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A play and a screenplay, both artistic works still in progress, will be shared with audiences for their comments next month in the Process Series at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

A play and a screenplay, both artistic works still in progress, will be shared with audiences for their comments next month in the Process Series at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

A project of UNC’s Office of the Executive Director for the Arts, the series presents free public performances that are discussed afterward by their authors and the audience. The series gives audiences a sense of what goes into the creative process, and authors get feedback they can incorporate into completion of the works.

The series’ next presenter will be visiting artist Gregory Ramos, who will perform his play in the making, “When We Danced,” at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 17 in Gerrard Hall.

Next up will be Dana Coen, who teaches in the writing for the stage and screen program in UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences, with a reading and performance of his screenplay in progress, “Downriver,” at 8 p.m. Nov. 20-21 in Gerrard.

“When We Danced” is based on interviews with elderly gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. Ramos said the work reflects stories of love, loss, gay marriage, the journey to personal triumph and the changing tides of history.

“Downriver” will explore the life of 88 year-old bluesman Lemonhead Harris. In Coen’s tale, Harris escapes his flooded home on an inflatable mattress and rides down the swollen Mississippi River through the Delta and into his inglorious past.

The new works bring two very different projects to the Process Series.

Last year, UNC artist-in-residence Joseph Megel, series director, was talking with Ramos at a time when he was performing his one-man show “Border Stories,” about being Latino and homosexual.

“He said he was developing a brand new work using the voices of the elderly GLBTQ community,” Megel said. “It was clear that the Process Series was the perfect place to hear this new work.”

“To bring ‘When We Danced’ to the Process Series allows a vital structure for the creative process, belief in the future and value of the work, and an opportunity to present it live before an audience,” Ramos said. “I’m very fortunate to be a part of something that is forward-thinking, supportive and provides a forum for new work in the American theatre.”

Featured in “Downriver” will be actors Arthur French and Brandon Dirden, who will play Harris at different ages.

“Joining these remarkable, first-rate performers will be some impressive local acting and musical talent,” Megel said. “The challenge to bring a staged screenplay alive in a staged reading is great, but with the work of these performers, the music and the words of Dana, the audience will experience the film in their own imagination.”

Coen writes for film, television and theater. He has served as co-executive producer on the FOX primetime series “Bones” and on CBS’s “JAG,” where he spent eight seasons.

“This is a great opportunity to hear a work read, see what works, and then determine how to move it forward,” said Coen, a UNC adjunct assistant professor of communication studies.

“When We Danced” is sponsored by Teatro Latino Series, UNC Latina/o Cultures Speakers Series and the UNC Latina/o Gift Fund. “Downriver” is sponsored by the writing for the stage and screen program, director David Sontag, and the communication studies department.

Process Series performances are general admission; Gerrard is on Cameron Avenue across from the Old Well. This year’s performances are co-presented by the StreetSigns Center for Literature and Performance of Chapel Hill.

Process series contact: Joseph Megel, (919) 843-7067, megel@email.unc.edu
Office of the Executive Director for the Arts contact: Reed Colver, (919) 843-1833, rcolver@unc.edu
News Services contact: LJ Toler, (919) 962-8589

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