As part of ongoing efforts to foster collective ownership of diversity, access and inclusion efforts across the system, the University of Nebraska Diversity Officers Collaborative invites UNMC and Nebraska Medicine faculty, staff and students to participate in “The Defamation Experience.”
You be the jury!
The Premise:
A professional black female business owner is invited to the home of a successful Jewish man for a potential business project. After the meeting, he realizes that his family heirloom watch is gone. Thereby hinges the story of Defamation, wherein this very dilemma leads to a riveting courtroom encounter that illuminates our common perceptions about race, religion and class.
The play opens with Judge Adrian Barnes laying out the case as well as the stakes involved. Following testimony from each side plus a key witness, the judge tells the audience he’s not going to adjudicate the case; the audience will be the jury.
A case without a smoking gun, “Defamation” challenges our preconceived notions about race, class, religion and even the law. As audience members and then jurors, we learn as much or more about ourselves as we learn about the plaintiff and the defendant.
Faculty, staff and students of UNMC and Nebraska Medicine are encouraged to attend and participate in this riveting experience that is sure to initiate continued dialogue.
Learn more here.
“Defamation,” a nationally acclaimed play by Todd Logan, is a riveting courtroom drama that explores the highly charged issues of race, class, religion, gender and the law with one twist at the end: the audience is the jury.
Combined with an audience deliberation and a facilitated discussion, “The Defamation Experience” is a unique opportunity to engage in civil discourse about the most pressing social issues today.
Events are planned at each of the University of Nebraska campuses this month, including at UNMC’s Omaha campus on Monday, Sept. 23 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Durham Research Center Auditorium (Room 1002).
The full schedule is as follows; medical center employees and students may attend any of the free productions:
- Sunday, Sept. 22 – University of Nebraska at Omaha, 6 to 8 p.m.
- Monday, Sept. 23 – UNMC, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
- Monday, Sept. 23 – University of Nebraska at Kearney, 6 to 8 p.m.
- Tuesday, Sept. 24 – University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) City Campus, noon to 2 p.m.
- Wednesday, Sept. 25 – UNL East Campus, 3 to 5 p.m.
The play centers on a defamation lawsuit between a south side African American female business owner and a wealthy Jewish north shore real estate developer. Following the 75-minute trial, the judge will lead the audience through deliberation and a facilitated discussion. An audience vote will decide the outcome of the trial.
No registration is necessary to attend and light refreshments will be available.