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XACT to commemorate 50th anniversary of KSU shootings

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XENIA — To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Kent State shootings, Xenia Area Community Theater is featuring the local premiere of David Hassler’s play “May 4th Voices.”

The play is an oral history recounting the events leading to the shootings at Kent State University on May 4, 1970 and what followed. It has been collected from members of the Kent community, the university, the National Guard and members of Ohio law enforcement. It is a one-act play with nine scenes, several of which include a narrator. The play will be performed as a staged reading presentation with blocking and movement.

Directed by Craig Smith, auditions will be held Feb. 24-25 at 7 p.m. Those interested are asked to bring a rehearsed, but not memorized, passage. It should be a speech, not a narrative or description. The show will be a staged reading, so you may read it. The show contains adult language and adult themes.

The character list consists of 20 unnamed characters ranging from a junior high school student to an older adult and a narrator. Roles will be doubled and tripled as required, potentially in the same scene. Age-specific concerns will not be a factor but gender-specific may be when it is required by the script. Race will not be a factor except as specified in the script (this is germane to the story).

Show dates are May 1 and 2 at 7:30 p.m. and May 3 at 3 p.m.

Xenia Area Community Theatre is located at 45 E. Second Street in Xenia. For more information, call 937-372-0516 or visit www.xeniaact.org.