10/1/2008
'Private Eyes' to be directed by local theater leader
Collaboration promises a big show
BY JESSICA STARK
Rice News staff
It's already an exciting semester for the Rice Theatre Program because of its first collaboration with Rice Players, and things just got more interesting.
Julia Traber, the associate artist director of the Classical Theatre Company, has signed on to direct November's "Private Eyes" and be a guest lecturer and visiting artistic director for the Department of Visual and Dramatic Arts.
In addition to her directorial duties on "Private Eyes," Traber will teach an introduction to theater course. Traber has worked as an actor, assistant director, director and teaching artist for various local and regional professional theaters and educational institutions.
She created and directed the Alley Theatre’s Young Performers Studio for several seasons and is currently a drama specialist for the International Baccalaureate program in the Aldine Independent School District and an adjunct faculty member of the Drama Department at San Jacinto College, South Campus.
Traber's leadership of the Young Performers Studio will especially suit her for her role at Rice, where she'll work with the theater program and the Rice Players.
By pooling resources and receiving additional funding from the Visual and Dramatic Arts Department, the two groups plan to put on a bigger show than either could produce on its own. Steven Dietz's "Private Eyes" fits the bill. It is a relationship thriller about love, lust and the power of deception in which the audience plays the role of detective.
The production will run in Hamman Hall Nov. 7-9 and Nov. 13-15.
For more information on "Private Eyes," e-mail ck1@rice.edu or players@rice.edu. Tickets are $5 for opening night only. Other performances are $5 for students; $8 for Rice alumni, faculty, staff and senior citizens; and $10 for general admission. To purchase tickets, call 713-348-PLAY.
