Samantha Kelly
  • Business Administration
  • Class of 2019
  • West Henrietta, NY

Samantha Kelly Featured in Cast and Crew for 'Venus' Play at SUNY Potsdam

2018 Mar 12

The SUNY Potsdam Department of Theatre and Dance is gearing up to present its spring mainstage production, "Venus," by the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks, which will run from March 20 to 25 in the Performing Arts Center.

The student cast and crew includes Samantha Kelly of West Henrietta, NY, who is the sound designer.

The play is the theatrical story of the so-called "Hottentot Venus." In 1810, Saartjie Baartman, a young South African woman, was enticed to go to Europe to gain fortune and fame as the "African Dancing Princess." She arrived in London, and within days was put in a cage and displayed along with other human "oddities" in Piccadilly, where men and women would come to "peek and poke."

Baartman's shapeliness, typical of her people, was deemed extraordinary and exotic, and she became famous, if not rich. The play is rooted in the historical truth of the life of Baartman while she lived in Europe, including her rise to even more notoriety in Paris, after being brought there by a doctor for his "personal study," and where she later died in 1815, at 26 years of age.

"The focus of the production at SUNY Potsdam is the life of Saartjie, who finds herself in a circus sideshow world that is comedic and tragic, often at the same time. Her life story intrigued me. Like most of us, she wanted to have a better life and to find happiness and love," said Associate Professor Kimberley Bouchard, who directs the show. "While the play documents her exploitation, it also portrays her courage, determination and intelligence. She does not succumb to the world. Instead, we see her actively work to negotiate a life on her own terms. It is a story that continues to resonate 200 years after her death."

To learn more about the SUNY Potsdam production of "Venus," including more details about the full cast and crew, please visit http://www.potsdam.edu/newsandevents/031218theatrevenus.

For production and ticket information, please contact the Community Performance Series Box Office at (315) 267-2277 or visit http://www.cpspotsdam.org.

About the SUNY Potsdam Department of Theatre and Dance:

From directing, choreographing, acting and dancing to designing and technical work, theatre and dance are highly collaborative art forms at SUNY Potsdam. Students and professionals engage in creative problem solving, requiring the setting and meeting of long-term goals, and the analysis and understanding of movement and dramatic literature. The College's award-winning $55 million Performing Arts Center is home to the Department of Theatre and Dance. For more information, visit http://www.potsdam.edu/theatre.