Contact: David West
News Bureau
Northwestern State University
Natchitoches, LA 71497
(318) 357-6466

3/2/98

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NATCHITOCHES - In preparing for their roles in the NSU Theatre production of "Assassins," members of the cast got more than they bargained for. They not only got a chance to work on a play by one of America's most noted playwrights, Stephen Sondheim, but also got a lesson about the dark side of American history.

"Assassins" opens Friday and runs through Monday in the A.A. Fredericks Auditorium on the NSU campus. Curtain time is 7:30 p.m. each evening. The play is a musical theatre exploration of nine people who committed (or attempted to commit) political murder in America over a period of two centuries. Sondheim's musical gives voice to the nine characters' hopes, fears and furies by exposing the twisted thoughts that make them such intriguing figures. Crossing barriers of time and space, the assassins commiserate with each other, explaining their actions with pride, pain and dark humor.

"This was a part of history that I wasn't familiar with," said Deborah Jack of Slidell, who plays Sarah Jane Moore, one of the women who shot at Gerald Ford. "I had to do some research and find out about my character."

"Preparing for this play was like studying history," said Clayton Chauvin of Abbeville, who plays the assassin of Abraham Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth. "Everybody knows his story, but no one knows about the inner person."

Jack and Chauvin found that their characters had widely different reasons for their actions.

"Sarah Jane Moore didn't want to kill President Ford," said Jack. "She had gotten involved with the FBI and she shot at Ford to prove she was still loyal to them. I read a quote from her that described her feelings. She said 'This is the most ridiculous thing I've ever done. What am I doing here? I don't want to kill anybody."

Booth sympathized with the South and had clear reasons for shooting Lincoln.

"He wanted to play the role of the good Southerner and in his mind killing Lincoln was a way to do that," said Chauvin.

A great deal of research has been done on Booth, who was part of a family of well-known actors.

"Some say that Booth shot Lincoln to become famous," said Chauvin. "He was someone who had his share of fans."

Both Jack and Chauvin benefited from the direction of Dr. Jim Stacy in helping them play real people who were very troubled.

"It's very tough to play someone who really existed because you can't develop your theory about what they were like," said Jack. "Dr. Stacy has helped us to get to know these characters. We've had roundtable discussions, kind of like 'Assassins Anonymous' where we sit around in character and talk about our motivations."

Chauvin was reluctant to try out for "Assassins." Once he decided to earn a role, he knew he wanted to play Booth.

"I was very apprehensive about this play because I knew that people would take offense," he said. "But I read the script and saw that they did not glorify these people. You got to enter their lives and see what made them do what they did. I hope this play will cause people to learn something and want to know more."

Admission is $4 for the general public, $2 for NSU faculty and staff and free for NSU students.

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