual field trip at the Kentucky Center and Muhammad Ali Center, visit this link:
http://www.stageone.org/field-trip-and-in-this-corner-cassius-clay/.
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ABOUT THE PLAY
StageOne Family Theatre Presents
And In This Corner…Cassius Clay
There have been African American sports heroes whose celebrity helped shine light on the struggles of the communities from which
they emerged, but there was no one more colorful, dynamic and larger than life than the one and only, the true greatest of all time,
Muhammad Ali. Before he shook up the world he was just Cassius Clay, Jr., from Louisville, and the Louisville where he grew up in
the 1950s was not like Louisville today…
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT, IDRIS GOODWIN
Idris Goodwin is a playwright, spoken word performer and essayist. His play How We Got On, developed at the O’Neill National
Playwrights Conference, premiered in Actors Theatre’s 2012 Humana Festival and is being produced at theaters across the country.
Goodwin is currently developing new stage works with Denver Center Theatre Company, as well as his world premiere with
StageOne Family Theatre. This is Modern Art (co-written with Kevin Coval for Steppenwolf Theatre Company) was selected for the
2014 New Visions/New Voices program at the Kennedy Center. Goodwin is a Core Writer for The Playwrights’ Center and has
enjoyed writing residencies with Berkeley Repertory Theatre and the New Harmony Project. These Are The Breaks (Write Bloody,
2011), his debut collection of essays and poetry, was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. He’s performed on HBO, The Discovery
Channel, Sesame Street and National Public Radio. Goodwin teaches performance writing and hip hop aesthetics at Colorado
College.
ABOUT STAGEONE FAMILY THEATRE
Founded in 1946, StageOne Family Theatre is Louisville’s longest running professional theater company, and has introduced more
than 3 million area children to the performing arts. With broadly inclusive programming, strategic partnerships, new play
development, expanded education offerings and high-quality productions, StageOne is targeted squarely on its mission as not only
the gateway to the arts for the children of this community but also as a hub for arts education that impacts area students from prekindergarten all the way to college. In all, StageOne serves over 90,000 students and families each year. To learn more, visit
www.stageone.org.
ABOUT THE MUHAMMAD ALI CENTER
144 North Sixth Street, Louisville, KY 40202
The Muhammad Ali Center, a 501(c)3 corporation, was co-founded by Muhammad Ali and his wife Lonnie in their hometown of
Louisville. The international cultural center promotes the Six Core Principles of Muhammad Ali in ways that inspire personal and
global greatness and provides programming and events around the focus areas of education, gender equity, and global citizenship.
Its newest initiative, Generation Ali, fosters a new generation of leaders to contribute positively to their communities and to change
the world for the better. The Center’s headquarters also contains an award-winning museum experience. For more information,
please visit www.alicenter.org.
ABOUT THE KENTUCKY CENTER
501 West Main Street, Louisville, KY 40202
The Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts brings the finest in music, dance, theater and more to Kentucky! Known as the hub for
Louisville’s nationally-renowned arts scene, The Kentucky Center is home to StageOne Family Theatre, The Louisville Orchestra,
Kentucky Opera, Louisville Ballet, and PNC Bank Broadway Across America – Louisville, as well as a host of community theaters and
Kentucky Center Presents performances. Through its programming and education departments, The Center is able to bring the arts
to virtually all of Kentucky’s 120 counties, and its access services ensure that everyone can experience the wonders of the
performing arts without barriers or restrictions. The Center strives to challenge, stimulate, and entertain while operating in a fiscally
responsible manner and acting as an economic and cultural catalyst for the Commonwealth. For more information, please visit
www.kentuckycenter.org.