Clemson Players to present award-winning play

Published: April 11, 2012

The Clemson Players will present the play "Proof" April 16-22 at the Brooks Center. image by: Clemson University

CLEMSON — Who is the mathematical genius who found a theorem about prime numbers that experts thought could not be found? This question is one that the Clemson Players set out to answer in their presentation of "Proof" by David Auburn.

The award-winning production will be presented in the Bellamy Theatre at Clemson University's Brooks Center for the Performing Arts at 8 p.m. each day from Monday, April 16, to Saturday, April 22, and at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 22.

Set on the campus of the University of Chicago, "Proof" revolves around Catherine, the daughter of Robert, a recently deceased mathematical genius and professor. She has cared for her father during a lengthy and debilitating disease, which she fears she might have inherited.

Upon his death, Catherine begins a relationship with one of her father’s former graduate students who ends up finding the groundbreaking proof in her father’s study. From that point on, the play centers around who authored the proof, Robert or Catherine, a mathematical genius in her own right.

Junior performing arts major Erin McDonnell of South Pasadena, Calif., who plays Catherine, said, “This has been a wonderful experience. The show is challenging — an emotional roller coaster — but it works because it is so tightly written and the story is so rich.”

The cast is small, with only four actors, and the play is directed by guest director Ray Sawyer. He has a deep history at Clemson and has “a contagious passion for this show,” McDonnell said.

In 2001, "Proof" won the Tony Award for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize for drama.

Tickets for the show are $11 for adults and $6 for students and can be purchased online, in person or by phone. Visit www.clemson.edu/Brooks or call the Box Office at 864-656-7787 from 1 to 5 p.m. Monday–Friday for more information.

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