UA News

A UA alumna is the guest director.

The winner of the 1960 Tony Award for best play, “The Miracle Worker” tells the amazing story of Helen Keller, a young woman trapped in a world of silence and darkness. Deaf, blind and mute, with no way to communicate, she fought anyone who tried to help her with an intense, furious desperation.

Then Annie Sullivan came. A strong, half-blind woman fueled by her troubled past, she began the daunting struggle to reach Helen and finally bring her into the world.

The University of Arizona's Arizona Repertory Theatre will present the work over several dates in February and March.

Guest director Stephanie Campbell describes it as a story encompassing the essence of dignity, hope, spirit, possibilities and what people can reach for and accomplish under the most adverse of conditions or experiences.

Campbell is an alumna of the UA, having graduated in 1983 with a master’s degree in acting/directing. Over the past six years, she has returned to participate in actor-training workshops for students in the UA School of Theatre Arts.

Campbell is currently a full professor of theater at Montana State University, and has taught stage and screen acting there for 24 years. Her research has taken her to China, Bali, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Nepal, Germany and South Africa.

Theater-goers interested in learning more about the play are invited to two free discussions. A post-show discussion will be held immediately following the Feb. 17 performance in the Marroney Theatre. Guests can meet the actors during a question and answer session. On Feb. 21, a pre-show discussion about the behind-the-scenes aspects of the production will be held at 6:45 p.m.