Associate Professor Joanie Smith Named Artist of the Year

City Pages named Joanie Smith as one of their 2010 Artists of the Year. Dance program alum, Emily Johnson, was also one of the artists who received this honor.

Woyzeck Project Makes The Star Tribune's Top 5 List

The Woyzeck Project was listed on Star Tribune theatre critic Graydon Royce's list of the top five shows that most impressed him in 2010. This project was created by theatre instructor Luverne Seifert, Chair Carl Flink, and Flink's company Black Label Movement with Department of Theatre Arts and Dance students. It was presented at The Southern Theater this past fall as part of the Department of Theatre Arts and Dance's Re-imaging Community and Arts Partnerships (RiCAP) initiative. RiCAP explores, strengthens and supports meaningful relationships amongst the department, our community and performing arts groups throughout the metropolitan area.

Continuously Rich: Dance Revolutions 2010 Performance Added Monday, December 13 at 8pm

Due to the inclement weather over the weekend, we will be adding a performance of Continuously Rich: Dance Revolutions 2010 at 8:00pm on Monday, December 13 at the Barker Center for Dance, 500 21st Avenue South, Minneapolis MN 55455.

There will be a $12 suggested donation at the door and we will honor any tickets from patrons who were unable to attend the performances this past weekend due to the weather. Seating is limited, and will be on a first come, first serve basis. For more information, please call 612.624.5060 or email umdance@umn.edu.

Short Film Featuring Dance Professor Diyah Larasati will be broadcast on TPT in December

DANCING INDONESIA'S SILENCE, by Mahilam Palanisami was one of the 18 short films selected from around 70 submissions for MNTV 2010, a three-part program highlighting the best in Minnesota filmmaking in the past two years. The series will be broadcast on TPT in December. MNTV is an innovative partnership between IFP MN, Twin Cities Public Television, Jerome Foundation, Walker Art Center, and Intermedia Arts, which gives emerging Minnesota filmmakers the opportunity to screen on television and to be compensated for their work.

The film will air on 10:30pm, Dec. 12 on TPT2; 9pm, Dec. 19 on statewide TPTMN.

Diyah Larasati featured in Fowler Museum's introductory video to their exhibit Intersections: World Arts, Local Lives

Introductory Video to exhibition Intersections: World Arts, Local Lives from Fowler Museum on Vimeo.

Check out the Highlights of Our Upcoming Dance Concert

Professor Mathew LeFebvre Discusses Costume Design For Guthrie Theater's A Christmas Carol

Director of Dance Ananya Chatterjea Participates in Discussion about Minnesota's Identity and the Arts

Ananya Chatterjea, Associate Professor and Director of Dance, will be one of the artists participating in Identity and the Arts, a panel hosted by the Minneapolis Arts Commission. The panel will discuss how Minnesota's art scene has shaped the way Minnesotans think about themselves, and if there is such a thing as a shared Minnesota culture and how the arts have shaped it.

Savethedate_Nov30_MNidentity.pdf

Assistant Professor Diyah Larasati talks about the conversation surrounding the global humanities, and the line between humanities and politics.

Rachmi Larasati from The Global Conversation on Vimeo.

Dance Faculty Member Toni Pierce-Sands's Company Performs at O'Shaughnessy Theater

TU Dance, a company founded by faculty member Toni Pierce-Sands and her partner Uri Sands, performed their latest work at the O'Shaughnessy at St. Catherine University in St. Paul. For more information about this performance, check out Caroline Palmer's piece A sublime performance from TU Dance.

Dance Program Alum Emily Johnson Performed at Northrop Auditorium

Emily Johnson, a graduate of the University of Minnesota's dance program, brought her company Catalyst, Dances by Emily Johnson to Northrop Auditorium to perform her latest work The Thank You Bar. For more information about this piece, check out Camille LeFevre's article on MinnPost and Caroline Palmer's article in the Star Tribune.

Professor Michal Kobialka's 1993 book has been translated into Romanian

Professor Michal Kobialka's 1993 book about the theatre of Tadeusz Kantor, A Journey Through Other Spaces, has just been translated into Romanian.

O Călătorie ĭn Alte Spaţii: Teatrul lui Tadeusz Kantor had an official book launch on November 2, 2010 in Bucharest. The book was translated by Cipriana Petre.

Head of BA Performance Program Luverne Seifert in Guthrie Theater's "39 Steps"

Luverne Seifert, instructor and head of BA Performance Program, is part of the ensemble of four actors in the Guthrie Theater's production of Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps.

Check out the reviews:

• Going all ha-ha on Hitchcock


• Weekend outlook: farcical


• Theater review: Hitchcock's '39 Steps' at the Guthrie needs a few more edits


• Review: Guthrie takes 39 Steps to inspired comedic heights


• Thriller goes slapstick


• Review: The 39 Steps @ The Guthrie Theater

Chair Carl Flink Featured on MN Original

Faculty Member Michael Sommers Featured in MN Original

Producing Director Tom Proehl Participates in Creative Community Leadership Institute

New Producing Director Tom Proehl has received a fellowship to participate in The Creative Community Leadership Institute. Sponsored by Intermedia Arts, The Creative Community Leadership Institute provides comprehensive training and support for community-engaged artists, organizers, educators, administrators and developers. Each year 25 leaders from the community development field and the arts/culture field participate in this institute to learn more about the history and ecology of arts-based community development, partnership skills, strategies for sustainability, negotiation and conflict resolution, learning styles, program design and project planning, fund-raising, assessment, public relations and advocacy. The program consist of hands-on learning activities, lectures/discussions, critical readings, site visits, case studies, community interactions, writing assignments, creative engagement with guest artists and other presenters from the field, and a laboratory project in which fellows collaboratively design an arts-based community development program.

This opportunity will help Proehl as he continues to shape and develop the department's Re-imagining Community Arts Partnerships (RiCAP) initiative. RiCAP explores the relationships between the Department of Theatre Arts & Dance and the performing arts community in which it is embedded. It focuses on the importance of creation and production to the department's educational and research mission and training of theatre and dance students--the next generation of artists and arts leaders--and how strong community partnerships could transform that mission.

MFA Alum Kalere Payton Receives Emerging Artist Ivey Award

Kalere Payton (MFA 2009) received the Emerging Artist Ivey Award for her costume design work at several local theatres including Penumbra, Park Square, and the Guthrie.

