The Seton Hill University Theatre and Dance Program will present “Salvation Road” by D.W. Gregory, April 12-20, in the William Granger Ryan Theatre, Performing Arts Center, 100 Harrison Avenue, Greensburg, Pa. Tickets are $16, with student and group rates available. Call the Seton Hill Performing Arts Center Box Office for tickets at 724-552-2929 or purchase tickets online.

Performances: April 12, 13, 18, 19, 20: 8 p.m.; April 14: 2 p.m.; April 17: 10:30 a.m. For more information, call 724-552-2929. The playwright will host a talkback immediately following the April 13 performance.

Denise is off to college but something goes terribly wrong when she cuts ties to her friends and family and disappears. Younger brother Cliff is on a mission to track Denise down and bring her home. But can he reclaim Denise from her new church, even if she doesn’t want to be saved?

The Seton Hill student cast of “Salvation Road” includes Lauren Albring of Pittsburgh, Pa., Candace Butala of Charleroi, Pa., Caitlin Dobronz of Pittsburgh, Pa., Domenic Jungling of Gibsonia, Pa., Patrick McMahon of Gibsonia, Pa., William Smolter of Glenshaw, Pa., Veronica Vento of West Homestead, Pa., and Ariel Watters of Everett, Pa.

The Seton Hill student technical staff includes Jimmy Amor of New Holland, Pa., set design, Gretchen Cullison of Sparks, Md., costume design assistant, Farrah Felten of Schellsburg, Pa., props manager, Jayna Kovel of Springdale, Pa., assistant stage manager, Andrew Kutrufis of Pittsburgh, Pa., co-sound designer, Anna McDunn of Allison Park, Pa., wardrobe manager, Hayley McLean of Elkridge, Md., stage manager, Andrew Meholick of Connellsville, Pa., dramaturg, Maggie Ozzello of Jeannette, Pa., board operator, Kristina Stoddart of Hamilton, Ohio, assistant director, and Alyssa Wano of Latrobe, Pa., assistant stage manager.

Seton Hill Theatre’s production of “Salvation Road” is directed by Kellee VanAken, Ph.D., assistant professor and director, Theatre Program. Professional artistic staff for the production includes Ken Clothier, assistant professor, theatre and dance, lighting and sound designer, Karen Glass, assistant professor, theatre and dance, costume designer, and Lisa Leibering, adjunct instructor, theatre, professional shop manager.

“Salvation Road” is written by Seton Hill Distinguished Alumna D.W. Gregory.

The New York Times called D.W. Gregory, “a playwright with a talent to enlighten and provoke.”

A former freelance theatre critic for The Washington Post, she currently has six plays in print. Her work has been produced throughout the United States and abroad, including productions in London, England, Madrid, Spain and Lima, Peru.

Since its premiere in 2000, her first professionally produced play, “Radium Girls,” which is based on the true story of the women who worked as dial painters at the U.S. Radium Corporation, received more than 130 productions worldwide and was named the “Best New Play” in the New Jersey Professional Theatre by the Newark Star-Ledger. “Radium Girls” was produced at Seton Hill in 2001 under the direction of Gene “Doc” Saraceni.

Gregory, of Washington, D.C., received a Pulitzer Prize nomination for her second production, “The Good Daughter,” which opened in 2003. Additional works include “October 1962,” “The Good Girl is Gone,” “Salvation Road” and “Dirty Pictures.”

In 2005, Gregory founded Playwrights Gymnasium, a process oriented playwrights’ workshop in Washington, D.C. Today she serves as the artistic director for the organization. She is also a resident playwright at the New Jersey Repertory Company.

Gregory is a member of the Dramatist Guild, Philadelphia Dramatists, American Association for Theatre in Education, the Educational Theatre Association, and Theatre for Young Audiences.

After earning her Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature from Seton Hill, Gregory continued her education and obtained her Master of Fine Arts degree in drama from the Catholic University of America.

Venue Information: All Seton Hill Theatre and Dance performances are held in the William Granger Ryan Theatre in Seton Hill’s Performing Arts Center, 100 Harrison Avenue, Greensburg, Pa. The Performing Arts Center is a fully accessible and climate-controlled facility. Parking is available in four nearby Greensburg parking areas: the Bell Parking Garage on North Otterman Street (across the street from the Performing Arts Center), the Hellman-Ghrist lot on North Main Street, the Albert Grillo lot on Seton Hill Drive and the Wib Albright lot off West Otterman Street.

Ticket Information: Single admission tickets are $16. Seton Hill students (with valid ID) can purchase tickets for $5. Non-Seton Hill students (with a valid school ID) can purchase advance tickets for $13. Students from any school can purchase rush tickets five minutes before curtain, subject to availability, for $5 (with valid school ID). Groups of 10 or more can purchase tickets at a rate of $11 each with a reservation and advance payment. Order tickets online at www.setonhilltheatre.com, by phone at 724-552-2929, or by mail at SHUPAC Theatre Box Office, Seton Hill University, 1 Seton Hill Drive, Greensburg, Pa. 15601-1599. Box Office Hours, by telephone: 11 a.m. – 3 p.m., Monday through Friday. Extended hours on performance days: 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Sunday.

Seton Hill University’s Performing Arts Center is 73,000 square feet of everything a performing arts major needs to move from student to professional. The Center houses two dedicated, flexible performance spaces, the Carol Ann Reichgut Concert Hall and the William Granger Ryan Theatre. The Center also includes a performance studio, new classrooms, rehearsal rooms and technical areas that include the best equipment for learning and performing, from Steinway pianos to the latest in lighting, sound, video and acoustics. The Center is located in downtown Greensburg, putting it squarely in the middle of the city’s cultural district yet still only minutes from Seton Hill’s main hilltop campus.

The Seton Hill University Theatre and Dance Program has a long history of educating performing arts majors for professional careers while playing a vital role in the educational life of the campus. Seton Hill's Theatre and Dance Program offers four full-length productions (as well as a number of shorter works) and two dance productions each year that generate audiences of over 3,500 and speak to topics addressed in courses across Seton Hill’s curriculum. For more information on the Theatre and Dance Program at Seton Hill, click here or call 724-552-2934.