Sans Merci by Johnna Adams
October 23 – November 8
Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 2pm

The Bloomington Playwrights Project proudly announces the production of this season’s Reva Shiner National Full-Length Playwriting Contestwinner: Sans Merci by Johnna Adams.

The play involves a young woman who is unexpectedly visited by the mother of her dead lover, reopening wounds and forcing both to accept certain unsettling realities surrounding the death. Sans Merci is a touching, provocative exploration of femininity and ethical action in modern America.

Sans Merci tackles issues of humanitarian intervention and its consequences. Adams drew inspiration from a film that deals with similar themes.

“The actual story in Sans Merci was one I had been unconsciously thinking about for a couple years, since seeing the documentary Fierce Grace that followed guru Ram Dass after his debilitating stroke,” explains Adams. “There is a scene where he is counseling a young man whose boyfriend died as a protester in South America. Ram Dass bursts into tears in the middle of a sentence, in a way I found devastating to watch.”

Acclaimed Indiana University faculty member Bruce Burgun directs this world premiere production starring BHSN Theatre Program Director Francesca Sobrer as Elizabeth, a mother in mourning who pays a visit to Kelly (played by BPP Ensemble Member Margot Morgan) in hopes of learning more about her daughter Tracy (played by Molly Kruse) and the events surrounding her untimely death. In flashbacks, we witness the genesis of Kelly and Tracy’s relationship after a reading of John Keat’s famous poem, La Belle Dame Sans Merci.

Performances of Sans Merci are scheduled for October 23 – November 8, 2008 every Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8pm and Sundays at 2pm. Tickets are $15 General, $12 Student/Senior available online at www.bloomingtonarts.info or at the Sunrise Box Office at 114 E. Kirkwood Ave.