UB Domestic Violence Task Force to Sponsor Performance of "Father Knows Best"

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Domestic Violence Task Force in the University at Buffalo Law School will sponsor a performance of "Father Knows Best," presented by the Theater for Change, at 7 p.m. on March 19 in the Student Union Theatre on the UB North (Amherst) Campus.

This play is based on research conducted by Child and Family Services staff, Haven House staff, victims of domestic violence, their children, former perpetrators and others who work in the field of family violence.

The performance will be a dramatization of the cycle of violence as it unfolds for a victim of domestic violence. "Father Knows Best" uses the main character, a woman who has been battered by her husband for nine years, to take the audience through realistic portrayals of domestic violence and how various community agencies attempt to handle it. The play featues a scene in an emergency room, and characters that include a detective, police officers, extended family and a religious figure.

Following the performance, the actors will remain on stage and in character for a question-and-answer session with the audience. In addition, Suzanne Tomkins, research associate professor of law and director of UB's Family Violence Clinic Program, and a staff member from Haven House will be available to answer questions from the audience.

Admission is $5 for students and $10 for the general community.

The production is designed to make audience members aware of the reasons why victims stay with their abusers, and the psychological and physical aspects of abuse, as well as the isolation that victims often face.

"Father Knows Best" is supported by Sub-board I; Nils Olsen, dean of the Law School, and the Student Bar Association.