For more information, check out Graydon Royce's recap of this year's Ivey Awards and Quinton Skinner's Ivey Awards 2010: worthy recipients, few surprises.

Associate Professor Sonja Kuftinec Directs New Play about "Black October"

HERE IS A FIELD LAUNCHES GLOBAL CALL TO THEATRICAL ACTION
New play premieres worldwide this October

In Minneapolis Avalon Theatre 1500 E. Lake Street
Oct. 5th 7pm followed by reception and discussion with playwright
FREE

In the Middle East, is hope as fragile as life? In October 2000 a young Palestinian citizen of Israel, Aseel Asleh, was shot by an Israeli security officer while demonstrating peacefully in the Arab village of Arabeh. He died and was buried in his "Seeds of Peace" T-shirt. Culled from documentary transcripts and interviews, this is the story of his life, his death, and the values his family struggles to sustain, as told through the eyes of his sister, Nardeen. "There is a Field is much bigger than the story of one family," notes playwright Jen Marlowe. "It offers an important opportunity to consider the struggles facing Palestinians inside Israel within the wider Israel/Palestine discourse." The play, which juxtaposes Aseel's optimistic vision of a non-oppositional world next to the realities of struggle his sister confronts daily, gains further resonance in light of the current Middle East peace talks.

About the Minneapolis staging: Co-sponsored by In The Heart of the Beast and Bedlam Theatres, the reading in Minneapolis is directed by Sonja Kuftinec, a theatre professor at the University of Minnesota who worked as a facilitator at Seeds of Peace camp for several years. The reading features participation from a diverse Twin Cities community including Palestinian and Jewish Americans [Matt Carlyon, Jackie Koury, Elliot Leffler, Carra Martinez, and Esther Ouray].

For more information about the Global Call see www.donkeysaddle.org

U of M Alum Kevin McCarthy Dies at 96

Kevin McCarthy died of pneumonia at Cape Cod Hospital in Massachusetts at the age of 96 this past Saturday. Since graduating from the University of Minnesota in the late 1950s, he appeared in more than 50 films and received an Oscar nomination for his role in 1951's Death of a Salesman.

For more information:

Invasion of the Body Snatchers actor dies aged 96

'Body Snatchers' actor McCarthy, 96, dies in Mass. (AP)

Professor Emeritus H. Lee Adey Passed Away

H. Lee Adey, Professor Emeritus from our Department, passed away on Thursday 9/9. Lee was a strong advocate of the undergraduate students and served as the Director of Undergraduate Studies for years. He was also a member of the directing faculty and worked with colleague, Wendell Josal, for eight years at The Stagecoach (Theatre) in Shakopee, MN. Lee received his MA from this department and retired in 1996.

Star Tribune Announcement

TAD Faculty, Students, and Alumni Participate in Theatre Novi Most's Production of "The Oldest Story"

Southern Theater presents Theatre Novi Most
The Oldest Story in the World (world premiere)
A new telling of the epic of Gilgamesh, directed by Associate Professor Lisa Channer
September 24 - October 3, 2010

Combining rigorous physical theater, live music and striking stage images, The Oldest Story in the World examines the enduring human question: How do we live knowing that we must die? The play weaves the story of king Gilgamesh and his companion Enkidu through different locations and time periods--Victorian England, modern day Iraq, the sexually charged realm of the gods--to resurrect this remarkably moving and relevant ancient story about how to live a human life, and the consequences of arrogance.

The Oldest Story in the World brings top video and theater designers from New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Minneapolis together with playwright and affiliate faculty member Kira Obolensky and some of the Twin Cities' most dynamic physical actors including many U of M affiliate faculty members, students, and alums - Barbra Berlovitz, Julianna Drajko, Erik Hoover, Billy Mullaney, Vladimir Rovinsky, Vanessa Voskuil and Jeanne Willcoxon.

"I've been working on this project for six years now with the goal to make a high powered
performance that tells the ancient tale of Gilgamesh while also speaking to our contemporary moment," said director Lisa Channer. "Audiences who see The Oldest Story in the World will be treated to an evening of physical theater full of adventure, live music, lots of heart and a really great story. And in case you need more we also offer monsters, floods, sexy gods and goddesses, stolen antiquities, magic potions, falling sand, time travel and giant scorpions."

Artistic credits:
Created and developed by Lisa Channer with Adrian Jones, Kira Obolensky, Vincent Olivieri and the company
Directed by Lisa Channer
Text by Kira Obolensky
Scenic design by Adrian Jones
Sound design by Vincent Olivieri
Multimedia design by Daniel Vatsky
Costume design by Annie Katsura-Rollins
Light design by Robert Perry
Theatre Novi Most artistic directors: Lisa Channer and Vladimir Rovinsky

Show times: September 24-27 & 30, October 1-3, 2010
Mon. at 7pm, Thu. at 7:30pm, Fri. & Sat. at 8pm
Sun. (Sept. 26) at 7pm & Sun. (Oct. 3) at 2pm
Tickets: $24, $20
Southern Theater box office: 612.340.1725
1420 Washington Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55454
www.southerntheater.org

Check out Prof. Megan Lewis' video promo of this production -- http://theatrenovimost.org/

"Oil! and the Jungle" Auditions Announced

AUDITIONS for
The 2011 Main stage production of
Oil! and The Jungle
Based on the Upton Sinclair novels Oil! and The Jungle
Directed & Led by Kym Longhi & Karla Grotting

Auditions for the Spring 2011 production of Oil! and The Jungle will be held on Monday, September 13th from 6:30pm-10:30pm in 20 Rarig and Wednesday, September 15th from 6:30pm-10:30pm in 10 Rarig.

*Callbacks will be held in a workshop format on Friday, September 17th from 6:30pm-10:30pm in 10 Rarig.*

Rehearsals begin Monday, February 21st and the closing performance is Saturday, April 16th. (Please see below for a more detailed rehearsal & performance schedule.)

If you would like to audition, please sign-up for one of the hour-long time slots on the basement callboard of the Rarig Center.

Students will be auditioned in groups of ten at the top of the hour. The first twenty minutes will consist of a group dance audition. The last forty minutes will consist of individual four-minute auditions (students will be free to leave after the individual audition).

