Suzan-Lori Parks' drama In The Blood, directed by Vincent A. Masterpaul, runs Nov. 18–21, and John Guare's comedy-drama Landscape of the Body, directed by Stephen Davis, runs Dec. 1–4.

The productions will be performed at Longstreet Theater, with curtain times at 8 p.m. for each performance. Tickets are $5 for general seating and will be available at the door.

Parks won a Pulitzer Prize in 2002 for Topdog/Underdog. In the Blood is her interpretation of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. This gritty piece follows the trials of Hester, an unwed mother sheltering her five children under a bridge. Hester is naive and refuses to admit her own shortcomings. Clawing her way toward a better life, she is undermined and abused by those from whom she seeks help. Ultimately, she is driven to betray the children she had fought to protect.

Guare is best known for his plays House of Blue Leaves and Six Degrees of Separation. Set in 1970’s Greenwich Village, Landscape of the Body traces the humorously surreal and tragic experiences of a naive woman named Betty. She comes to the city with her teen-age son Bert, intending to convince her sister to return to their quiet home in New England. When Betty's sister is suddenly killed by a bicyclist, Betty takes on her dead sister's life of glamour and seedy glitz with surprising ease. Ultimately, Betty must choose between her sister's nightmare and her own dawning vision of life as unpredictable and mysterious.

Both shows contain adult language and content.

For more information, call USC's Department of Theatre and Dance at 7-4288.

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