Walk in the Woods

This provocative presentation - the first production of the ISSP's new GlobalArts Initiative - compares favorably with the Broadway-bound version of this intriguing two-character play, directed by Des McAnuff and starring Sam Waterston and Robert Prosky as the U.S. and Russian negotiators, which previewed at Duke University 12 years ago.

Given the new diplomatic climate and the fact that the United States now has a female Secretary of State, director Paul Frellick cast Carole Marcotte in the role of U.S. negotiator Jean Honeyman, who is determined to succeed where so many of her predecessors have failed. Marcotte is excellent as a no-nonsense career negotiator completely dedicated to maneuvering the current U.S. nuclear-arms-reduction proposal around and through any barriers that her garrulous Russian counterpart and his Kremlin bosses may set up.

If Marcotte plays Honeyman as an ice queen, then Alan Criswell plays her suspiciously friendly fellow negotiator, Soviet diplomat Andrey Botvinnik, as a picture of warmth, a grandfatherly figure who has survived generations of U.S. negotiators. Botvinnik loves to talk and suggests that the two take a series of walks in the woods to get to know each other better.

Honeyman initially resists Botvinnik's friendly overtures, but eventually comes to see that the foundation for all successful negotiations is mutual trust. Together, these unlikely friends - who were based on real-life counterparts at the ongoing Geneva, Switzerland, disarmament talks - find common ground, hammer out an acceptable compromise for both sides, and then must regroup as their bosses back home reject reasonable proposals for political reasons, abort potential breakthroughs by grandstanding for the public, etc.

Based on real events, "A Walk in the Woods" is a fascinating play about Cold War confrontations and the human factors that may ultimately lead to nuclear disarmament. Director Paul Frellick, actor Alan Criswell and actress Carole Marcotte give this play a passionate reading. The play's truths are as true today, more than a decade after the fall of the Soviet Union, as they were when the play premiered in 1988.

Presented in conjunction with the North Carolina Humanities Council and the University Center for Slavic, Eurasian and East European Studies, "A Walk in the Woods" also features a simple but striking scenic design by Matthew Barry, artful lighting by Steve Dubay and handsome diplomatic attire by costume designer Krysta Curl.

Excerpts from
Educator's Packet for "A Walk in the Woods"

* Press Release *

INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL STUDIES PROJECT
UNVEILS NEW PLAY SERIES

The International Social Studies Project (ISSP), in conjunction with the North Carolina Humanities Council and the University Center for Slavic, Eurasian and East European Studies, will produce A WALK IN THE WOODS, Lee Blessing’s play about arms negotiations, April 27-28. The first production of the ISSP’s new GlobalArts Initiative, the play will be presented at the Durham School of the Arts, 401 Duke Street, for three performances—two student matinee performances and an evening performance on Friday, April 28, at 8 PM, which will be open to the public. Admission is free.

A WALK IN THE WOODS follows two diplomats—one Russian, one American—through a series of unconventional negotiating sessions, examining in the process the many issues, both personal and political, at work in international relations. The production stars Alan Criswell and Carole Marcotte, and is directed by Paul Frellick.

Through its GlobalArts Initiative, the ISSP will present dramatic works related to areas of the world where change is rapid and profound. Performances will be aimed at social studies students in Triangle middle and high schools, as well as to the community as a whole. Plans currently call for two more productions during the fall semester of 2000.

Funding for A WALK IN THE WOODS has been provided by The North Carolina Humanities Council (NCHC) and the University Center for Slavic, Eurasian and East European Studies. The NCHC, based in Greensboro, uses federal money made available by the National Endowment for the Humanities and gifts from private sources in the state. The NCHC makes grants to non-profit organizations for humanities programs. The NCHC supports programs that draw upon history, literature, and languages to examine issues and illuminate cultural dimensions of American society through the exchange of ideas between people. The NCHC is made up of volunteer citizens who meet three times a year to review proposals submitted by non-profit community organizations and institutions.

The Center for Slavic, Eurasian and East European Studies is housed on the campus of the University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill, and is operated jointly by UNC and Duke University. Government funds support a variety of activities, including undergraduate education, graduate student and faculty research, exchange programs, conferences, seminars, and public outreach programs.