UB to Present Theater Production as Part of International Exchange Program with Costa Rica

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The UB Center for the Arts, the UB Department of Modern Languages and Literatures and the International Artistic and Cultural Exchange Program (IACE) of the UB Department of Theatre and Dance will present "La Mujer Que Cayo del Cielo" ("The Woman Who Fell from the Sky") at 7 p.m. on Sept. 26 in the Drama Theatre in the Center for the Arts on the UB North (Amherst) Campus.

The performance will be presented in celebration of the university's Gender Week and National Hispanic Month and as part of the continuing international exchange program between UB and the Universidad de Costa Rica. It will be free and open to the public.

"La Mujer Que Cayo del Cielo," by Victor Hugo Rascón Banda, is based on the true life story of a Mexican Tarahumara woman who strayed across the United States border, was arrested in Kansas City, incarcerated and, due to the strangeness of her language, put in a psychiatric hospital under medication for 12 years.

The play will be performed by Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica, a company composed of faculty from the Universidad de Costa Rica and professional actors. It will be presented in three languages: Spanish, English and Tarahumara.

The company will be in residence in Western New York Sept. 24-28, and will present master classes and lectures to UB's students and faculty. The company also will present a free performance, sponsored by Antecesores, for area high school students at 10 a.m. Sept. 27. For more information and to reserve tickets, call 867-2880.

A short film will be shown in the center's screening room at 3 p.m. on Sept. 25. The film, "Va-Nos," is about the historical and contemporary architecture of Costa Rica. The showing is free and open to the public.

Sponsors of this performance and residency include Antecesores; the Baldy Center for Law and Social Policy; the Council on International Studies and Programs; the David Gray Chair of Poetry and Letters, Department of English; the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures; the Department of Theatre and Dance; the Eugenio Donato, Chair of Comparative Literature; the Institute for Women and Gender; the International University Theatre Association; the James McNulty Chair, Department of English; the Melodia E. Jones Chair in French, Department of Modern Languages and Literatures; the Office of the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences; the Office of the President; the Office of the Vice Provost for International Education; the Samuel P. Capen Chair of Philosophy; the UB Center for the Arts; Universidad de Costa Rica, and the World Languages Institute.

Tickets for all events are free and will be available one hour before the performance in the Center for the Arts Box Office. Seating is limited. For tickets for the school time performance, call 867-2880. Reservations are required.