For the solo auditions, students should prepare:

A) A one-minute piece integrating text & physicality
(Text from Oil! and The Jungle is preferred, but not mandatory)

B) A one-minute song
(A cappella or self-accompanied, if you play an instrument)

C) Any additional kind of special talent you wish to highlight
(Hat tricks, magic, acrobatics, etc.)

PLEASE DRESS FOR MOVEMENT

Copies of the Oil! and The Jungle script are available for 48-hour sign-out during office hours (M & W 12pm-1:30pm; TH & F 2pm-3:30pm) through Christine Swartwout (Production Stage Manager) in 580A Rarig.

RE: OIL! and the Jungle general schedule

The general schedule and rehearsal locations are subject to change.
September 13, Monday Auditions 6:30-10:30pm, 20 Rarig
September 15, Wednesday Auditions 6:30-10:30pm, 10 Rarig
September 17, Friday Callbacks 6:30-10:30pm, 10 Rarig

*January 10, Monday-January 14, Friday*
Workshop 9:30a-3:00p, 185 Rarig (Thrust Theatre)

February 21, Monday FIRST REHEARSAL 6:30pm-10:30pm, 20 Rarig

February 22, Tuesday- March 5, Saturday
6:30pm-10:30pm (M-F), 12:00pm-5:00pm (Sa), 20 Rarig
March 7-Monday- March 8 Tuesday, 6:30pm-10:30pm, 90 Rarig (Xperimental Theatre)
March 9 Wednesday- March 11 Friday, 6:30pm-10:30 pm, 185 Rarig (Thrust Theatre)
March 12 Saturday, 12:00pm-5:00pm, 90 Rarig (Xperiemental Theatre)
March 13, Monday- March 20, Sunday SPRING BREAK
March 21, Monday- Friday March 25- 6:30pm-10:30pm, 185 Rarig (Thrust Theatre)

March 26, Saturday: LOAD-IN 8:00am-6:00pm, Thrust Theatre
Rehearsal 12:000m - 5:00pm in Studio A (506)

March 27, Sunday LOAD-IN 8:00am-6:00pm, Thrust Theatre

March 28, Monday Focus on stage 8:00am - 11:00pm, Thrust Theatre
Rehearsal 6:30pm-10:30pm in 20 Rarig

March 29, Tuesday: Rehearsal 6:30pm-10:30pm, Thrust Theatre
March 30, Wednesday: Crew Watch, 7:00pm GO, all running crew called at 6:00pm, for orientation and paperwork, cast called at 6:30pm, Thrust Theatre
March 31, Thursday Tech Rehearsal 6:00-11:00pm, Thrust Theatre
(Tech meeting following rehearsal)
*April 1, Friday 3:45pm-5:30pm Afternoon Rehearsal, 185 Rarig (Thrust Theatre)*

April 1, Friday Tech Rehearsal 6:00-11:00pm, Thrust Theatre
Ready Room 45 - WIG/MAKE-UP reh (cast called6:30p-10:30p)
(Tech meeting following rehearsal)

April 2, Saturday 10 out of 12 TECH/DRESS REHEARSAL(10am-3pm, 5pm-10pm)
(Tech meeting following rehearsal)
April 3, Sunday 10 out of 12 TECH/DRESS REHEARSAL(10am-3pm, 5pm-10pm)
(Tech meeting following rehearsal)

April 4, Monday DAY OFF No rehearsals permitted. Theatre is being held for designers/shops.

April 5, Tuesday DRESS REHEARSAL 6:00-11:00p (7:30pm GO)
(Tech meeting following rehearsal)
April 6, Wednesday: DRESS REHEARSAL 6:00-11:00p (7:30pm GO)
(Tech meeting following rehearsal)
April 7, Thursday: Preview 6:00-11:00p (7:30pm GO)
(Tech meeting following rehearsal)
April 8, Friday: Opening Curtain at 8:00 p.m.

Performance Schedule:
April 8, Friday at 8:00p
April 9, Saturday at 8:00pm
April 10, Sunday at 2:00pm / photo call follows performance
April 13, Wednesday at 7:30p
April 14, Thursday at 7:30p
April 15, Friday at 10:00am
April 15, Friday at 8:00p
April 16, Saturday at 8:00p (closing performance)

The X's First Audition is Coming Up Soon!

Audition's for the Pulitzer Prize winning drama proof will take place the first week of school: September 8th and 9th (next Wednesday and Thursday) at 7:00pm in The Xperimental Theatre (lowest level of Rarig). There will be a sign up sheet on the call board as soon as possible for you to claim a time slot.

Please prepare 2 contemporary monologues. They can be of either a comedic or a dramatic nature, so long as they are each about 2 minutes or less. Your audition should take no more than 4 minutes in total.

Callbacks will be held on Friday September 10th at 7:00. A list of those who have been called back will be posted by 1:30 that day. You will receive sides at the callback. The cast list will be posted on Saturday September 11th and rehearsals will begin Monday September 13th.

Director of Dance Ananya Chatterjea's Ananya Dance Theatre Launches New Four-Year Project With World Premiere of "Kshoy!/Decay!"

Following the stunning success of Ananya Dance Theatre's (ADT) trilogy on environmental justice, Director of Dance Ananya Chatterjea's company is launching a new four-year anti-violence project exploring the experiences of women of color across the globe. Launching the project is the world premiere of "Kshoy!/Decay!," which opens the Southern Theater's 2010/11 season, September 9-12, 2010. For more information about these performances visit the Southern Theater Website.

Ananya Dance Theatre explores femininity, power and social-justice issues affecting women around the world through a kinetically dynamic blend of classical Odissi dance, breath-driven yoga movement and the marital-art Chhau, performed by a band of women of color committed to artistic excellence. Mnartists.org described the dancers as, "indeed beautiful in their statuesque poses, performed with flawless technique. Their unwavering certainty is inspiring."

In "Kshoy!/Decay!" ("kshoy" is the Bengali word for "decay"), the company uses a potent metaphor--mud, as in dirt that sticks to skin--to explore the afterlives of African, Asian and other women of color forced to relocate or evacuate from their homelands. The piece investigates how women have worked through multiple and repeated histories of dislocation, relocation, evacuation and violence in the name of tradition. "Kshoy!/Decay!" doesn't "depict" or "speak for" these communities; rather, the work engages in collaborative research and community outreach to generate the singular choreographic experience that results in the commanding work for which ADT is known.

