Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center

PEARL
WITH DAN BUTLER AND TED KOOSER

Friday, November 9
7:30 p.m. Screening and Discussion at The Ross
PLEASE NOTE: The venue and time differ from previous listings

You are invited to join The Ross Media Arts Center and Sheldon Museum of Art for a FREE EVENT featuring actor and director Dan Butler and former U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser.

The evening will consist of a screening of Dan Butler's short film PEARL, adapted from the Ted Kooser poem of the same name, a reading of the poem by the author, and a discussion with Butler and Kooser moderated by L. Kent Wolgamott.

This event is free and open to the public and will take place at the Ross Media Arts Center.

PLEASE NOTE that this event is no longer taking place at Sheldon Museum of Art and is now admission free. There will NOT be a fundraising reception in conjunction with this event. If you purchased tickets online, your payment will be refunded and you will still have reserved tickets which can be picked up at the Ross Box Office.

PEARL
Adapted for the screen and directed by Dan Butler When a midwestern poet (Dan Butler) visits an elderly relative (Frances Sternhagen) to bring news of his mother's recent death, the visit takes an unsettling turn.   

DAN BUTLER
An actor, writer, director, and producer, Dan is probably best known as “Bulldog” from the tv series, “Frasier.” His one-man show “The Only Thing Worse You Could Have Told Me…” garnered critical acclaim across the country, including Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk nominations. In 2006, Dan produced, co-wrote, co-directed, and starred in the faux documentary “Karl Rove, I Love You” which the Huffington Post called “hilarious and unsettling – a political Blair Witch Project.” Acting credits include major roles On and Off-Broadway and at repertory companies across the US as well as numerous television shows including “House,” “Law and Order,” “From the Earth to the Moon,” and “Prayers for Bobby.” Film credits include: “Crazy, Stupid Love,” “Silence of the Lambs,” “Enemy of the State,” “Fixing Frank,” and “Chronic Town." Dan’s also been active with suicide prevention, and in 1995 was HRC’s National Coming Out Day spokesperson. Dan and his husband Richard Waterhouse recently formed 2nd Act Productions, and their short film “Pearl,” which Dan directed and adapted from former US poet laurate Ted Kooser’s poem, is now making the film festival rounds. 2 years ago they collaborated on another short film comedy directed by Richard and starring Dan called “Respect for Acting” which can be viewed on youtube.   

TED KOOSER
 Ted Kooser is a poet and essayist, a Presidential Professor of English at The University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He served as the U. S. Poet Laureate from 2004-2006, and his book Delights & Shadows won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for poetry. His writing is known for its clarity, precision and accessibility.

FRANCES STERNHAGEN
 Raised in Washington, D.C., Frances Sternhagen is a graduate of Vassar College who taught acting, singing and dancing to school children before first performing herself with the Arena Stage Group. Since that time, she has been seen in numerous Broadway shows, has been nominated five times for a Tony Award and received two; one for "The Good Doctor" (1974) and one for “The Heiress” (1995). Other shows that she has appeared in include "Equus", "On Golden Pond", "You Can't Take it With You,” “Driving Miss Daisy,” and “Morning’s at Seven.”

Ms. Sternhagen's film debut was in Up the Down Staircase. Since then her credits have included Fedora, Starting Over, Outland, Communion, Misery, and Julie and Julia, among others. She’s probably best known on television for having played both Cliff’s mother on “Cheers” and Kyra Sedgewick’s mother on “The Closer.”