As always, it's those who have dedicated themselves to art who accomplish the great journalistic task that our newscasts don't: the careful presentation of what life is actually like. For tonight's premiere of Slammed! KC Speaks Out on the Recession, UMKC's graduate theater department and civic-minded theater professor Stephanie Roberts have set out to document the hard truths of trying times. Inspired by the works of Studs Terkel and Anna Deavere Smith, Roberts and the Slammed crew have collected stories from real Kansas Citians, aspiring to capture not just the pain of economic hardship but also the spirit that urges a community through it. This is not an oral history; it's oral news. You can demonstrate that spirit yourself tonight in Studio 116 of UMKC's Performing Arts Center (4949 Cherry) by bringing a donation of winter clothes, socks or deodorant to benefit Hope House; Neighbor 2 Neighbor; and Office of the Homeless Liaison of the Kansas City, Kansas, public schools. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. Call 816-235-6222 for tickets.
Feb. 17-28, 7:30 p.m., 2010
