Before N.Y., ‘Lucasville’ stops at KSUTC

The play was chosen for the 12th annual Fringe Festival.

the vindicator

When Youngstown State University theater major Brandon Martin was choosing a senior project, he wanted to do more than entertain. He wanted to move people to action.

Martin said he found a perfect vehicle to do just that — a play that suggests five prison inmates were unjustly sentenced to death row for their roles in a riot at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility at Lucasville 15 years ago.

The Youngstown man will direct “Lucasville: The Untold Story of a Prison Uprising” at the prestigious New York International Fringe Festival next week. Performances will be in the Barrow Street Theatre from Aug. 8-10.

But before heading to New York, the show will be performed at 8 p.m. Friday at the Kent State-Trumbull Campus in Warren. For tickets, call (330) 675-8887

The play was written by Niles attorney and civil rights activist Staughton Lynd, with co-authors Gary Anderson and Christopher Fidram. “There’s an emotional tie to this play. It’s about real people, and there’s something you can do about it,” Martin said. “That’s what makes it different.”

Martin’s production, one of 200 acts to be staged at the 12th annual Fringe Festival, was chosen from more than 800 plays competing for inclusion in what is billed as one of the largest multiarts events in North America.

FringeNYC, as it’s also called, has been a launching pad for several successful theatrical projects, including the Tony Award-winning musical “Urinetown.”

“The Fringe Festival is sort of a theater contest, so there will be judges and awards. You never know what could happen,” he said. “It’s a really good place to do theater.”

Frank Castronovo, chair of the Department of Theater and Dance at YSU, said Martin’s place on the Fringe program speaks well of the YSU program. “It’s an indication that our students are learning their craft, and learning it well enough to do it in a professional setting,” he said. “We’re proud of Brandon for this achievement.”

Martin first heard of the Lucasville drama in 2005 when he was performing in the Oakland Center of the Arts production of “The Exonerated.” Lynd invited cast members to audition for “Lucasville,” Martin won a role in the play which was subsequently performed in seven Ohio cities on a tour sponsored by the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio.

Martin directed and played a small role in a three-performance run of “Lucasville” at YSU’s Bliss Hall in April. The play impressed audiences enough, he said, that many signed petitions calling for new trials for the five inmates.