US v. UNCLE PAUL
Written by Rachel Hinkel and Claudia Nolan
Directed by Claudia Nolan
UMass Amherst
Bartlett Hall, Room 316
Saturday April 22 @ 2 p.m.
Roles: U.S. Agent, Friend, and Ensemble
Synopsis: US v. UNCLE PAUL adapts material about the arrest and trial of Paul Hinkel following a Department of Homeland Security sting operation seeking online child predators. While Paul never took the stand during his actual trial, here, he and his family members and friends all have a voice in the proceedings. Drawing from court transcripts, interviews with family members, and letters Paul has written to Hinkel from jail, this play asks the audience to see Paul as a complex human being while still acknowledging the fact that he was pursuing sexual relations with what he believed was an underage teen girl, even though she never really existed.
It’s a provocative exploration of the new digital reality, the blurred lines of privacy, fantasy, deception, entrapment, and masking.