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Feb. 19, 2003
DH-03 TK 013
Contact: Thomas Knox
(310) 243-3367
Email: tknox@csudh.edu

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Advisory

"The Slaves" and "The Verdict of the Cobra"
Open in Cal State Dominguez Hills University Theatre

Carson, CA - California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) will host two penetrating plays, "The Slaves" and "The Verdict of the Cobra," beginning Friday, Feb. 21 through March 2 in the University Theatre. The plays are written and directed by Mohammed Ben-Abdallah, Ph.D., a Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence at CSUDH from Ghana.

WHAT: "The Slaves" and "The Verdict of the Cobra"

WHO: Mohammed Ben-Abdallah, Ph.D., Theatre Arts, Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence

WHERE: California State University, Dominguez Hills - University Theatre, 1000 E. Victoria Street, Carson 90747

WHEN: Feb. 21 - 23; Feb. 28; and March 1 - 2

"The Slaves" is a dramatic portrayal of the devastation of the human spirit. Set in an 18th century dungeon in Ghana, this tale of captivity becomes a social commentary on the tragedy of human bondage, both past and present with the repercussions that continue today.

Using a narrative tradition with ritual, music and dance, "The Verdict of the Cobra" weaves a mythic tale of love and destruction within a community.

Ben-Abdallah is currently chair of the Theatre Arts Department at the University of Ghana-Legon in Accra. He describes his plays in part as an effort in experimentation: "'The Slaves,' my second play, was written as part of an experimental process aimed at contributing to the efforts at evolving a new African theatre. It was written in1972 and first presented at the National Culture Centre in Kumasi. It later toured the country and was filmed for television. The same year, 'The Slaves' won the Randolph Edmonds Award for playwriting when it won first prize in a competition organized by the National Association for Speech and Dramatic Arts (USA) and thus became my first play to be presented in the USA."

For a listing of upcoming performances in the CSUDH University Theatre, please click on their website at, http://www.csudh.edu/theatre/productionprograms.html.

General admission is $10, while students and senior citizens tickets cost $8. Group rates are available by calling the CSUDH University Theatre at (310) 243-3589.

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