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Friday, March 29
The Indiana Daily Student

arts iu auditorium

Streep to speak at IU

Meryl Streep has played many diverse film roles in her acting career. She was a mother fighting for custody. She was a Holocaust survivor. She was a devious fashion
editor.

This afternoon, she won’t be in front of the camera. She’ll be a speaker at the IU Auditorium.

Streep will make her appearance at 3 p.m. She previously spoke at IU in 2010 for the Colloquium for Women of Indiana University’s fall workshop.

“It is an unbelievable opportunity that the IU Cinema has been supplied with having an actor like Meryl Streep come talk to students,” IU Cinema Director Jon Vickers said. “It isn’t something I would have foreseen three years ago.”

Vickers said there is a longstanding relationship between the University and Streep, whose husband, Don Gummer, is an Indiana native.

Additionally, Gummer is a sculptor who has made several public art displays installed at IU-Bloomington and IU-Purdue University Indianapolis.

According to the IU Cinema website, Streep will receive an honorary doctoral degree for her achievements in the arts and her contributions as a philanthropist.

Considered by many film critics as one of the greatest living actors, Streep has had a successful acting career, with 18 Academy Award nominations and 28 Golden Globe nominations.

“Meryl Streep is certainly an A-list actor and is certainly on top of the film scene,” Vickers said. “She is also an international ambassador for the art form.”

Her visit this afternoon will be set up as an interview, led by Barbara Klinger, a professor in the Department of Communication and Culture.

For the interview, audience members will be allowed to tweet questions for Streep, to potentially be asked by Klinger.

Tickets for the event are free, but according to the auditorium’s box office, all the tickets for the lecture have been claimed.

Doors to the auditorium open at 2 p.m. and all attendees are required to be present and seated no later than 2:50 p.m.

After today’s lecture, she will present a screening of her film “A Prairie Home Companion,” in which Streep stars as Yolanda Johnson, at the IU Cinema.

The cinema will also present several of Streep’s recent films, such as “The Iron Lady,” “Sophie’s Choice” and “August: Osage County,” in April and May in honor of her appearance.

Students said they are excited to see the acclaimed actress.

IU senior Emelly Rusli said she couldn’t be more excited to celebrate her last semester in school with this lecture.

“Meryl Streep is an outstanding actress who truly lives the character she plays for in every one of her movies,” Rusli said. “This is my last semester at IU, and I have to say that her coming would be one of the highlights for my last few months here.”

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