Colin Cox has been chasing racism across the country for 10 years.

“It’s always in the next county,” the playwright/director said.

As creator of the play ‘American Voices,’ Cox has made it his mission to fight
stereotypes and narrow-mindedness with his traveling show.

“The important point is to widen the definition of what the world thinks an
American looks like,” he said. “It is unfortunate when one assumes that people
are not American or that they don’t have certain rights because of their
differences.”

‘American Voices’ is a one-woman play that profiles seven different characters.
Each character faces different issues associated with their ethnicity or culture.

The show, which has traveled to over 500 colleges across the U.S., will be
performed at the University Tuesday night at the GA Hall.

Cox wrote the play as a follow-up to another of his shows ‘Faces of America.’
Both plays were inspired by interviews with real people Cox had encountered
throughout his career as a theatre director in L.A.

With ‘American Voices’ however, Cox wanted to include issues other than race
and ethnicity.

The play examines everything from socio-economic problems to eating
disorders to sexual orientation.

“I want to make Americans understand that from its inceptions it’s always been
a diverse country; we need to acknowledge that,” Cox said.

For Lee Sherman, the star of the show, ‘American Voices’ holds special meaning
for her as an African-American woman.

“This is probably the most meaningful piece in my career because these are real
people and these are their stories,” she said. “A part of me can relate to each of
the characters because I am colored.”

After the performance, a discussion on diversity will be held with Sherman and
Cox.

Cox hopes to raise awareness and issues at the discussion. But above all, he
wants the audience to question their own perceptions.

“At the end of the day, I don’t have answers – I have an objective,” Cox said, “I
want the audience to look at themselves and ask, how do I feel about this?”