Office of External Communications

Houston, TX 77204-5017 Fax: 713.743.8199

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 24, 2005

Contact: Contact: Mike Emery
713.743.8186 (office)
713.415.6551 (pager)
pemery@uh.edu

For aficionados of avant-garde theater, the wait will begin at the University of Houston.

The UH School of Theatre’s production of Samuel Beckett’s classic “Waiting for Godot” will kick off a five-show run at 8 p.m. on April 1 in the Lyndall Finley Wortham Theatre.

The play centers on two disheveled vagrants, Vladimir and Estragon, as they anticipate the arrival of the mysterious Godot. While waiting, they meet the pompous Pozzo, who is leading his hapless slave Lucky around on a rope.

With its small cast, minimal scenery and unique staging, “Waiting for Godot” presents a rare opportunity for student actors to perform in a truly experimental play.

“Many actors don’t have a chance to work on a production like this,” said Brian Byrnes, associate professor of theater, who co-directs the play with Jim Johnson, assistant professor of voice, speech and dialect. “Traditional dramatic training doesn’t prepare an actor for this kind of performance, so it’s a daunting, intriguing and rewarding challenge for the cast.”

General admission tickets are $15; $12 for UH faculty, staff and alumni; $10 for seniors or groups of 10 or more, and $7 for students. Ticket information can be obtained by calling the Wortham Theatre box office at
(713) 743-2929. For more information about the UH School of Theatre, visit the Web site http://www.class.uh.edu/theatre/home.html.

For more information about UH visit the university’s ‘Newsroom’ at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.