Playwright Orlandersmith goes 'On the Issues' to discuss production of 'Until the Flood,' based on 2014 Ferguson police shooting

March 13, 2018

MILWAUKEE — Actress, playwright and poet Dael Orlandersmith will be the featured guest in an upcoming "On the Issues with Mike Gousha," Thursday, March 22, at 12:15 p.m. in the Lubar Center at Marquette University Law School's Eckstein Hall.

Orlandersmith is a world-renowned playwright and a 2002 Pulitzer Prize finalist. She is in Milwaukee for a Milwaukee Repertory Theater production of her play, "Until the Flood," which explores the reactions in Ferguson, Mo., and the St. Louis region to the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown in 2014 and the protests that followed. It is part of the Rep's Neighbor series, a trilogy of plays in the spring of 2018. The goal is to prompt a larger conversation about what it means to be a neighbor and to build a stronger community.

To prepare for "Until the Flood," Orlandersmith conducted dozens of interviews and eventually created eight composite characters, all of whom she plays in the production. The play premiered in St. Louis to strong reviews. During her visit, we'll talk with Orlandersmith about the production, and why the story she tells is as relevant to Milwaukee as it was to St. Louis.

Gousha, an award-winning broadcast journalist, is the Law School's distinguished fellow in law and public policy. His "On the Issues" series of conversations with newsmakers supports Marquette Law School's commitment to serve as a modern-day public square for the city of Milwaukee, the state of Wisconsin and beyond.

Through public programming such as the Marquette Law School Poll, debates featuring candidates in significant political races, Gousha's "On the Issues" conversations with newsmakers, public lectures by leading scholars and conferences on significant issues of public importance, the Law School serves as the region's leading venue for serious civil discourse about law and public policy matters.

The event is at capacity for members of the general public; registration for a waiting list is available online. Members of the media who are interested in attending should contact Chris Jenkins in the Office of Marketing and Communication.