"Kshoy!/Decay!" is the first work in a new four-part investigation into violence, trauma, resistance and empowerment experienced by communities of color, using the elements of mud, gold, oil and water as metaphor. Performed with ADT's trademark emotional intensity, physical prowess and resonate storytelling, "Kshoy!/Decay!" is co-directed by founding artistic director Ananya Chatterjea, lauded by Women's E News as one of "21 Leaders for the 21st Century," and OBIE Award-winning theater artist Laurie Carlos. Internationally and nationally acclaimed vocal artists, Pooja Goswami and Mankwe Ndosi, are composing the score for "Kshoy!/Decay!"

Dr. Ananya Chatterjea serves as Director of Dance and Associate Professor of Dance in the Department of Theater Arts and Dance at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. Trained initially in Indian classical and folk dance traditions, she became well known at a young age as a practitioner of the Odissi style of classical dance under the tutelage of her internationally acclaimed guru, Sanjukta Panigrahi. She performed and toured widely, dancing with diverse community-based companies and government initiatives. In addition to numerous awards, her work has been supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, Asian Arts Initiative, the Minnesota State Arts Board, and the McKnight, Jerome, and Bush foundations.

Auditions for Undiscovered Country

AUDITIONS for minor roles in this fall's production of UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY by Arthur Schnitzler/Tom Stoppard will be held on Saturday, September 11th. This production is being directed by John Miller-Stephany (Associate Artistic Director of The Guthrie Theater). Rehearsals begin Monday, September 13th and the closing performance is Saturday, October 30th.

If you would like to audition please sign up for a time slot on one of the sheets posted on the callboard in the basement of Rarig. Please note that all auditions are on Saturday, September 11th between noon and 5:00 p.m. in the THRUST theater in Rarig. If for some reason you are unable to come during this time but would like to audition please contact Laura Topham (topha002@umn.edu) or James Meyers (meye0975@umn.edu).

Students wishing to audition should prepare a 2 minute monologue in the style of the play.

There are reading copies of the script available for checkout through Christine Swartwout in 580A Rarig.

Assistant Professor Diyah Larasati Featured in Deccan Herald

Dance Professor Diyah Larasati talks about her research in a recent article in Bangalore's Deccan Herald: Dancing against war.

University of Minnesota Department of Theatre Arts & Dance Welcomes Thomas Proehl as new Producing Director

The University of Minnesota Department of Theatre Arts & Dance announces Thomas Proehl as the new Producing Director. He will be joining the department in August 2010, succeeding former Managing Director Sherry Wagner-Henry who left the department last November to become the Director of Graduate Programs in the U of M College of Continuing Education.

A native of Moorhead, MN, Proehl returns to the state after having served as Director of Administration and Operations at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, CA. Prior to that position, he worked as the Minnesota State Arts Board Executive Director. During his tenure, the Arts Board received a 19% increase in funding supporting artists, arts organization and art educators. Proehl was also the Managing Director of the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, MN. While at the Guthrie, he oversaw the construction of the new $125 million complex on the Mississippi River in Minneapolis.

Proehl holds a BA from Minnesota State University Moorhead, and a MFA from Brooklyn College of the City University of New York. He has served as a guest lecturer in the U of M/Guthrie Theater BFA Actor Training Program, the Performing Arts Management Program at Brooklyn College, and the Arts and Cultural Management Program at Saint Mary's University in Minneapolis. He has served on National Endowment for the Arts review panels; as an executive committee member of the League of Resident Theatres, and as a consultant and/or board member for numerous arts organizations across the country.

When asked about accepting this position, Proehl stated "I am honored to be joining my new colleagues in Theatre Arts and Dance at the U of M. I have always admired the U's commitment to research, education and community partnerships and have a great respect for the artists and arts groups that so selflessly contribute to the cultural community of the Twin Cities and the entire state of Minnesota. To say that I am excited to return to Minnesota is an understatement--it is a true privilege!"

As Producing Director, Proehl will be overseeing the department's Re-imagining Community Arts Partnerships (RiCAP) initiative. RiCAP explores the relationships between the Department of Theatre Arts & Dance and the performing arts community in which it is embedded. It focuses on the importance of creation and production to the department's educational and research mission and training of theatre and dance students--the next generation of artists and arts leaders--and how strong community partnerships could transform that mission. According to Department Chair Carl Flink, "I think Tom is an incredible addition to our department. His experience throughout Minnesota and beyond will be invaluable to our efforts to place public engagement and partnerships at the center of our theater and dance production activities."

Associate Professor Lisa Channer Featured in Art of the Research

Check out our very own Prof. Lisa Channer, as she works on her latest project, Oldest Story, about King Gilgamesh.

The Art of the Research segment combines video and vocals to visualize calculations, thus creating unexpected discoveries.

Driven to Discover: The Research Series

Click the ART tab

Dance Faculty Member Toni Pierce-Sands's Company Featured on TPT MN Original

TU Dance, a company founded by Dance Faculty member Toni Pierce-Sands and her husband Uri Sands, was recently featured on TPT's MN Original program.

Check out the video at TU Dance | mn original

Affiliate Faculty Member Bob Rosen Named One of the 2010-11 McKnight Theater Artist Fellows

The Playwrights' Center announced the 2010-11 McKnight Theater Artist Fellowships. These fellowships recognize outstanding work by professional theater artists other than playwrights whose primary residence is in Minnesota. A diverse panel of local and national theater artists select three recipients for grants of $25,000, plus $1,000 in artistic support, on the basis of professional achievement and sustained level of excellence. Bob Rosen, an affiliate faculty member for the Theatre BA program, was one of the three artists to receive these fellowships.

Professor Michal Kobialka has been named the 2010 University Imagine Fund Arts and Humanities Chair

The University Imagine Fund Arts and Humanities Chair enables professors with a record of distinguished scholarship, teaching and service to conduct a research project that will further their own scholarship, generate curricular innovation, and forge intellectual communities in the university or wider community. Professor Kobialka's two-year project seeks to re-open a discussion on the Enlightenment in the twenty-first century when the basic driver of the academe is its political structure as well as the distribution of resources among the various political actors. This project is envisioned as multifaceted research project which will comprise the following: a book project, a graduate intensive seminar on the Enlightenment, and a conference, "Performing the Enlightenment in the Twenty-First Century." (The schedule will be announced when available.)

