Coloring Outside the Lines
For Sidney Mullis '14, creativity knows no bounds.
Coloring Outside the Lines
A bin of orange bouncy balls caught Sidney Mullis’ eye during a routine trip to Wal-Mart. The University of Mary Washington studio art major snapped up a plastic ball and pondered the creative possibilities.
‘Stage Combat’ Offers Lessons in Realistic Fighting (The Free Lance-Star)
UMW Theatre Closes 2013-14 Season with Production of “Lysistrata”
The University of Mary Washington Department of Theatre & Dance will debut “Lysistrata” as its final show of the 2013-2014 season. Performances will be April 10-12 and April 16-19 at 8 p.m., and April 13 and 19 at 2 p.m. in duPont Hall’s Klein Theatre.
UMW’s production of “Lysistrata” opens Thursday, April 10. Photo by Geoff Greene.
“Lysistrata,” written by Aristophanes and translated by Dudley Fitts, is a comedy set in ancient Greece, where there seems to be no end to the Peloponnesian War. The main character, Lysistrata, convinces the women of Sparta and Athens to withhold sexual privileges from their husbands until they negotiate peace. Comedy and ancient ideals come to a head as Aristophanes explores the effects of war and the lengths many will go to end it.
The anti-war play, first staged in 411 B.C. during the Festival of Dionysus, has been produced all over the world. This production is a sophisticated and timeless play that explores ageless ideas with suggestive language and sexual imagery.
“Lysistrata” is directed by Helen Housley, associate professor of theatre. Scenic and lighting designs are by student designers Sidney Mullis and Christopher Stull, respectively. Costume design is by Associate Professor Kevin McCluskey, and sound design is by guest artist, Anthony Angelini.
Tickets are $18 for standard admission and $16 for students, senior citizens, alumni and military. For more information or to purchase tickets, call the Klein Theatre Box Office at (540) 654-1111 or visit http://umw.tix.com/.
Dance Faculty & Students Attend American College Dance Festival
The University of Mary Washington Theater and Dance Department will be represented by two faculty members, Beverly Mendez and Roxann Morgan Rowley accompanying eight dance students at The 2014 American College Dance Festival, March 8-11 at George Mason University. The festival provides an amazing opportunity for faculty and students to participate in workshops, classes, performances and lectures all geared to compliment dance and arts education.
“The national dance festival provides the venue for students and faculty to engage in three days of performances, workshops, panels, and master classes taught by instructors from around the region and country. The conferences also provide the unique opportunity for students and faculty to have their dance works adjudicated by a panel of nationally recognized dance professionals in an open and constructive forum.”
Along with dance/movement classes and workshops faculty and students will have the opportunity attend performances by the Joffery Ballet at the Center for the Arts as well as “Imagine…a life in Dance” facilitated by Robert Battle – Artistic Director for Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, Charlotte d’Amboise – actress and dancer, Deborah Jowitt – dance critic, author, and choreographer, Elizabeth Streb – STREB Company COMPANY and Ashley Wheater – artistic director of The Joffrey Ballet.
UMW theater and dance student, Covenant Babatunde’s choreographic work “Grave Silence” was selected to be presented in the Informal Concert during the conference, performed by students Lauren Armstrong, Sarah Joy Calpo, Mason Prince, and Edward Yates.
Dance faculty members Beverly Mendez and Roxann Morgan Rowley will also have the opportunity to teach during the conference; Ms. Mendez explores improvisation movement techniques through “Discovering Creativity through Improvisation” and Roxann Morgan Rowley examines improvisation in partnering in “Contact Improvisation, Evaluating Touch.”
Attendance for faculty and staff to The American College Dance Festival was largely due to the generous support from University of Mary Washington’s Friends of Dance Alumni Association who granted funds for their attendance.
UMW Continues Season with “Always…Patsy Cline”
The University of Mary Washington Department of Theatre & Dance will continue its 2013-2014 season with a production of “Always…Patsy Cline.” Performances will be Feb. 6-8, Feb. 13-15 and Feb. 20-22 at 8 p.m. and Feb. 9, 15, 16, 22 and 23 at 2 p.m. in duPont Hall’s Klein Theatre.
Taryn Snyder as Patsy Cline.
Photo by Geoff Greene.
Written by Ted Swindley, “Always…Patsy Cline” is based on the true story of Louise Seger, a fan of 1960s country singer Patsy Cline. Louise gets the chance to meet Cline when the singer comes to her hometown of Houston for a show. The two become fast friends and continue to keep in touch through letters until Clines’s tragic death.
The musical features many of Patsy Cline’s original hits, including “Crazy,” “Walkin’ After Midnight” and “I Fall to Pieces.”
Junior Taryn Snyder of Henrietta, N.Y., will play the role of Patsy Cline and junior Emily Burke of Fredericksburg will play the role of Louise Seger.
Emily Burke as Louise Seger.
Photo by Geoff Greene.
Patsy Cline was the first female solo artist to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1973. She died in 1963 in a plane crash coming back from a benefit concert in Kansas City at 30 years old. Her plaque in the Hall of Fame reads: “Her heritage of timeless recordings is testimony to her artistic capacity.”
The performance is directed by Gregg Stull, professor and chair of the Department of Theatre & Dance and Department of Music, with musical direction by Christopher Wingert. Scenic design is by associate professor Julie Hodge and costume design is by associate professor Kevin McCluskey. Lighting and sound designs are by guest artists Catherine Girardi and Anthony Angelini. For more information or to purchase tickets, call the Klein Theatre Box Office at (540) 654-1111 or visit http://umw.tix.com/.
Stage Presence
Nicholas McGovern '14 found his calling as a theatre major.
