Kupferberg Center for the Arts, in collaboration with Literature to Life, presents:

A theatre adaptation of Harriet Jacob’s Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

Tuesday, April 30 at 7:00pm

Music Building, Room 264

CUNY Students, Faculty and Staff: Free Tickets with Student ID

Harriet Jacobs spent seven years hiding in an attic crawl space that at its tallest reached only three feet. There were no windows, no heat, no cool breezes, only the distant sounds of her children’s voices to keep her company. Jacobs was born a slave in North Carolina in 1813. Her tiny hideaway, in which she lived while in her 20s, was part of her plan for freedom. In this 60-minute, one-person adaptation of the book, actress Cherita Armstrong portrays Jacobs and narrates her harrowing story. Audience members will have a chance to ask Armstrong questions at the end of the performance.

Blurb about Literature to Life, if needed:

Literature to Life is a theatre-based literacy program that presents professionally staged verbatim adaptations of significant American literary works in educational and community settings across the country.  The company has been touring these masterful performances nationally to underserved communities since 2004 and is proud to have provided outreach to upwards of 35 states.  Literature to Life has developed such titles as If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin, The Giver by Lois Lowry, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Black Boy by Richard Wright and The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls to name a few.  Spawned out of the renowned American Place Theatre in 1993 under the artistic leadership of Wynn Handman and Elise Thoron the program employs a company of some of the most gifted actors and educators in New York City.  Alongside the performances, our Teaching Artists are trained in practical and pedagogical approaches to learning through the arts.  They are experts in the literature and will facilitate your community’s or classroom’s dialogue about the provocative themes from the literature that resonate most for them.  Whether in the classroom or on stage our goal is to help your audience make immediate and relevant personal connections to these timeless stories.