BFA Actor Training Program Alum Santino Fontana receives a Drama Desk Award

Santino Fontana, an alum from the U of M/Guthrie Theater Actor Training Program, recently received a Drama Desk Award for his role in Brighton Beach Memoirs.

For more information about the production:
Neil Simon's Jermones, at Home at the Nederlander

Associate Professor Lisa Channer's Company Theatre Novi Most to Perform at Open Eye Figure Theater

Lisa Channer's company Theatre Novi Most will be performing their latest work M2: Mayakovsky and Marinetti, at the Open Eye Figure Theatre May 14-23. Channer is an associate professor in the Theatre BA program.

For more information about the upcoming production:

A new bridge between two distinct cultures

Head of BA Performance Program Luverne Seifert in Ten Thousand Things Presentation of "My Fair Lady"

Luverne Seifert appears as Alfred P. Doolittle in Ten Thousand Things' latest production of My Fair Lady. Ten Thousand Things targets its work at audiences who rarely see theater -- at prisons, chemical-dependency homes, shelters and other nontraditional locales. The company's stripped-down style has a distinct and lean simplicity that more often than not rediscovers the essence of drama.

For more information:
The 'Lady' stripped bare

Ten Thousand Things strips down Eliza and Henry

THEATER | Ten Thousand Things present a "My Fair Lady" with loverly acting, but plain singing

Associate Professor Joanie Smith Receives a 2010 NEA Access to Artistic Excellence Grant

Joanie Smith, associate professor in the Dance Program, received a 2010 NEA Access to Artistic Excellence Grant and a Grant-in-Aid of Research, Artistry and Scholarship Award. The Access to Artistic Excellence Grant will support the creation of a new multimedia, evening-length work choreographed by artistic director Joanie Smith, and performed by Shapiro & Smith Dance. Ophelia will include text by playwright David Greenspan, music by composer Scott Killian, and a cast of dancers including Smith.

Assistant Professor Michael Sommers Receives a TCG International Travel Grant

Information about the grant from the Theatre Communications Group:

More than $37,000 was recently awarded to three individuals and four theatre companies to participate in the 2010 Summer/Fall round of the New Generations - Future Collaborations Travel Grant Program. Now in its tenth round, this program is funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and administered by Theatre Communications Group (TCG).

The New Generations - Future Collaborations Travel Grant Program is designed to build bridges between U.S. theatre professionals and their counterparts abroad. US-based theatres and theatre professionals may request up to $6,000 to facilitate international collaboration by way of hosting or traveling abroad.

"Since 1961, TCG has been the national service organization for the professional not-for-profit American theatre field," said Teresa Eyring, executive director, TCG. "Today, TCG fosters conditions for the emergence of a new level of international and intercultural awareness and cooperation through theatre. These grants have been an important part of our international exchange and growth."

The New Generations - Future Collaborations Travel Grant Program has no geographic limitations and the program is open to all key leadership members of theatre organizations and individual theatre practitioners. At its core, the program encourages cultural exchange and artistic partnerships between theatre professionals in the United States and their counterparts abroad at all stages of their proposed collaborations.

Among the recipients is Assistant Professor Michael Sommers who will travel to Indonesia to begin collaborations with director and shadow puppet master Koes Yulinadi, whose work pushes his country's tradition of puppetry, mask, music, movement and gesture to a contemporary voice and context.

MFA Acting Alum David Ivers Named an Artistic Director of Utah Shakespeare Festival

David Ivers and Brian Vaughn have been named as joint artistic directors of the Tony Award-winning Utah Shakespearean Festival. Ivers has worked at the Festival as an actor and director for 15 seasons. He has a bachelor of fine arts degree in theatre from Southern Oregon University, and a master of fine arts degree in acting from the University of Minnesota. Ivers has worked at the Oregon, Alabama, and Idaho Shakespeare festivals, as well as the Portland Center Stage, Artists Repertory Theatre, Tacoma Actors Guild, Portland Repertory Theatre, and Seattle Repertory Theatre.

For more information:

BREAKING NEWS: Utah Shakespearean Festival announces new artistic directors

Utah Shakespearean Festival

MFA Design/Tech Student Annie Katsura Rollins Receives Fulbright Award

M.F.A. Design/Tech student Annie Katsura Rollins received a Fulbright Award for an extensive period in China.

Dance Faculty Member Toni Pierce-Sands's Company to Perform First Full Length Piece at Southern Theater

TU Dance, led by Dance faculty member Toni Pierce-Sands and Uri Sands, will present an evening-length version of their work Sense(ability) at the Southern Theater May 6-16. This piece explores the delicate yet dynamic relationship between the elements and the sensual experiences they invoke.

For more information:

Dance spotlight: TU Dance

TU Dance to present Uri Sands' first evening-length work

Southern Theater

TU Dance

Theatre BFA Alum Santino Fontana nominated for a Drama Desk Award for 'Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play'

Santino Fontana, an alum of the U of M/Guthrie Theater Actor Training Program, was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for 'Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play.'

For more information about the award, visit 55th ANNUAL DRAMA DESK AWARDS NOMINATIONS.

Associate Professor Margaret Werry Receives Outstanding Faculty Award

Associate Professor Margaret Werry received a Council of Graduate Students' Outstanding Faculty Award. This award, organized by graduate students, recognizes faculty members for their exceptional contributions to graduate education.

For more information about the award visit http://www.cogs.umn.edu/.

ATHE Award Honorable Mention for Professor Michal Kobialka

The American Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE) Outstanding Book Award Committee has selected Professor Michal Kobialka's study, Further On, Nothing: Tadeusz Kantor's Theatre, to receive an Honorable Mention. The review committee, which included Stacy Wolf, Jim Peck, and Jonathan Chambers, found his nuanced consideration of Kantor's theatre thoughtful and moving. They were duly impressed with the ways in which Professor Kobialka study gets right at the heart of what theatre is and how it means. In the end, the committee is certain that his study will find a wide and welcoming audience.

