By Jasmine Putney
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Shred the script. Dim the lights. Erase the preconceptions that constrain the endless possibilities of theater.

The liveliness of performing-arts teams up with the elegance of the written word at 8 p.m. today. The University of Iowa Theater Department and the UI International Writing Program will collaborate in the 15th-annual presentation of Global Express in the Theater Building’s Theater B. The event will feature plays, poems, and fiction by 11 authors from 11 locations.

An excerpt of Nigerian author Samuel Kolawole’s short story “The Praegustator Who Spied on the World” will be performed in tonight’sshowcase. Describing it as a story of love, adventure, and the supernatural, Kolawole said it is primarily about a man and his attempt to escape his forbidding reality.

“Several months ago, I read a newspaper about a 90-something-year-old woman who used to be Adolf Hitler’s food taster during World War II,” he said. “I became fascinated by the idea of a food taster and decided to write a story about a character who tastes food for an African dictator.”

He chose this selection for Global Express, Kolawole said, because he is “drawn to stuff that is slightly surreal.”

Actor Emelia Asiedu will perform in “The Praegustator Who Spied on the World” in addition to six other pieces. She said Kolawole’s story was one of her favorites; she found herself transfixed by his level of vivid description. Though the writing was almost always beautiful for each performance, she said, acting in Global Express did not come without difficulties.

“I think there was a huge challenge in this for us in the beginning because it was basically reading a story and not having to act or do anything like that,” she said. “Sometimes, the tendency for [actors] is to feel as though if we’re not acting out a performance, then we’re not really doing much. So our main challenge was being able to just sit, and read, and get the meaning across.”

Though theater is not presented in a traditional way during Global Express and causes actors such as Asiedu to stretch outside of their comfort zone, it highlights what can be accomplished when different zones of art work together to create a single product.

“I believe all forms of art strive to achieve the same goal, which is expression. So when two or more forms collide, something magical happens,” Kolawole said. “What Global Express is doing is nothing but creative magic, making the written word come alive in special ways.”

However, Global Express goes beyond the collaboration of theater and writing. It provides a unique opportunity to blend different cultural perspectives. Director Eric Forsythe said this fusion is new and challenging for both those involved in the production and the audience.

“There’s already enough fear and selfish isolationism to go around,” he said. “Let’s get past all that and listen to each other.”

What: Global Express

When: 8 p.m. Today

Where: Theater Building Theater B

Admission: Free