Bard College to Host Free Performance and Film Screening by Internationally Acclaimed Ugandan-American Artist Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine on March 15 and 16

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.—The Bard College Theater Program will host accomplished Ugandan-American actor, writer, filmmaker, and photographer Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine for two events in March. On Thursday, March 16, at 8 p.m. in the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Art’s Sosnoff Theater, Ntare will perform Biro, his internationally-acclaimed solo multimedia performance piece that chronicles the life of an HIV-positive African’s epic journey through Uganda, Cuba, and America. The performance will be followed by a discussion about the piece between Ntare and Jonathan Rosenberg, associate professor of theater at Bard, and a question-and-answer session for the public. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact the Fisher Center box office at 845-758-7900. Reservations are not required. On Wednesday, March 15, at 8 p.m., the Theater Program presents a screening of Ntare’s award-winning film, Beware of Time, which exposes the lives of HIV-positive Ugandans, and the crimes of a brutal war ravaging northern Uganda. The screening will be followed by a discussion among the filmmaker; Rosenberg; Jesse Shipley, assistant professor of anthropology and Africana studies and director of the Africana Studies Program; and Rosalind Morris, professor of anthropology at Columbia University. The event takes place in Weis Cinema in the Bertelsmann Campus Center and is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Bonnie Anthony in the Theater Program at 845-758-7954. Ntare’s visit to Bard is being sponsored by the Bard College Theater Program, with the assistance and co-sponsorship of the Dean’s Office; the Africana Studies, Human Rights, Anthropology, and Film Programs; the Student Activities Office; the Black Students Office; and the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts. A first generation Ugandan-American, Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine has been documenting the lives of Ugandans for the past 18 years through photography, theatre, and film. His most extensive documentation has been in the field of photography. His work has been featured on HBO's television series Six Feet Under and also exhibited at the UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History, Latino Art Museum, United Nations, and Rush Arts Gallery, among others. Ntare received his master of fine arts degree in acting from New York University and completed studies at the Moscow Arts Theatre in Russia, Royal National Theatre in London, and University of Virginia. Ntare began working with rural-based theater artists in South Africa in 1996 on a grant from the William & Eva Fox Foundation. Inspired to collaborate with other African artists, he turned to his native homeland of Uganda, where he delved into the use of theater for development. After receiving a grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development and the AIDS Integrated Model, Ntare designed and implemented a practical training program for theatre artists engaged in HIV/AIDS advocacy. Entitled “See the Tree in the Seed,” the program sets out to restore hope and improve the quality of life of individuals infected with or affected by HIV/AIDS. His first effort as a playwright is Biro, which held its world premiere at Uganda's National Theatre in January 2003. The play subsequently premiered in London, then in New York at the Joseph Papp Public Theatre, where it made the New York Times’ critics’ pick list. Ntare's acting credits include leading roles at the Steppenwolf Theatre, Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, ACT, Long Wharf Theatre, and the National Tour of Six Degrees of Separation, for which he received an NAACP Image Award nomination for best actor. TV credits include ER, CSI, and Law & Order. Ntare's first effort as filmmaker is Beware of Time, which received its first broadcast in Uganda and subsequently was screened at the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles and the Black International Cinema in Berlin. For more information about Ntare and his work, log on to www.bewareoftime.com. # # # (2/16/06)

This event was last updated on 03-17-2006

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