By DONNA KENNY KIRWAN

PAWTUCKET — Mixed Magic Theatre’s efforts to increase literacy among teens by putting a new spin on classic literature has earned the local acting troupe a place in the national spotlight.

The company’s Nov. 15 performance of “Moby-Dick: Then and Now” will take place at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC.
At a press conference on Monday, Congressman Patrick Kennedy announced the special performance, and told the assemblage of local officials and guests, “You’re all invited down to join the party.”
Kennedy said he had been approached about the idea by state Rep. Peter Kilmartin, who had praised the local performance as well as the vision of Mixed Magic founders Ricardo and Bernadet Pitts-Wiley to encourage reading and appreciation of the arts. “Peter said to me, ‘Do you know anyone over there at the Kennedy Center?’” joked the congressman.
Kennedy said that independent projects involving young people, such as this one, can be an important tool in trying to lower the number of high school drop-outs. “The arts is a fantastic way to keep kids engaged,” he stated. He added that he would do his best to promote the production to the Kennedy Center’s board of
directors in hopes of helping it to reach and even wider audience.
“Moby-Dick: Then and Now” first took place in May, 2007 in Pawtucket at The Moby-Dick Project Symposium with guests and workshop participants from across the country. The project was funded through the support of state Representatives Peter Kilmartin and Elizabeth Dennigan, Mayor James E. Doyle, the Rhode Island Foundation, Barnes & Noble Booksellers and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Ricardo Pitts-Wiley, Mixed Magic’s artistic director, said his intent was to adapt Herman Melville’s classic tale to a modern day story “and the great beauty and scope of this novel allows both things to co-exist wonderfully,” he said. He said his own quest with the Moby-Dick Project was to get 10,000 people to read the novel, which he calls “a story for a lifetime.”
Mixed Magic Theatre has been involved in similar projects with Shakespeare’s works, and other classics such as Huckleberry Finn and Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” “It’s so important that we get adults and kids to read together, and to break down the barriers that exists between a professional person and a non-professional person,” said Pitts-Wiley. Referring to the youngsters who have been exposed to such arts projects, he said, “Our kids can talk about great literature with anybody.”
Kilmartin said that when he first heard Ricardo Pitts-Wiley’s plans for the “Moby-Dick: Then and Now” project in 2007, he thought it sounded “ambitious.” However, he said he also thought that, “If anyone can pull it off, Ricardo and Bernadet can.”
Kilmartin said he likes the way the project “goes outside of the box” to draw youngsters in to deeper appreciation of the arts and literacy, and thinks this concept should be expanded. “Let’s bring it to the stage it belongs on,” he said, of the performance in the nation’s capital.
Mayor James E. Doyle called the announcement of the Kennedy Center performance “truly wonderful news.” He added, “You’re in a class that very few companies have achieved.”
Doyle said he was immediately “sold on the project” when he heard about it back in 2007. “I thought it was an innovative idea to enhance teenage reading by linking it with a production,” noted the mayor. “I’m happy to see Bernadet and Ricardo’s hard work to be recognized.”
Mixed Magic Theatre is now hoping to raise funds to help pay for the cast and crew to stage the production at the Kennedy Center in Washington. So far, the trip has received sponsorship from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, Shove Insurance, Bank of America, and the Narragansett Bay Insurance Company.
Anyone wishing to make a donation or seeking further information can contact Bernadet Pitts-Wiley at 401-475-6675, or mail to 171 Main St., Pawtucket, RI 02860.