FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 14, 2004

UNL's University Theatre presents
New Translation of Buchner's WOYZECK

(Lincoln, Nebraska) -- UNL Theatre's University Theatre presents a new translation of the Georg Buchner play WOYZECK. Dr. William Grange, professor of Theatre Arts at UNL and a German Drama specialist, translated the play from the German during the summer. Grange also directs the production, which has a sneak preview Wednesday, October 27 at 7:30 PM. Regular performances are October 28, 29 and November 3, 4, 5, 6 at 7:30 PM and October 31 at 2:00 PM. All performances are in the Studio Theatre, third floor Temple Building at 12th and R Streets. Tickets are available at the Lied Center Ticket Office, 301 N. 12th Street, Monday through Friday 11:00 AM to 5:30 PM and one hour prior to performance in the Studio Theatre lobby. The Ticket Office may be reached at 472-4747 or 800-432-3231. Tickets for the sneak preview are $5.00 and may only be purchased at the door. Regular performance tickets are $14.00 regular, $12.00 faculty/staff and senior citizen, $10.00 student. The production is not recommended for children.

WOYZECK tells the story of Franz Woyzeck, the servant of a German captain. Woyzeck leads the life of the poor in the 1800s. Considered by the upper classes, because of his lot in life, to be amoral and stupid, Woyzeck tries to think, to be a philosopher, but is chided for his attempt. In order to earn additional money, Woyzeck allows the Doctor to experiment on him. The latest test is eating nothing but peas in order to prove some unstated scientific premise. To add to his trials, Woyzeck discovers his girlfriend Marie, with whom he has had a son, is having an affair. Stripped of all humanity, Woyzeck resorts to desperate measures.

Buchner wrote WOYZECK sometime between 1835 and his untimely death of typhoid in 1837. His work on the play was incomplete at his death; the manuscripts consisting of several incomplete drafts. No one really knows, had Buchner lived beyond his twenty-four years, how he might have arranged the play's scenes. The manuscripts were unpublished and largely unread until the 1870s.

Dr. Grange comments that "the play is a fragment, and it will always remain so." The play has been translated several times and has even been made into an opera. Said Grange, An "important reason for WOYZECK's popularity in recent decades is the perceived victimhood of the title character."

The cast of seventeen undergraduates is led by Ivan Lovegren as Franz, and Courtney Pearson as Marie. The Captain is played by William Heafer, and the Doctor by Robert Krecklow. Additional cast members include Darin Hemmer, Erin Dinnenn, Sean Connealy, Jordan Warren, Adam O'Rourke, Ryan Lueders, Misty Madden, Gerald Temple, Brady Leffler, Zachary Schmahl, Matt Miller, Kestrel Hauptmann, and Rachel Miller.