"The Summer of the Swans" comes to life at Fairfield University's Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts | Press Releases

"The Summer of the Swans," a new drama based on Betsy Byars' Newberry Medal winning novel, takes the stage at Fairfield University's Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts on Tuesday, Oct. 14, at 10 a.m. The TheatreworksUSA performance is part of the Quick Center's ArtsBound Schoolday Series, sponsored, in part, by Regina A. Quick and the Educational Foundation of America. It is geared toward middle school classes.

The play, written by Julia Jordan, centers on a confusing summer in the life of 14-year-old Sara Godfrey. She's dealing with her bossy Aunt Willie and her absentee father. Her older sister is beautiful and popular, while Sara's only claim to fame is that she has the biggest feet in school. Then there's Charlie, Sara's younger brother with special needs, who wants nothing more than to sit at the edge of the lake, watching the swans glide by. Sometimes Sara wishes she could join them, flying away from everything and everyone she knows.

One morning, Sara awakens to find that Charlie has wandered off in the night. Filled with a new sense of purpose, she searches the lake, the fields and the woods in a desperate attempt to find her brother. Along the way, she discovers the depth of her love and realizes that the most important things in life have nothing to do with beauty, popularity - or dainty feet.

Playwright Julie Jordan's work is included in "Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 1997" Her short film, "The Hat," premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and has been shown on the Bravo and IFC television channels.

Jordan won the Francesca Primus Prize and was shortlisted for the Susan Smith Blackburn Award for her play "Tatiana in Color." She was a joint winner of the Heideman Award for her play "Mpls./St. Paul" and her play "Nightswim" will be published in a new collection soon. Jordan was a playwriting fellow at Juilliard and recently completed a year in residence at Manhattan Theatre Club. She holds a master's degree in creative writing from Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland.

The ArtsBound Schoolday Series is geared to school groups. Study guides are available for teachers. Single tickets are available for $7. For tickets, call the Quick Center box office at 203-254-4010 or toll free at 1-877-ARTS-396. For more information, visit the website, www.quickcenter.com. Media inquiries should be made to Dana Ambrosini, Fairfield University's assistant director of media relations, at 203-254-4000, ext. 2726.