Minnesota Centennial Showboat Scholarships; UMTAD Faculty at Work; Alumni: Onstage & Off

Showboat Scholarships

Today the 2014 Minnesota Centennial Showboat Scholarships committee announced a record number of nine students will receive scholarship support in recognition of exceptional contributions to this summer's production of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde both on stage and backstage.
Theatre Arts & Dance Department Chair Marcus Dilliard stated, "Each of these recipients has demonstrated professionalism in rehearsal, in performance, backstage, and in the community. Faced with the flooding of the Mississippi and cancellation of 16 performances, they kept the Centennial Showboat before the public -- canvasing streets of St. Paul, creating and posting social media messages including a video, appearing at public events, singing in lobbies and restaurant patios, even a Minnesota Orchestra Hall reception. Clearly, they rose to the occasion demonstrating personal and professional leadership." Showboat scholarships are also awarded at the intersection of artistic merit and financial need, according to Dilliard, who concluded, "I want to extend thanks on behalf of our department to the thousands of generous Showboat audience members who gave contributions this summer. Your gifts directly funded scholarships for these talented young people-- we applaud you."
Actors Christian Boomgaarden, Bear Brummel, Katherine Fried, Kevin Gotch, and Victoria Smith were presented with the C. Lance Brockman Scholarships. Actors Kathleen Kleiger and Daniel Piering were granted the Vern Sutton Scholarships. Stage managers Jane Heer and Audrey Rice were honored with the Jean Montgomery Scholarships
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UMTAD Faculty at Work

Michael Sommer, Open Eye Figure Theatre co-founding and co- artistic director, hosts a full spectrum of performances, seminars, and workshops September 25-28, all part of the Handmade Worlds: A Festival of Puppet Theatre. In the Heart of the Beast Mask and Puppet Theatre (HOBT), Open Eye Figure Theatre (OEFT) and the Great Plains Region of The Puppeteers of America (POA) are partnering to offer a dynamic line-up of puppetry from around the country. This three-day festival will present the works of ten companies/artists, bringing over 55 performers to the festival.
HOBT and OEFT, both known for their expertise in puppetry, are partnering with the POA to put Minneapolis' thriving puppetry scene on the national map. The Festival has been scheduled so that Festival Pass Holders are able to see every performance (14) as well as take 2-4 workshops and enjoy all the events of the festival. Performances will happen at three venues - HOBT, OEFT and the Open Eye Studio (for some of the more intimate offerings). In addition to the 12 productions presented, there will be twelve workshops offered, a panel discussion featuring nationally recognized artists, and two puppetry cabarets. The Festival features prominent works by artists such as Julian Crouch and David Commander (New York), Manuel Cinema and Michael Montenegro (Chicago), Masque Theatre (Connecticut), Paul Mesner (Missouri), Toy Box and Cripps Puppets (North Carolina), Monica Leo (Iowa), Tony Fuemmeler (Oregon) as well as several Minneapolis artists. For more information and tickets/ passes visit http://www.openeyetheatre.org/stage/handmade-worlds-a-festival-of-puppet-theatre

Karla Grotting, associate director of the Flying Foot Forum performs in Alice in Wonderland with the Flying Foot Company Sept 25 - Oct 12 in the Lehr Theatre located in Lowry Building, downtown St. Paul. Grotting, a U of M dance alumna, has served as a dance faculty member since 1998.
Alice in Wonderland is a multi-faceted Twin Cities community event that will bring together community members, students, audiences, puppets, and 16 dancers, singers, actors, and musicians in a joyous participatory, promenade style, musical theater trip down the rabbit hole at the Lehr Theater in St Paul. Alice in Wonderland will be a combination dance party, bedtime story, and rock concert all in one fantastical retelling of Lewis Carroll's tale, reminding us all that life can be an adventure worth taking and that sometimes things you don't understand can make life more wondrous and mysterious.
Alice in Wonderland was adapted, composed, choreographed, and directed by Joe Chvala, also cast as the Mad Hatter.Tickets: General Admission Adults $26, Students $20, All Previews $20 Reservations: The Ordway Box Office, 651-224-4222, www.ordway.org