Additionally, the committee reviewed well over forty titles this year. Also, Professor Kobialka's This is My Body: Representational Practices in the Early Middle Ages, was a recipient of 2000 ATHE Outstanding Book Award.

For more information:
The American Theatre in Higher Education Website: http://www.athe.org

University of Minnesota Press listing for Further On, Nothing: Tadeusz Kantor's Theatre: http://www.upress.umn.edu/Books/K/kobialka_further.html

Director of Dance Ananya Chatterjea Featured in TPT's minnesota original

Twin Cities Public Television has recently released minnesota original, a new weekly series celebrating the Twin Cities creative community. According to their website, this new series will take viewers behind the scenes to meet the elders and the emerging talents in all of the arts disciplines - musicians, visual artists, poets, writers, dancers, filmmakers, architects and designers - all of whom make up the vast array of creative talent living and working in Minnesota. Director of Dance Ananya Chatterjea is featured in a recent episode. Check it out at: mnoriginal.org.

TAD Receives 2010 Council of Academic Professionals and Administrators Outstanding Unit Award

The University of Minnesota Council of Academic Professionals and Administrators (CAPA) has announced the Department of Theatre Arts and Dance as the winner of the 2010 CAPA Outstanding Unit Award. This award honors the extraordinary work and service our Academic Professionals and Administrators (including all affiliate faculty) provide to this department. Furthermore, it recognizes their essential role to the department.

For more information: CAPA Awards

See Assistant Professor Diyah Larasati Perform and Speak In Upcoming Event

Assistant Professor Diyah Larasati will be performing in Terbangan at the MacPhail Center for Music on May 1 and will be participating in a discussion entitled Contemporary Islam Indonesia: Cultural Reconfiguration in Performing Arts at the Influx Room in the Regis Center for Art on May 3. Both events are part of Reconfiguring Contemporary Islam in Southeast Asia being presented by the University of Minnesota's Consortium for the Study of the Asias.

For more information: Consortium for the Study of the Asias

RecapturingContemIslam_final3.pdf

Affiliate Faculty Member Barbara Nordstrom-Loeb Receives Fulbright Award

Long-time dance program instructional staff member Barbara Nordstrom-Loeb received a Fulbright award to teach Dance/Movement Therapy at the University of Tallinn in Estonia for a semester.

For more information about the Fulbright program: Institute of International Education

MFA Designer Showcase Announced

University of Minnesota -Twin Cities Department of Theatre and Dance invite you to attend an MFA design showcase featuring current graduate student costume, set, and lighting designers/technicians. Work will be on display at the UofM campus Rarig Center (330 21st Ave. in the Whiting Proscenium) Sunday, May 9th 2pm-6pm and Monday, May 10th 2pm-7pm with reception and talkback with designers beginning at 4pm Monday.

Driven to Discover Research Series Segment Featuring Associate Professor Margaret Werry Now Online

The panel segment from the "Heart of the Matter" episode about stem cell research has been posted online. The video is available at http://www.oit.umn.edu/research-series/.

Numerous Faculty Members Awarded Institute for Advanced Studies Creative Collaborative

Professors Ananya Chatterjea, Lisa Channer, Carl Flink, and Diyah Larasati received Institute for Advanced Studies Creative Collaborative research funding for the 2010-11 academic year.

For more information about the Creative Collaborative: Institute for Advanced Study.

Affiliate Faculty Member Morgan Thorson Won a Guggenheim

Dance program affiliate faculty member Morgan Thorson was recently awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship.

For more information about the award: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.

Professor Garcia awarded a prestigious Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship

Theatre Arts & Dance Professor Cindy Garcia was recently awarded a Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship.

For more information: Ford Foundation.

Shapiro & Smith Dance's Recent Performance Features Dance Program Faculty Members

Associate Professor Joanie Smith's company, Shapiro & Smith Dance, performs at The Southern Theater April 1-4, 2010. Besides Smith's choreography, the concert will feature Department Chair Carl Flink and Dance Program Director Ananya Chatterjea.

For more information:

Spotlight: Shapiro & Smith Dance

Shapiro & Smith Dance at the Southern this week

Shapiro & Smith Dance

The Southern Theater

Auditions for A Winter's Tale Announced

AUDITIONS!

A Winter's Tale

Directed by Lisa Channer

Production Information:

Rehearsals begin October 25th, 2010 (tentative)

Rehearsals will be held M-F 6:30pm-10:30pm & Sat. 12:00pm-5:00pm

Rehearsals will not be held during winter break, but will continue beginning the first week of Spring Semester 2011.

Performances February 11-13 & 17-20 (tentative)

All dates are subject to change.

For this production, the director is looking for actors and singers as well as acrobats, jugglers, and circus artists for non-speaking roles.

Audition Information:

Students should prepare either a Monologue from any Shakespeare play OR

A prepared scene with a partner from any Shakespeare play

Monologues should be under 2 minutes in length, and prepared scenes should be under 3 minutes in length.

Actors who ALSO have circus skills should be prepared to show a monologue and demonstration of circus skills.

If you are a SINGER, be prepared to sing

20 seconds of material a Capella

If you are an acrobat, juggler, and/or circus artist please be prepared to demonstrate your acrobatic, juggling and/or circus skills.

If you are auditioning for a non-speaking circus role, you do not need to prepare a monologue or scene.

Please be aware that if you have multiple components to your audition, they must all fit within the 5 minute time frame of your audition slot. Please make sure to CIRCLE all components of your audition underneath your name!

**CALLBACKS will be held on Thursday, April 1st, 2010

From 6:30pm-10:30pm

Performers will be called back for specific roles and sides will be available the morning after auditions.

Affiliate Faculty Member T. Mychael Rambo Wins Sally Award

T.Mychael Rambo received a Sally Ordway Irvine Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Preservation and Furthering of Arts and Arts programs. He was awarded in the field of education.

This award is usually only given to arts organizations, but he received it for his individual achievements--one of only four individuals to have ever done so. He was also the first African-American to ever receive the award.

