IC Theatre is accepting donations of books and other reading materials to be sent free of charge to inmates across the country via the community-based organization Books Through Bars of Ithaca. A donation box has been set up at the entrance to the Clark Theatre lobby in Dillingham Center; donations will be accepted now through October 12.
The book drive is taking place in conjunction with Ithaca College Theatre's production of The Exonerated, a play based on the real stories of six wrongfully convicted Americans.
The books most-requested by prisoners are dictionaries, especially legal dictionaries and Spanish-English dictionaries. Other often-requested books include those on GED preparation; legal texts; books by African American, Native American and Hispanic authors; books on African American, Native American, and Hispanic history; health texts; and Spanish language books. All book donations are welcome.
The Exonerated, a play by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen, will be presented by Ithaca College Theatre and directed by Cynthia Henderson. Performances will be held in the Clark Theatre at Dillingham Center at 8p.m. on Oct. 7 and 9-11, with 2p.m. matinees offered Oct. 11 and 12. The Exonerated will run approximately 90 minutes without an intermission. Because of its thematic content, this play is intended for mature audiences.
Tickets for The Exonerated range from $4.50 to $10. They can be purchased from the Ithaca College Theatre ticket office in Dillingham Center or by calling 607-274-3224. Tickets can also be purchased at the Ticket Center at 607-273-4497 or online at www.ithacaevents.com.
In 2000, playwrights Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen traveled the United States to document the stories of 40 people wrongly convicted of odious crimes and later released from death row. The Exonerated is the result of Blank and Jensen’s research. The play focuses on six of these exonerated Americans as they recount their arrests and trials, reveal shocking and disturbing events from their time on death row, and come to terms with their newfound freedom.
Kerry Max Cook, who spent two decades on death row wrongfully convicted of murder, is speaking on campus on October 10 and 11. The visit is in conjunction with the production of The Exonerated, as Cook is one of the actual voices behind the play. Cook is discussing his experiences on death row in an event open to the public on Friday, Oct. 10 in Textor 102 on the Ithaca College campus at 3:30 pm. He is signing copies of his book, Chasing Justice, at 12:30pm on Saturday, Oct. 11 in the lobby of Dillingham Center before the 2:00pm performance of The Exonerated.
The evening of Oct. 11, Cook is also participating in a talk-back at 9:45pm in the Clark Theatre at Dillingham Center, immediately following the 8:00pm performance of The Exonerated.
