From Senior Project to Stage Production: 'Flight of the Iron Butterfly' Opens at RutgersRecent alumnus Richard Bencivenga bases his play on grandfather's WWII experience
Nov. 7, 2007
EDITORS NOTE: Attention assignment editors
FROM SENIOR PROJECT TO STAGE PRODUCTION: FLIGHT OF THE IRON BUTTERFLY OPENS AT RUTGERS
Recent alumnus Richard Bencivenga bases his play on grandfathers WWII experience
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| WHAT: | The public premiere of Flight of the Iron Butterfly, an original play by Richard Bencivenga |
| WHEN: | Saturday, Nov. 10 and Sunday, Nov. 11, at 3 p.m., and Saturday, Nov. 17, at 8 p.m. |
| WHERE: | The auditorium at Lucy Stone Hall, on the Livingston Campus of Rutgers University, 54 Joyce Kilmer Ave., Piscataway, N.J. |
| WHO: | The performances are sponsored by the Rutgers Oral History Archives and the Department of English in Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences |
BACKGROUND: The generation that experienced World War II is dying rapidly now, and opportunities to record its members stories are precious. Richard Bencivenga came upon one such opportunity when his grandfather opened up about his experiences in the war.
As Bencivenga was nearing graduation from Rutgers University in 2006, he needed a subject for a semester-long project for his play-writing class. At the same time, his grandfather, John Czahor, was dying in Florida. Growing up, I was told that Grandpa had jumped on D-Day, but beyond that, I didn't know much, Bencivenga said. Then, just two months before his death last year, paratrooper veteran Czahor finally told his family the long-suppressed details of his wartime experiences. Bencivenga transcribed his grandfathers story, and then spent six months researching the facts and the history of his military unit before writing the script for Flight of the Iron Butterfly. In the play, he uses the metaphor of a caterpillars metamorphosis into a butterfly to plot his grandfathers evolution from a New Jersey farm boy into a battle-hardened veteran.
Admission is free, and seats can be reserved by calling The Rutgers Oral History Archives at 732-932-8190 or emailing flightoftheironbutterfly@gmail.com. More information about the play, including parking information, is available at www.myspace.com/flightoftheironbutterflywww.myspace.com/flightoftheironbutterfly.
Contact: Ken Branson
732-932-7084, Ext. 633
E-mail: kbranson@ur.rutgers.edu