For more information:

Sally Award winners announced

SALLY ORDWAY IRVINE AWARDS

Alum Peter Graves Passed Away

U of M Theatre Alum Peter Graves passed away in his California home at the age of 83. Graves grew up in Minnesota, and by age 16 he was a radio announcer at WMIN in Minneapolis. After two years in the U.S. Air Force, he studied drama at the University of Minnesota and then headed to Hollywood, where he first appeared on television and later made his film debut in Rogue River (1951). Numerous film appearances followed, especially in Westerns. Graves is primarily recognized for his television work, however, particularly as Jim Phelps in Mission: Impossible (1966).

For more information:

Mission: Impossible and Airplane! actor Peter Graves dies at 83

An appreciation: How Peter Graves made his mission possible

Peter Graves dead at 83

Theatre Arts BA Allison Witham Awarded 2010 President's Student Leadership and Service Award

Theatre Arts BA and Department Peer Allison Witham has received a 2010 University of Minnesota President's Student Leadership and Service Award. The qualities of leadership used to determine recipients of this wonderful honor are 1. independence and interdependence, 2. goal orientation, 3. self awareness, 4. resilience, 5. appreciation of differences and 6, tolerence of ambiguity. A nominee need only excel in up to three of the five qualities, but those who know Allison know that she excels in all five.

For more information about the award: 2010 President's Student Leadership And Service Awards

Professor Michal Kobialka's Book "Further On, Nothing" Reviewed in "The Times Literary Supplement"

Professor Michal Kobialka's book Further On, Nothing, which offers a new perspective on the work of avant-garde theatre artist Tadeusz Kantor, was reviewed in the February 19, 2010 issue of The Times Literary Supplement.

For more information about the book:

University of Minnesota Press

Google Books

Associate Professor Margaret Werry Discussing Stem Cell Research in Upcoming University Sponsored Television Program

The University of Minnesota is producing a television series called Driven to Discover: The Research Series, which will feature research at the U. In one of the episodes entitled "Lines of Reason," Regent Patricia Simmons will moderate a panel discussion on the topic of stem cell research between Associate Professor Margaret Werry and professor Kirk Allison.

For more information:

TV series to focus on U research

Driven To Discover: University of Minnesota Research Series

Charles Nolte dedication at Playwrights' Center

Barbara Field, playwright and co-founder of the Playwrights' Center (and U of M alum), has dedicated her reading in the Playwrights' Center public series on March 1st to Charles Nolte. He was the inspiration for her and a handful of other University of Minnesota students who were in his class to start the Center in 1971; she wanted to take this opportunity to honor him and the impact he had on the birth of the Center. It will be a simple event - Playwrights' Center Co-founder John Olive and longtime friend of Nolte, David Goldstein, will be saying a few words before the reading. Further info about the event is on the Playwrights' Center's Website.

Dance Faculty Member Toni Pierce-Sands's Company to Perform at Ritz Theater

TU Dance, a dance company founded by dance faculty member Toni Pierce-Sands and Uri Sands, will be performing at the Ritz Theatre.

For more information:

TU Dance - by Linda Shapiro

Lustrous TU Dance to perform 'Reflections on Central Park' at the Ritz - By Camille LeFevre

TU Dance Website

Ritz Theatre Website

Review: TU Dance captures 'bustle and jar of the streets' - by Linda Shapiro

A romp in the park - by Caroline Palmer

U of M Design Talents Highlighted in Penumbra Theatre's Latest Production

Penumbra Theatre's current production, Black Pearl Sings!, is directed by Associate Professor Lou Bellamy and features the design talents of Professor Lance Brockman (sets), Assistant Professor Marcus Dilliard (lights), Associate Professor Martin Gwinup (sound), and MFA alum Kalere Payton (costumes).

For more information about the production:

Review: A duet in black and white - by Rohan Preston

Black Pearl Sings at Penumbra Theatre on 2/21/10 - by John Olive

Penumbra Theatre Company

Cool Video Featuring Assistant Professor Diyah Larasati

"Dancing the Violent Body of Sound" by Diyah Larasati and Dag Yngvesson from Dance Film Project 2009 on Vimeo.

Affiliate Dance Faculty Member Morgan Thorson Featured in Minnesota Monthly Article

Morgan Thorson, an affiliate faculty member in the U of M Dance Program, is featured in the March 2010 Minnesota Monthly Magazine in preparation for the presentation of her full length piece, Heaven, that will be staged at the Walker Art Center.

The full article: Dancing in the Dark

Heaven will be presented March 4 to 6 at the Walker Art Center for more information, visit walkerart.org

Assistant Professor Marcus Dilliard Designs Set and Lights For Minnesota Opera's Upcoming Production

La bohème by Giacomo Puccini, the Minnesota Opera's upcoming production, will feature set and lighting design by Assistant Professor Marcus Dilliard. For more information visit mnopera.org.

Charles Nolte Memorial Celebration Announced

The Charles Nolte Memorial Celebration will take place on April 26, 2010. It will be held at 6 PM (followed by a reception) in:

Rarig Center/Proscenium Theatre
University of Minnesota
330 South 21st Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55455

We hope that many of you will be able to attend the event to celebrate Charles's life and his immense contribution to the artistic as well as intellectual fabric of so many diverse communities. Further details will be announced at the beginning of March.

We have received many inquiries about making donations to honor Charles's contribution to the artistry and the intellectual life of the Department. There are two ways to make gifts in Charles's name, both of which will provide a unique opportunity to celebrate Charles's legacy: Charles Nolte Graduate Fellowship, celebrating the fact that Charles was instrumental in sustaining the MA/PhD Program both as an inspiring teacher, whose students are now successful actors, directors, theatre educators all over the country, as well as a generous sponsor of our academic lecture series; and Tretter Collection housing Charles's personal papers, including his journals, sections of which many of us heard him read over the years. Below is the information about the two funds.

Charles Nolte Graduate Fellowship:
Charles Nolte Graduate Fellowship
Fund #7505

Checks should be sent to:
Rochelle Emmel
Department of Theatre Arts & Dance
Rarig 580
University of Minnesota
330 South 21st Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55455

Tretter Collection:
Donations online can be made at: http://www.giving.umn.edu/index.html
In the category "I Would Like to Support..." the Libraries, University option should be selected with the following information included in the "Special Instructions" section:
"Tretter Collection #6653, In Honor of Charles Nolte"

Checks can be sent by mail to
Katherine McGill, Director of Library Development
499 Wilson Library
309 19th Avenue South
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455
Checks should have "Tretter Collection #6653, In Honor of Charles Nolte" written on it.