If theatre faculty member Lisa Channer seems a bit hurried these days it's no wonder. She is directing two productions, a celebration of the life of the legendary American folksinger Pete Seeger staged in Oneonta, New York, and co-directing with Sam Johns the department's first mainstage fall production, Working - a Musical. Based on the book by Studs Turkel, adapted by Stephen Schwartz and Nin Faso, Working - A Musical with a cast of 24 students, is slated to open October 30.

Dance faculty Linda Talcott Lee is splitting her time with Mankato State University choreographing Beauty and the Beast and Bloomington Civic Theatre choreographing Next to Normal. Next she is looking forward to performing in the Ordway's "A Christmas Story" during November and December.

Alumni News: Onstage and Off

Alumni connections with the Flying Foot Forum's Alice in Wonderland company include: Colleen Bertsch, a Ph.D. candidate in Ethnomusicology, Natalie Nowytski ( '99 BA ) who composed some of the music for the Oil! and The Jungle (2011), and Scott Keever ('09 BA). Billy Mullaney ('11 BA Theatre) most recently appeared in the world premiere of Something About a Bear. Charles Robison, a longtime student in UMTAD dance program, also appears in the production.

The University of Minnesota / Guthrie Theatre B.F.A. program has been singled out as one of Joe Dowling's notable achievements, according to the theatre's Heidi Chronicles program /magazine. The article identifies Heidi Chronicles' cast members Sam Bardwell (BFA '08) and Eleonore Dendy (BFA '13) as graduates of this unique educational partnership. The show plays through October 26, 2014 on the Guthrie's Wurtele Thrust Stage.

Theatre Arts & Dance Department Announces 2014-15 Season

The University of Minnesota's Theatre Arts & Dance Department is pleased to announce its 2014-15 performance season. As University classes begin this September, so does producing at the Rarig Center and Barbara Baker Center for Dance. Auditions, rehearsals, design plans, shop activities and creative work leading to the following public productions of the fall, winter, and spring are underway.

Working, a Musical based on Studs Terkel's book adapted by Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso opens the Rarig Center Mainstage season October 30 and plays through November 9 on the Stoll Thrust Stage. Under the direction of faculty member Lisa Channer (co-founder and co-artistic director of Theatre Novi Most) teamed with visiting artist Samantha Johns, Working explores the working lives of real people with a folk music-inspired score. With a talented cast of 22, the musical examines what, why, and for whom we work.

University Dance Theatre's Dance Revolutions takes center stage of the Whiting Proscenium Theatre December 4 -7. This dazzling collection of innovative new works by Cowles Visiting Artists Greg Dolbashian, Justin Jones, Maurya Kerr, and faculty member Scott Rink will be performed by students. Dance Revolutions is directed by Toni Pierce-Sands, co-artistic director of TU Dance and a member of the Dance Program faculty.

7 Dwarfs presents a unique twist on the classic Snow White story. This fairy tale for adults considers the familiar plot from an entirely different perspective. The quirky comedy playing February 26-March 8 in the Whiting Proscenium Theatre was created by Minnesota playwright/ NPR commentator/author Kevin Kling. His long time artistic collaborator, faculty member Michael Sommers (artistic director of Open Eye Figure Theatre) directs the production.

Blue Stockings, a new play by Jessica Swale, makes its American premiere in April directed by Joel Sass and performed by University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater Actor Training Program's Senior Company. Set in 1896, the year Girton College became the first college in Britain to admit women, Tess Moffat and her fellow "first years" fight for the right to graduate and end up changing the future of education. Blue Stockings will be performed in the Guthrie's Dowling Studio.

