March 10: Paul R. Jones Lecture
UD alumnus Ty Jones to deliver annual Paul R. Jones Lecture
2 p.m., Feb. 22, 2016--The University of Delaware’s annual Paul R. Jones Lecture, featuring alumnus Ty Jones, producing artistic director of the Classical Theatre of Harlem, will be held at 4 p.m., Thursday, March 10, in the Gore Recital Hall of Roselle Center for the Arts.
Jones, producing artistic director of the Classical Theatre of Harlem and NAACP Award winner, received a bachelor’s degree in communication from UD in 1992 and a master of fine arts degree in theatre through the Professional Theatre Training Program in 1995.
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June 5: Blue Hen 5K
June 6-9: Food and culture series
He will speak on the topic “Myth of the Superlative.”
The presentation is free and open to the public.
Also that week, Jones will present a prologue – an informal pre-show talk – prior to the Resident Ensemble Players show To Kill A Mockingbird at 1:15 p.m., Saturday, March 12, in the Thompson Theatre of the Roselle Center for the Arts. Tickets are required. Contact the REP box office at cfa-boxoffice@udel.edu.
The campus appearances are sponsored by the Paul R. Jones Initiative, the College of Arts and Sciences, University Museums, the Department of Theatre and the Resident Ensemble Players.
About Ty Jones
Ty Jones has been with the Classical Theatre of Harlem since 2003, and has served as actor, producer, managing director, development director and board chair.
Under his leadership, the theatre’s artistic programming has grown both in scope and in recognition.
Jones initiated the acclaimed Uptown Meets Downtown program and led the inaugural Uptown Shakespeare in the Park project, bringing free outdoor professional theatre to Harlem’s Marcus Garvey Park.
Jones made his Broadway debut in Judgment at Nuremberg, and was also seen in the Tony Award-winning production of Henry IV and Julius Caesar with Denzel Washington.
He won an Obie Award for his portrayal of Archibald in the revival of the critically acclaimed Off-Broadway production The Blacks: A Clown Show.
As a writer, Jones’ play Emancipation: Chronicles of the Nat Turner Rebellion, premiered for the award-winning Classical Theatre of Harlem. He first created Emancipation as a screenplay, and it was selected as a finalist in the Sundance Institute Feature Film Program, was endorsed by the Southern Poverty Law Center, received Honorable Merit from the Writer Digest Screenwriters Association, and won the San Francisco Black Film Festival Screenwriting Competition.
Jones was presented a UD Presidential Citation for Outstanding Achievement in 2002.
About the Paul R. Jones Initiative
The Paul R. Jones Initiative fosters educational inquiry, interdisciplinary engagement, and critical thinking with and through African American art at the University of Delaware.
Founded in conjunction with the gift of the Paul R. Jones Collection, housed in Mechanical Hall, the initiative supports a broad range of programming intended to strengthen the collection and its interconnectivity with campus life and community.
The Paul R. Jones Annual Lecture honors the late Paul. R. Jones and his gift of African American art to the University in 2001. Since its arrival on campus, UD has supported a wide range of research and curricular programming using African American art as the seminal point of departure. This includes American art and culture in dialogue with Africa and its Diaspora.