"Live the Revolution" Auditions!!

AUDITIONS for "LIVE THE REVOLUTION"

" I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality."
-Martin Luther King

"The spirit of Revolution should always permeate the soul of humanity...Old order should change, always and ever, yielding place to new, so that one "good" order may not corrupt the world. It is in this sense that we raise the shout,
LONG LIVE THE REVOLUTION!"
-Bhagat Singh

THE PLAY

Colliding together the words of Martin Luther King, Che Guevara, Rigoberta Menchu, Bhagat Singh, Subcomandante Marcos, Emma Goldman, Malcolm X, and other important revolutionaries- Live the Revolution is a multi-disciplinary, collaborative piece out to explore the need for revolution and change within our own society.

All of these revolutionary figures went on journeys were they had to inspire, fight, and provoke while constantly revolutionizing their beliefs. The collaboration of Live the Revolution is a creative journey that hopes to not only challenge and stretch notions of theatrical performance, but to engage the theatre and University community in a dialogue about how to revolutionize our own society and world.

In this piece collaborators will be asked- what in world motivates you into action, and what saddens you into silence? What experiences have left you feeling empowered, unstoppable? What happens when someone fights or challenges your beliefs? How do you fight back? How do you resist? Revolt?

WHO is needed for the revolution?

YOU! Actresses and actors of ALL shapes, sizes, backgrounds, experience PLEASE audition!!

This process will be focused on enlivening text with body, voice, and image through a variety of physically vigorous techniques. Be ready to create, experiment, collaborate, explore and ReVoLt.

As well, anyone who has any background in puppetry, musical instruments, vocal performance, SPOKEN WORD POETRY, dance, or other performing/fine arts PLEASE come AUDITION!!!

WHAT to bring to the audition?

Prepare either one of the two sides provided, or a poem or monologue- you can bring present work that you have written yourself. Come prepared to move.

As well, please bring an idea of 3 things that you would like to change about the world. Feel prepared to speak about these 3 things openly.

The ROLES

The Peacemaker
The Radical (2 people will be cast in this role, one M one F)
The Performer
The Poet
The Warrior
The Icon
The Enigma
The Forgotten (2 people will be cast in this role, one M one F)
+ 2-3 ensemble members

Auditions are THIS WEEK, Wednesday and Thursday, January 27-28. Callbacks are Friday, January 29.

If you can't make the times listed, PLEASE email Katrina Dikkers or Rachel Pollack.

KFAI Radio to Air a Tribute to Charles Nolte

There's a tribute to Charles Nolte on KFAI radio's Fresh Fruit program this Thursday, Jan 21 at 7:30pm:
http://www.kfai.org/node/25498

If you miss it, the archived recording should be available here a little
later in the evening:
http://www.kfai.org/freshfruit

TPT to Air the Charles Nolte Portrait interview from 1993

The tpt Programming department has made changes in the broadcast schedule such that the Charles Nolte Portrait interview from 1993 will be broadcast on Saturday, Jan. 23rd, 2010 and repeated on Sunday, Jan. 24th, 2010.

It will air on the tpt MN channel (this service is fed statewide) at 5:30-6 pm on Saturday, Jan. 23rd, 2010.

The program will be repeated on tpt Life channel at 6:30-7 pm on Sunday, Jan. 24th, 2010.

The published tpt programming schedule is being updated on short notice, but due to the shortness of time, may not reflect these changes in all areas before the broadcasts.

You can find tpt's digital TV Channels on the tpt.org website.

Execution of Justice - 2nd round of auditions and callbacks

The Department of Theatre Arts and Dance will be holding a second round of auditions for Execution of Justice for those who were unable to audition last semester. Auditions will be held on Wednesday, January 20th, from 7-11pm in room 10 in Rarig. You may sign up for an audition slot on the call board.

For auditions please prepare two contrasting monologues, one dramatic and one comedic, preferably contemporary. Your audition must not exceed more than five minutes.

Callbacks will be posted the following morning and held that evening, January 21st, from 7-11pm in room 10 as well.

Please contact Assistant Stage Manager Rachel Piersdorf with questions.

Professor Emeritus Charles Nolte Passed Away

Beloved U of M Professor, actor, and playwright Charles Nolte passed away in the evening on Thursday, January 14 in Minneapolis. Although he will truly be missed, his presence at the U will live on through the Charles Nolte Xperimental Theatre and his donation of volumes of films and diaries to the Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection in Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies at the University of Minnesota Libraries. Memorial services are currently pending. For more information about his life and passing, read Rohan Preston's blog post, Theater, film and opera worlds lose a light and his article, Actor, director, mentor Charles Nolte dies. Also, Graydon Royce's post, Charles Nolte remembered.

Recent U of M/Guthrie Theater BFA Actor Training Program Grads in the Guthrie's Co-Production of "Romeo & Juliet"

Elizabeth Stahlmann, Will Sturdivant, Hugh Kennedy, and Christine Weber are among the U of M/Guthrie Theater BFA Actor Training Program grads cast in Romeo and Juliet, a co-production of the Guthrie and New York's Acting Company. Professor Mathew LeFebvre, Head of Design/Technology, designed the costumes, and BFA Theatre Faculty Member Marcela Lorca was the choreographer.

For more information about the production and BFA program, check out Graydon Royce's recent article, OnStage: The young and the passionate.

Graydon Royce's review of the production: A staging that befits the young and the restless

For more information about the production and to order tickets, check out guthrietheater.org.

BA Theatre Performance Program Head Luverne Seifert and Affiliate Faculty Member Bob Rosen Named in City Pages' "The Best Theatre of 2009"

Reporter Quinton Skinner named the performances of two U of M Theatre faculty member's work in his top 10 list of The Best Theatre of 2009. Luverne Seifert's performance of Philip K. Dick in the Workhaus Collective's production of 800 Words: The Transmigration of Philip K. Dick was his #4 pick and Bob Rosen's performance of an engineer losing his mind to Alzheimer in My Father's Bookshelf produced by Live Action Set was #10.

For the full article: The Best Theatre of 2009.

For more information about the Workhaus Collective: workhauscollective.org.

For more information about Live Action Set: liveactionset.org.