REGISTRATION
INFORMATION
World University Rankings - Top 600

Living Dead Girl Challenges Violence Against Women

Living Dead Girl Challenges Violence Against Women

Media Statement by Prof Deb Lutge, HOD Drama and Production Studies at the Durban University of Technology

Living Dead Girl, a dynamic experimental MA project constructed as a response to violence against women, advocates female empowerment. Living Dead Girl directed by Junior Lecturer Marcia Peschke will be performed at the DUT Courtyard Theater, Ritson Campus, Gate 7, starting this Saturday (March 16, 2013).

The production, featuring 32 characters played by 17 DUT Drama and Production Studies students, ends on Tuesday March, 21, 2013. Written by DUT Junior Lecturer Marcia Peschke, as a collection of monologues, poetry and short satirical sketches, Living Dead Girl additionally features alternative music arranged by Dumisani Mkhize, a third year Drama Studies student, who heads the show’s musical accompaniment. Music by alternative artists Amanda Palmer, Antony and the Johnsons, VNV Nation, Blue October, Rammstein, as well as numbers from the Dr Horrible internet musical and the movie The Fifth Element is featured on the show.

“In 2012, I wrote an auto ethnographic piece titled Living Dead Girl. This was a project given to the Masters students in my class at UKZN’s Drama and Performance Studies programme. The objective of the project was to explore how we as practitioners situated ourselves in our practice and how we had come to find ourselves in the field of drama. I wanted to then respond to other women’s experiences and began to put my thoughts into a script that would advocate the need to address violent crimes against women and encourage social consciousness,” said Peschke.

The cast includes first, second and third-year drama students. Peschke said the production should appeal to people from all walks of life because “we are all stakeholders in the move to critically examining issues affecting women.”

Peschke believes that not only will the production showcase talent at DUT; it will also be advantageous to the Department’s students. “If I have encouraged the cast to actively participate in social issues and to connect with the audience, then they carry with them the confidence they need in getting others to believe in what they are doing. I think that if you believe first in your own voice as an artist, you will believe in connecting with others. As performers, I believe this production will prove a significant experience and one they carry with them into their practice,” she said.

Please be advised that this production carries an age restriction of 16, with a warning of adult themes.

Date: Saturday 16 March 2013 to Tuesday 21 March 2013.

Time: 7pm.

Venue: DUT Courtyard Theater, Ritson Campus, Gate 7.
Parking: Safe parking is available at Gate 4, Steve Biko Campus, opposite the Courtyard Theatre.
Tickets: R35.00 per person.

For more information or to book tickets, please Lebohang Sibisi on 031 373 2194 or visit http://www.facebook.com/Living.Dead.Girl.SA.

Issued by:

Sinegugu Ndlovu
Communications Manager
Durban University of Technology
Steve Biko Campus Durban
031 373 2845
078 615 2662