Up & Coming Weekly

January 29, 2019

Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.

Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1076442

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 12 of 28

12 UCW JANUARY 30-FEBRUARY 5, 2019 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Gilbert eater continues its season with "Doubt," which will run Feb. 1-17. e play is by John Patrick Shanley. Gilbert eater Artis- tic Director Matthew Overturf will direct it. "is play is set in 1964, and the playwright, John Patrick Shanley, writes in the prologue that when he wrote it, he thought about this time and it was as if the world was go- ing through a giant puberty," said Overturf. "ere was so much change occurring during this time, such as e Civil Rights Act being passed. And John F. Kennedy had just been assassinated the year before." Overturf noted that the Catholic Church had just gone through a significant change. e Vatican II Council was trying to become more open and welcoming and look a bit more like the communities it served, he explained. Everything was shifting and changing during this time. e drama involves Sister Aloysius, a Bronx Catholic school principal, who takes matters into her own hands when she suspects the parish priest, Father Flynn, of improper rela- tions with one of the male students. As Aloysius and the Father face off, it brings out the worst in both of them and reveals weaknesses, humanity and doubt in so many things. e production deals with the struggle of faith and doubt, right and wrong, and the gray area in between. "e male student happens to be the first African-American student in the school be- cause the school had just become desegregat- ed," said Overturf. "Basically, the play becomes about Sister Aloysius' crusade against Father Flynn. She brings on Sister James, a fairly young nun, to kind of help in this because (Sis- ter James) is the teacher of the student." e play is called "Doubt" for a reason. "ere are a lot of circumstantial things and a lot of ideas that Sister Aloysius has that may not necessarily be founded in facts or truths, but she has her suspicions," said Overturf. "And those, to her, are just as important as any facts." Overturf continued, "We have a phenome- nal cast. It is an important play for me because I fell in love with it in college and always wanted to direct it. It is a hard-hitting play. "What I love about it is that it is guaranteed to cause you to leave and talk about it. People will be discussing it and what they believe the outcome is because it is a wonderful show." For more information, or to purchase tickets, visit www.gilberttheater.com or call 910-678-7186. Gilbert Theater brings 'Doubt' to Fayetteville by DR. SHANESSA FENNER EVENT DR. SHANESSA FENNER, Principal, WT Brown Elementary School. COM- MENTS? Editor@upandcomingweekly. com. 910-484-6200. Gilbert Theater presents "Doubt," a play written by John Patrick Shanley and directed by Gilbert Theater Artistic Director Matthew Overturf, Feb. 1-17. Dr. Marilyn Lanier is an assistant professor in the Department of Elementary Education at Fayetteville State University. She is also the founder and organizer of the "Fall in Love with Math, Science & the Arts Expo." She put on the inaugural event in 2016. It had 25 booths and saw 300 attendees. Fast forward to 2018 and there were 64 booths, and 800 people attended the expo. is year, Lanier hopes to see well over 1,000 people at the expo, which will take place Saturday, Feb. 16, at Fayetteville State University Capel Arena. It's a celebration of math, science and the arts. e entire event is designed specifically to have fun but also to spark a passion for discovery and learning. "e country is moving into science and math, so STEM, which stands for science, technology, engineering and math, covers a little of all these areas," Lanier said. "is expo is a place where students can delve into science and try hands-on things. Students get to experience a variety of areas where they can see and get a good idea of what STEM is." Lanier promised guests will find plenty to keep them engaged — including a trip to the FSU Aquarium. "We will shuttle them over to the science building, where they can take part in observing or- ganisms and do hands-on activities," she said. "Last year, they were able to touch lobsters. It was such an amazing experience. You could see on their faces that they were excited about that." Look for static displays, including fire trucks, patrol cars, and an ambulance where people can get inside the vehicles and see how they work and talk to the people who use them. ere will be plenty of other kinds of technology, too. "We will have robots," Lanier said. "ey can get finger-printed, see small animals and even do putt- putt. Science is everywhere and that is what we want to show people. For example, putt-putt involves physics." ough she leads the charge, Lanier said she is thankful for the support from the community. "When I started this, I wanted to connect with the community, and, because I'm a science person, I wanted to make hands-on experiences available to children. Being an educator, I know there is limited time in school where kids get a chance to do science hands-on." She is not alone in her enthusiasm for shar- ing the joy of learning. She partners with the Cumberland County Public Library and Infor- mation Center and the Cumberland County Schools system as well as other institutions, including Methodist University. e expo is free to attend. "We try to make things very accessible," Lanier said. "We want to get the message of STEM out there. We will have a lot of giveaways, and each booth will have something children can walk away with. Chil- dren are given a little bag to collect the goodies from the vendors —and they will get a lot of goodies," she added. e expo is sponsored by Fayetteville State University Department of Education/College of Education. It will take place at Capel Arena, which is located at 1200 Murchison Rd. It starts at 1 p.m. and ends at 3:30 p.m. For more information, contact Dr. Marilyn Lanier at 910-672-1631 or mlanier1@uncfsu.edu. Fayetteville State University hosts STEM Expo by STEPHANIE CRIDER STEPHANIE CRIDER, Associate Publisher. COMMENTS? Editor@upand- comingweekly.com. 910-484-6200. Lanier promised guests will find plenty to keep them engaged — inclu- ding a trip to the FSU Aquarium.

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Up & Coming Weekly - January 29, 2019