Category: What’s New @ UMW

The University of Mary Washington Department of Theatre & Dance will kick off its 2012-13 season with a production of Jane Martin’s “Talking With.” Performances will be Sept. 20-22 and Sept. 27-29 at 8 p.m., and Sept. 23 and 30 at 2 p.m. in Klein Theatre, duPont Hall. Tickets are $12 for general admission and $10 for students and senior citizens.

“Talking With” is comprised of 11 monologues performed by women. Each woman invites you into her world as she confesses a secret that she keeps from the rest of society. These monologues deal with a range of themes from marital problems to religious experiences, and everything in between. As the women speak they teach important lessons about love, loss and the search for happiness.

“Talking With” premiered at the Actors’ Theatre of Louisville, Ky., as part of the 1982 Humana Festival of New American Plays. Jane Martin is a pen name of a Kentucky playwright suspected to be the former Actors’ Theatre of Louisville artistic director, Jon Jory. Martin won the American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award for “Keely and Du” in 1994 and “Jack and Jill” in 1997. “Keely and Du” was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in 1994.

“Talking With” is directed by Helen Housley, associate professor of theatre. Scenic and lighting design is by Associate Professor Julie Hodge and costume design is by Associate Professor Kevin McCluskey. For more information, call the Klein Theatre Box Office at (540) 654-1111.

Jose “Pepe” Viera Bermúdez, a former Cuban diplomat, will visit the University of Mary Washington on Thursday, Sept. 20 and Friday, Sept. 21.

He will give a public lecture “Cuba Today: Changes to Remain Unchanged” on Thursday at 7 p.m. in Lee Hall, Room 411. Viera Bermúdez also will speak to international affairs students in the U.S. Foreign Policy course during his visit.

For more information about Viera Bermúdez, please visit http://www.umw.edu/news/2012/09/11/former-cuban-diplomat-to-speak-at-umw/.

UMW’s Police Department is now offering the R.A.D. Basic Physical Defense Program to Students, Faculty and Staff Women.  R.A.D. (Rape Aggression Defense) for Women is founded on four basic principles:  Risk Awareness, Risk Reduction, Risk Recognition, and Risk Avoidance. These principles are the basis for 90 percent of self-defense education.  R.A.D. for Women is a female-only class.

The R.A.D. Basic Physical Defense Program is a self-defense class designed for women of all ages and taught by men and women to teach methods to defend against potential attacks as well as to educate women about risk awareness, risk reduction, risk recognition, and risk avoidance.  The R.A.D. Systems Basic Physical Defense instructional objective is “to develop and enhance the options of self-defense, so they may become viable considerations to the woman who is attacked.”

R.A.D. Basic is a three day course (three hours per day) offered to female faculty/staff/students of the UMW community FREE of charge. It is taught by Sgt. Bobby Somers, who is the R.A.D Coordinator and a certified R.A.D. Instructor and Advanced R.A.D. Systems Instructor. Sgt. Somers serves as a Law Enforcement Defensive Tactics Instructor and a former U.S. Army Special Operations Self Defense and Survival Specialist.  Sgt. Somers is currently a Patrol Sergeant and Field Training Officer with the UMW Police Department.  Sgt. Somers will be assisted by Dr. Nicole Surething, who is the Director of C.A.P.S and also a Certified R.A.D. Basic Instructor and Officer Kelly Ernst, who is also a Certified R.A.D. Basic Instructor.

The class dates are September 17, 19 and 24, 2012, 6 to 9 p.m., held in the University Tennis Center, Second Floor.

If you interested in taking this self-defense course, please contact Sgt. Bobby Somers by email at wsomers@umw.edu to register.  Spaces are limited.

James DeLoatch, VCA
Police Department Business Manager

Three prominent Civil War scholars will offer perspectives on the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation during “A Fireside Chat: Looking at the Emancipation Proclamation” at the University of Mary Washington on Friday, September 21. The event, organized by the Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission and hosted by UMW, will begin at 7 p.m. in George Washington Hall’s Dodd Auditorium. Pre-registration for the free event is required at www.VirginiaCivilWar.org/emancipation or (804) 786-3591.

For more information about the speakers, visit http://www.umw.edu/news/2012/09/07/umw-hosts-civil-war-event-commemorates-anniversary-of-emancipation-proclamation/.

The University of Mary Washington will hold Family Weekend from Friday, Sept. 21 through Sunday, Sept. 23. The annual on-campus event invites friends and family members to visit UMW and get a taste of student life. It will include activities for students and their families as well as faculty and staff.

More than 40 events and activities are open for participants including a variety of academic open houses, faculty lectures, art exhibitions, activities for students and sporting events. Family Weekend hallmark events will include a cookout and club showcase, the education abroad fair and a tour of Brompton, home of UMW President Richard V. Hurley. Approximately 1,000 additional family members are expected to be on campus for the festivities. All faculty and staff are invited to participate.

A complete list of Family Weekend events, along with dates and times, can be found at www.umw.edu/familyweekend/. For further questions, please contact the UMW Office of Events at (540) 654-1065.