UNCW PERFORMANCE STUDIES STUDENTS PRESENT LITERARY ADAPTATION OF THE ITALIAN LEGEND: LA BEFANA
NOVEMBER 5TH AND 12TH UNCW CAMPUS IN THE LEUTZE HALL 125 STUDIO BLACK BOX, UNCW Performance Studies of the Communication Studies Department will present The Legend of La Befana: The Italian Christmas Witch.
La Befana is more famous during the winter holiday season than St. Nick in Italy. The script written by Dr. Julie-Ann Scott-Pollock gives a twist on the legend, explores the origins of the story, and offers original songs set to folk melodies. The production includes a talkback with the audience about the legend and the process to bring it to life.
The production is open to the public and free to attend, you can access tickets here: https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=gWcTIlOXdUyvKGigeIcev_Yd-xJ9sEBIkkhj_zl4439UM1gzR1NFOVFETUEwRUJBTFoxVkRLT01COC4u&route=shorturl
“This year, I decided that my department’s performance season would feature the first holiday show since 2008, with 14 student performers, designers, and/or producers bringing the story to life with the help of three professors under our institution’s new interdisciplinary learning initiative.” – Dr. Julie-Ann Scott-Pollock.
Students enrolled in Com 495: Applied Cultural Performance form the cast, crew, marketing, and production teams.
The goal of the production is to highlight the overall importance of the caretakers in our lives, like La Befana was. According to Dr. Julie-Ann Scott-Pollock, Communication Studies Professor and Director, “this stage adaptation is dedicated to my grandma, Josephine, my mother, Rose, and all caregivers who feel tired, restless, and wonder about a greater purpose. For all who take deep pride in maintaining a sparkling floor with the last of their earthly energy, I hope, like Befana, that life events, in all their imperfections, allow them the opportunity to be valued by others with fulfillment and a purpose to believe in.”
“This show has been developing in the mind and heart of Dr. Scott-Pollock for a long time and I'm excited that she and her cast will bring it to life. Merging the talents of faculty and students to create new things is one of the best expressions of the college experience at UNCW.” – Dr. Olsen, Department Chair of Communication Studies

La Befana: The Italian Christmas Witch will premiere Wednesday November 5th at 7:00 pm in the Leutze Hall 125 Studio Black Box on the UNCW Campus with the concluding show in the same location on November 12th at 7:00 pm. Both performances are open to the public and free to attend.

For press inquiries, contact Dr. Julie-Ann Scott-Pollock (207-991-8393, scottj@uncw.edu in the Communication Studies Department at UNCW.) Visual opportunities are available for the media.