For Release: Immediate

Date: Feb. 20, 2015 For release: Immediate

Suggested cutlines: Mockingbird IMG_7187: (Left to right): Atticus Finch (Jacob Mundell) and Tom Robinson (Anthony Golden Jr.). After the mob departs, Atticus and Tom share a few words at Tom’s jail cell.

Mockingbird IMG_7253: (Left to right): Ms. Maude (Dallas Milholland), Jem (Adam Donovan), Scout (Hannah McKechnie), and Calpurnia (MK Smith). After Tom Robinson’s verdict, Ms. Maude speaks highly of Jem and Scout’s father, Atticus Finch.

What racial concerns are still part of our community and how can we learn to “walk in someone else’s skin”? although the problems are not solved the questions are confronted in a free performance. “To Kill A Mockingbird,” based on Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, will be presented at Kankakee Community College on Thursday, March 19 at 12:15 p.m. in the Auditorium. It will be approximately two hours long, and includes a post-show discussion. The event is free and open to the public. In this play, as in the book, a sleepy, southern town confronts difference and justice through the eyes of 6-year old Scout. In the heroics of her father, the struggles of her friends and neighbors, and the threat of a boogeyman, Scout lives through the joys of childhood innocence and the pains of growing up. “To Kill A Mockingbird looks squarely in the face of racial hatred and injustice, and for that reason alone, it is incredibly relevant,” said Jason King Jones, artistic director of National Players, the performing troupe. “Yes, it may be more uncomfortable to hear and see the actions of these characters than it is to imagine them in one’s mind, but outsiders and exiles exist in all communities and offer great truths about the worlds in which they live. The people of this semi-fictional Alabama community have their share of exiles from which to learn and the characters challenge us to form new bonds with all those around us.” The 10-member cast of diverse young professional performers from National Players will travel to Kankakee from just outside Washington, D.C. in Maryland. Founded in 1949, National Players is America's longest-running touring company, and “KCC is delighted to have these Players with their exceptional energy and professional clarity return to our community,” offers Professor Penelope Stickney. For more information about “To Kill a Mockingbird” at KCC, contact Penelope Stickney at [email protected]. The performance is sponsored by KCC's Humanities and Social Sciences Division and Office of Student Life. KCC is located south of downtown Kankakee off River Road, near U.S. 45-52, or take Interstate 57 to Exit 308 and follow the signs. Directions are online at www.kcc.edu/directions/. we’re excited to explore these various exiles and reunions through these incredible stories," says Artistic Director Jason King Jones. "Outsiders and exiles exist in all communities, and they offer great truths about the worlds in which they live. Through the stories of Rosalind, Scout, and Prospero, we have an opportunity to reflect on our own diverse communities and form new bonds with all those around us; strangers and friends alike." -30-