Unnatural Acts: Harvard’s Secret Court of 1920

Presented by and the Office for the Arts at Harvard and the A.R.T./MXAT Institute for Advanced Theater Training at Harvard

In 2002, a writer for the Harvard Crimson stumbled across a collection of files in the University Archives labeled “Secret Court Files, 1920.” After a six-month battle to gain access to the records, the newspaper broke the story of the file’s contents: evidence of Harvard’s investigation and expulsion of seven undergraduate students for involvement with homosexual acts. This drama, conceived by Tony Speciale and written by members of the Plastic Theatre, tells the story of these young men and the Court that expelled them not only from school, but also from the city of Cambridge.

Following the reading there will be a post-performance discussion with Vanidy Bailey (Director of BGLTQ Student Life at Harvard), Timothy McCarthy (Lecturer on History and Literature and on Public Policy at Harvard University and Director of the Sexuality, Gender, and Human Rights Program at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School), James Lecesne (creator of the academy-award winning short film Trevor and the founder of The Trevor Project), and Tony Speciale. Moderated by A.R.T. Dramaturg Ryan McKittrick.

Need to know

For tickets: Call 617.496.2222 or reserve on line at www.boxoffice.harvard.edu

Written by Members of the Plastic Theatre
Conceived By Tony Speciale
A staged reading directed by Tony Speciale
Featuring graduate acting students from the A.R.T. Institute for Advanced Theater Training at Harvard and undergraduate students from Harvard College