Whoopi Goldberg To Speak In Sanders

Award-winning actor Whoopi Goldberg will field question from students at an informal forum a week from Monday in Sanders Theatre.

Members of the Harvard community with an ID can sign up for a ticket lottery between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. tomorrow and Monday at the Office for the Arts at Harvard and Radcliffe (OFA) or in University Hall.

The event will be modeled on actor Mel Gibson's visit last fall, which was also structured in a question-and-answer format.

"It's tremendously exciting-the event of the year," said Harry R. Lewis '68, dean of the College. "Well, Nelson Mandela's okay, too," he joked.

OFA and the Harvard College Women's Initiative will co-sponsor Goldberg's appearance, which is scheduled for 3 p.m. The majority of the 1,100 tickets will go to students, according to Thomas S. Lee, coordinator of Learning From Performers, a division of the OFA.

"It is going to be a freewheeling informal kind of a presentation, mainly based on questions from the audience," he said.

The Learning From Performers Program brings professional artists to Harvard to meet and work with students in a range of educational forums, University officials said.

Lee said OFA Director Myra A. Mayman, Eric C. Engel, director of Memorial and Lowell Complex and he have been discussing holding an event in Sanders Theatre for about two years. Goldberg's speech coincides with the 25th anniversary of the OFA.

Lee contacted John A. Lithgow '67, a former member of the Board of Overseers and longtime supporter of the annual Arts First celebration. It was Lithgow who invited Goldberg on the annual Arts First celebration. It wasLithgow who invited Goldberg on behalf of theUniversity.

"Because of her busy schedule we haven't beenable to get her until now," Lee said.

Lee has also been working with Karen E. Avery'87, assistant dean for coeducation and co-founderof the Harvard College Women's Initiative. Theprogram was founded in 1997 to bring distinguishedwomen to campus to talk with students.

"Because [Goldberg] is a significant womanworking in show business and...a humanitarian, wethough that she would be a good choice for this,"Lee said.

Goldberg's lecture is part of the Amy SmithBerylson '75 lecture series, an annual event thatis part of the Women's Initiative program.

Besides her acting, Goldberg works with varioushumanitarian programs involving children, thehomeless, human rights and substance abuse.

The National Association for the Advancement ofColored People twice gave her its Image Award.

Goldberg is now an executive producer and starof a new version of "Hollywood Squares."

Her most recent film was How Stella Got HerGroove Back. Other big screen performancesinclude Ghost, Sister Act, Jumpin' Jack Flash,Boys on the Side, and her 1985 debut, TheColor Purple. She is a winner of the Academyaward and has twice received Golden Globe awards.

The OFA is located at 74 Mt. Auburn St. Thelottery results will be posted Nov. 5 and 6 at thesign-up sights. Tickets must be picked up at theSanders Theatre box office between noon and 6 p.m.either day

"Because of her busy schedule we haven't beenable to get her until now," Lee said.

Lee has also been working with Karen E. Avery'87, assistant dean for coeducation and co-founderof the Harvard College Women's Initiative. Theprogram was founded in 1997 to bring distinguishedwomen to campus to talk with students.

"Because [Goldberg] is a significant womanworking in show business and...a humanitarian, wethough that she would be a good choice for this,"Lee said.

Goldberg's lecture is part of the Amy SmithBerylson '75 lecture series, an annual event thatis part of the Women's Initiative program.

Besides her acting, Goldberg works with varioushumanitarian programs involving children, thehomeless, human rights and substance abuse.

The National Association for the Advancement ofColored People twice gave her its Image Award.

Goldberg is now an executive producer and starof a new version of "Hollywood Squares."

Her most recent film was How Stella Got HerGroove Back. Other big screen performancesinclude Ghost, Sister Act, Jumpin' Jack Flash,Boys on the Side, and her 1985 debut, TheColor Purple. She is a winner of the Academyaward and has twice received Golden Globe awards.

The OFA is located at 74 Mt. Auburn St. Thelottery results will be posted Nov. 5 and 6 at thesign-up sights. Tickets must be picked up at theSanders Theatre box office between noon and 6 p.m.either day