Tickets for Mainstage performances are available by visiting theatre.umn.edu or by calling 612-624-2345. Admission prices include ticket fees: $6 for all students; $11 U of M faculty/staff; $16 general public
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From April 2-6, the University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theatre Actor Training Sophomore Company performs its annual pair of Shakespeare plays. This spring's repertory features the comedies The Taming of the Shrew and The Comedy of Errors. Always cleverly staged with an emphasis on mastery of text, these pieces will be performed in the Stoll Thrust Theatre. All tickets for the Shakespeare rep are $6 and can be purchased online at theatre.umn.edu or by phone at 612-624-2345.

In addition to the Mainstage productions, Theatre Arts & Dance presents a wide variety of studio and informal showings that are free and open to the public with seating on a first come, first served basis.

The University of Minnesota/ Guthrie Theatre BFA Studio Series 2014-15 opens with Gorky's classic Summerfolk, October 2 -5 in Rarig's Kilburn Theatre. Later in October, the Sophomore Company will play three Tracy Letts works in repertory, Killer Joe, Bug, August: Osage County October 21- 28. In the spring, the Junior Company presents Medea February 26 - March 1 and later, two classic Moliere comedies, Lovers' Quarrels playing in repertory with Learned Ladies from April 16- 19. To conclude the Series, the Freshman Company makes its formal debut with Fresh Scenes playing April 30 - May 2.

In addition, Creative Collaborations present informal showings after a series of intense rehearsal weeks focused on ensemble theater creation. Production elements are usually light, creativity and artistic risk are always high. Admission is free to Creative Collaborations; seating is based on first come first served basis.

Mystery Bouffe, directed by guest Polish artist Ludmila Ryba with input from Michal Kobialka, performs October 20 and 21 in the Nolte Xperimental Theatre. Mayakovsky's play, grounded in the proletarian causes of the Russian revolution, directs performers to "change the content, making it contemporary, immediate, up-to-the-minute." Ryba, an original member of Tadeusz Kantor's theatre company, will utilize Kantor's theories and methods in creating the piece.

Theatre artist Dario Tangelson creates Saint Evita, an original devised piece inspired by passages from Saint Evita a novel by Tomás Eloy Martínez and from the short story That Woman by Rodolfo Walsh. The result of this collaboration will be performed on December 8 and 9 in the Xperimental Theatre. These works follow the journey surrounding Evita ́s dead embalmed body and the wax copies made of it. Part historical, mostly fiction, this story will present a whole new side of the Eva Peron story.

In the spring, Maren Ward teams with dramaturg Nathan Tylutki to lead a project titled D'workin! based on the work of Andrea Dworkin, a pioneer in the anti-pornography movement. As an ensemble, student performers will conduct their own debates and reactions to the views and tactics of Dworkin. The final product, performed on March 2 and 3, will include historical events, characters and students' contemporary reflections.

Hidden Cities led by Gulgun Kayim is inspired by Italio Calvino's book and performs April 27 and 28. Like Invisible Cities, this project will explore and draw from the experiences of the city and the imagination of each student to create short devised performances based on and scattered around various sites in Minneapolis.

Informal dance showings mark the end of the residencies of each of this year's Cowles Visiting Artists. These informal showings, performed by dance students, take place in the Barker Dance Center and are free and open to the public. Works by Gregory Dolbashian and Justin Jones will be performed on September 26 at 4:30 PM, work by Maurya Kerr will be performed on October 17 at 4:30 PM, and Scott Rink's new piece performs November 7 at 4:30 PM.

The Department of Theatre Arts & Dance serves 400 major students every year offering four undergraduate and two graduate programs through the University of Minnesota's College of Liberal Arts. Academic achievement is supported by over 100 distinguished faculty and staff members at the Rarig Center and Barbara Barker Center for Dance. For information on our curriculum and programs visit theatre.umn.edu or dance.umn.edu or call 612 625-6699 (Theatre Arts) or 612 624-5060 (Dance).