Weekly Asheville Disclaimer Page: 11/07/07

Typo in press release leads to cancellation of play
‘Death of the N-Word’ to be rescheduled

The typo has caused friction between Parks and Recreation’s cultural superintendent John Faraca (second from left) and public relations intern Josh Kerik (far right) as they attempt to quell public outcry over the error.

W.C. REID CENTER, MONDAY — When tickets to an upcoming play presented at the W.C. Reid Center for Creative Arts were not selling in the week before the show, Asheville Parks and Recreation officials were perplexed.

“This play, ‘Death of the N-Word,’ is a fascinating examination of how the linguistic choices of today’s youth can create or destroy the self-dignity of various cultural groups,” said John Faraca, the cultural superintendent for Parks and Recreation. “So when tickets weren’t selling, our first thought was that people were turned off by our use of the phrase ‘NWord,’ which I guess, in terms of our message, is a success. Nonetheless, we didn’t want to take a bath on this production.”

As officials wondered how to salvage the show, protesters and death threats brought their attention to an innocent though misleading typo in their press release that several local newspapers faithfully reprinted.

The error was traced back to Joshua Kerik, a senior at Warren Wilson who is serving as a public relations intern at Parks and Recreation in order to graduate early with a degree in English and a minor in Peace & Justice Studies.

“When Mr. Faraca told me to write a press release for ‘Death of the N-Word,’ I thought he just felt uncomfortable saying the real title of the play to me,” said Kerik. “I’m sorrier than a ‘M-word Fword’ about this whole thing.”

“The fact that our intern himself is African American does not absolve his literal use of the ‘N-word’ in the press release, as ‘Death of the N-Word’ clearly teaches,” said Faraca. “Additionally, the regrettable switching of a key preposition in the title didn’t exactly help matters.”

The mistake has put both the play’s future and Kerik’s bid for a degree in English in question.

The culturally insensitive error has caused too much damage already, say producers, and the play will have to be rescheduled “once the rioting subsides.”

Meet Your Neighbor

Name: Randy Hammer.

Occupation: Newly-named president and publisher, Asheville Citizen-Times; retired adult-film star.

Home: Crashing on John Boyle’s couch for now in case he gets transferred by Gannett again next week.

On Friday, Randy Hammer will present a screening of the 1983 Charles de Gaulle adult bio-pic in which he made his acting debut.

Favorite thing about WNC: Will announce the answer in a “Meet the Publisher” column as soon as he determines the most popular reponse after researching Gannett’s demographic research on the matter.

Plans for the future: “Over the past six months, I’ve been transferred to Pensacola, Louisville, Marion, Huntington, Springfield, and Jackson, Tenn. So, uh, I’m really looking forward to getting to know this community.”