Master Teachers to help audiences explore 'The Diary of Anne Frank'
Theatre Bristol has announced two post-show panel discussions following the March 5 and March 12 Sunday 2:30 p.m. matinee performances of “The Diary of Anne Frank” at Theatre Bristol ARTspace, 506 State Street, Bristol, Tenn. Audiences are invited to remain after two matinee performances and listen and engage in a discussion and question and answer period on the Holocaust, survivor testimonies, and more.
Presented with ENT & Allergy Consultants, the panel discussions will feature educators Carrie Cornett, Marie-Amalie Farris, and Tawny Anderson, and director of “The Diary of Anne Frank,” Camille Gray.
Anderson is a Master Teacher in Holocaust Studies and History, who teaches through the lenses of identity, memory and legacy to promote social justice, individual advocacy and historical awareness. She is a Lerner Fellow (Jewish Foundation for the Righteous) and has been recognized as Social Studies Teacher of the Year in Palm Beach County, Florida, and received the Theron Trimble Award as the state Social Studies Teacher of the year, as well as the Harry T. Moore Award for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties in Education. After retiring, she returned home to the Bristol area.
Farris is also a Master Teacher in Holocaust Studies and History. She is a Lerner Fellow (Jewish Foundation for the Righteous) as well and was recognized as Palm Beach County Social Studies Teacher of the Year. She recently moved back to the Bristol area from Florida.
Carrie Cornett has taught high school English for 14 years in the Bristol area and each year incorporates a study of the Holocaust into her lessons. She emphasizes the importance of transparency and for students to be able to ask questions and talk freely, helping them navigate difficult conversations. Carrie created a display viewed during the run of the performances for students and adults that connects real testimonies and experiences with those portrayed in “The Diary of Anne Frank.”
Gray is the director of “The Diary of Anne Frank.” A graduate of Emory & Henry College with a BFA in directing, Gray has been involved with Theatre Bristol for 20 years as an actor, director, choreographer, and designer. In addition to directing and volunteer support, she is the coordinator of the Cathy F. DeCaterina School of Theatre Arts.
This original stage adaptation of Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, edited by Otto Frank, won the 1956 Pulitzer Prize, Tony Award, Critics Circle Award, and virtually every other coveted prize of the theatre.
“During the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, Anne Frank began to keep a diary on June 14, 1942, two days after her 13th birthday and twenty-two days before going into hiding with her parents, sister, and three other people. Hiding in the sealed-off upper rooms of the annex of her father’s office building in Amsterdam, Anne and the others cope with the day-to-day struggles of life in cramped quarters, as the spectre of tragedy looms, ever-present, over their every move,” said Concord Theatricals. Performances, now through March 19 are Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. at Theatre Bristol’s ARTspace stage, 506 State Street, Bristol. Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for students and seniors, plus processing fees.
“The Diary of Anne Frank” is presented through special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service.
For tickets and information, visit www.theatrebristol.org, follow TheatreBristolTN on Facebook, call 423-212-3625, or email info@theatrebristol.org.
