A performer with ties to The County will bring the show she has presented on stages across the country to the University of Maine at Presque Isle in April.

Pam Chabora will perform The Belle of Amherst, a one-woman play which explores the life and poetry of Emily Dickinson, on Tuesday, April 7 at 7 p.m. in Wieden Auditorium. Chabora, a professor of theatre at North Dakota State University, portrays Dickinson at the various stages of her life in this Tony-Award winning two-act play by William Luce.

Dr. Chabora for many years has maintained parallel careers in educational theatre – she previously taught theatre in Aroostook County at the University of Maine at Fort Kent – and in professional theatre as an actress, singer, director, and choreographer. Her theatrical credits range from Juliet in Star-Crossed Lovers, a musical, to the title role in Miss Julie.

Chabora maintains a high profile in national and international theatre organizations. In addition to serving as chief officer for the Acting Program of the Association of Theatre in Higher Education and Midwest Representative for the Association of Theatre Movement Educators, Chabora has served for five years as editor for THE BEAT, a publication of the Acting Program addressing cutting edge training techniques for actors.

She has received five separate ACTF Meritorious awards from the American College Theatre Festival for Directorial Concept and Ensemble work and was nominated for the Moss Hart award for Children’s Theatre.

Chabora earned her Ph.D. in performance training from Michigan State University. She earned her master’s degree from the University of Kentucky in performance and her bachelor’s degree from Berea College in musical theatre. Along with her work at UMFK, she has served in faculty positions at the University of New Hampshire’s Department of Theatre and Dance, as Head of Performance at Susquehanna University, and at the University of Toledo’s Department of Theatre, Film and Dance.

The Belle of Amherst debuted in 1976 on Broadway and starred actress Julie Harris, who later appeared in a PBS television production of the play. The Belle of Amherst has been translated into many languages and thousands of productions have been presented around the world.

Tickets are $5 at the door; UMPI, NMCC, and SAGE students with ID admitted free. For more information about this performance, call 768-9462.