“Spring Awakening” Opens Tonight at Klein Theatre
The University of Mary Washington’s Department of Theatre & Dance will continue its 2013-2014 season with a production of the rock musical “Spring Awakening.” Performances will be Nov. 7-9, Nov. 13-16 and Nov. 21-23 at 8 p.m. and Nov. 10, 16, 17, 23 and 24 at 2 p.m. in duPont Hall’s Klein Theatre. Tickets are $24 for general admission and $20 for students, senior citizens and military.
“Spring Awakening,” with book and lyrics by Steven Sater and music by Duncan Sheik, revolves around the lives of school children in 19th-century Germany who are struggling to comprehend the changes in their bodies and the consequences of searching for the answers on their own.
“The truth of ‘Spring Awakening’ is as relevant today as it was over a century ago,” said Gregg Stull, professor and chair of the Department of Theatre & Dance and Department of Music. “I know our production will touch our audience and leave them pondering the musical’s questions about what it means to grow up in our complex and uncertain world.”
The play, by Frank Wedekind, first opened on Broadway at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre on December 10, 2006. The original Broadway cast starred Lea Michele, Jonathan Groff and John Gallagher, Jr. in the lead roles. The musical won eight Tony Awards, including for best musical, direction, book, score, and featured actor in a musical. The collaboration between Steven Sater and American singer-songwriter, Duncan Sheik, also brought the show a Grammy for its cast album.
Stull is the director of the show, with musical direction by Christopher Wingert and choreography by Samantha Reynolds. Scenic design is by Associate Professor Julie Hodge and costume design is by Associate Professor Kevin McCluskey. Lighting and sound design are by guest artists Jason Arnold and Christopher Husted.
The show explores provocative ideas with explicit language, sexual situations and nudity. For more information or to purchase tickets, call the Klein Theatre Box Office at (540) 654-1111 or visit http://cas.umw.edu/theatre/.
News release prepared by: Jamie Wilson
“Spring Awakening,” with book and lyrics by Steven Sater and music by Duncan Sheik, revolves around the lives of school children in 19th-century Germany who are struggling to comprehend the changes in their bodies and the consequences of searching for the answers on their own.
“The truth of ‘Spring Awakening’ is as relevant today as it was over a century ago,” said Gregg Stull, professor and chair of the Department of Theatre & Dance and Department of Music. “I know our production will touch our audience and leave them pondering the musical’s questions about what it means to grow up in our complex and uncertain world.”
The play, by Frank Wedekind, first opened on Broadway at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre on December 10, 2006. The original Broadway cast starred Lea Michele, Jonathan Groff and John Gallagher, Jr. in the lead roles. The musical won eight Tony Awards, including for best musical, direction, book, score, and featured actor in a musical. The collaboration between Steven Sater and American singer-songwriter, Duncan Sheik, also brought the show a Grammy for its cast album.
Stull is the director of the show, with musical direction by Christopher Wingert and choreography by Samantha Reynolds. Scenic design is by Associate Professor Julie Hodge and costume design is by Associate Professor Kevin McCluskey. Lighting and sound design are by guest artists Jason Arnold and Christopher Husted.
The show explores provocative ideas with explicit language, sexual situations and nudity. For more information or to purchase tickets, call the Klein Theatre Box Office at (540) 654-1111 or visit http://cas.umw.edu/theatre/.
News release prepared by: Jamie Wilson“The Miss Firecracker Contest” Kicks Off UMW Theatre Season
The University of Mary Washington Department of Theatre & Dance kicked off its 2013-14 season with “The Miss Firecracker Contest.” Performances were Sept. 19-21 and Sept. 26-28 at 8 p.m., and Sept. 22, 28 and 29 at 2 p.m. in Klein Theatre. Tickets were $12 for general admission and $10 for students, senior citizens and military.
“The Miss Firecracker Contest” runs from September 19 through September 29.
“The Miss Firecracker Contest” takes place in Mississippi where Carnelle Scott, known locally as “Miss Hot Tamale,” has entered herself into a local beauty pageant in hopes of salvaging her reputation. Complications arise when her cousin, Elain, who has previously won the title, comes back into the picture. While strategizing their win, Carnelle and her friends overcome their tainted pasts and learn to live for the future.
“The Miss Firecracker Contest” is a southern comedy by American playwright and screenwriter, Beth Henley. The comedy premiered in 1980 at the Victory Theater in Los Angeles and was adapted into the film “Miss Firecracker” starting Holly Hunter in 1989. Henley is currently a distinguished professor of theatre arts at Loyola Marymount University in California. She has received the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, among other awards.
“The Miss Firecracker Contest” is directed by Cate Brewer, lecturer in the Department of Theatre & Dance. Scenic design is by David Hunt, Jr., associate professor of theatre, costume design is by Kevin McCluskey, associate professor of theatre, and lighting design is by student designer, Christopher Stull. For more information or to purchase tickets, call the Klein Theatre Box Office at (540) 654-1111.
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News release prepared by: Jamie Wilson
Spooky Action Theatre to Produce Kristen LePine’s Play
Spooky Action Theatre in Washington, D.C. will present a Workshop Production of Kristen LePine’s play Dire Wolves.
The yet unproven presence of dire wolves rears its head in Evansville, Indiana, as six characters heed the call and face ancient fears within, in an interwoven play that encourages us to confront our wild nature or forever live in the realm of tamed comfort. Dire Wolves was commissioned by the Hub Theatre. This performance will be directed by Kristy Simmons.
Kristen teaches in the UMW Department of Theatre and Dance and has an MFA in Dramatic Writing.
The Details
What: Dire Wolves by Kristen LePine
When: Saturday, September 21 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, September 22 at 3 p.m.
Where: Spooky Action Theatre Company, 1810 16th St NW; Washington, D.C. 20009
Cost: FREE