By Rohan Preston
Macalester College has many distinguished alumni with African roots, including former UN head and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Kofi Annan, who was born in Ghana. The influential St Paul-based college also has many theater artists among its graduates, including Mixed Blood founder Jack Reuler, Pillsbury House Theatre leader Faye Price, and prominent stage actor-director James A. Williams. Danai Gurira, who graduated from Macalester in 2001, is fast adding to the luster of both camps. Born in Grinnell, Iowa, to Zimbabwean parents, Gurira grew up in Zimbabwe before returning to the U.S. to complete her education (she also earned her MFA in acting from NYU) and to develop her craft as a playwright-actor. She won an Obie in 2006 for her play "In The Continuum." She has also acted in a number of independent feature films and on a variety of national stages. On Friday, Gurira returns to her alma mater, where she once performed onstage, for a reading of "Eclipsed," her new work. The play is set in war-torn Liberia and revolves around five women who have been affected by violence. 7 p.m. Fri., Weyerhaeuser Memorial Chapel, Macalester College, 1600 Grand Av., St Paul. Free. 651-696-6371.
