Free play, discussion about civil communities Feb. 16

Gentrification and the future of urban development in Chapel Hill will be the topic of a free discussion after the 2 p.m. Feb. 16 performance of PlayMakers Repertory Company’s “Clybourne Park.”

The event, “Civil Discourse, Civil Communities,” is sponsored by PlayMakers and the Program in the Humanities in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The play and discussion will be held at the Center for Dramatic Art on Country Club Road.

Participants are invited to attend the performance for free as well, but must pre-register as seats are limited. To reserve tickets, call (919) 962-1544 or visit http://humanities.unc.edu.

The conversation after the play will feature Christian Lundberg, assistant professor of communication studies, who will discuss “What Makes a Conversation Civil?” Actor, producer and UNC alumnus Mike Wiley will speak about “The Place(s) of Race in America.”

PlayMakers is offering audiences two insightful looks at race and the meaning of home in its rotating repertory productions of “Clybourne Park” and “Raisin in the Sun,” through March 3.

In the groundbreaking “Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry, proceeds from a life insurance policy give the Younger family hope for a better life. Can their “dreams deferred” be realized by moving into a home in an all-white neighborhood? Written by Bruce Norris in 2009, “Clybourne Park” takes up the story where “Raisin” leaves off — in 1959 with a white couple selling their home to the Youngers and causing uproar among their middle-class neighbors.

For more information on the plays and other public events, visit http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/5780/66/.