NOVEMBER 2015 APPLAUSE
What’s on @ Rarig?
DANCE REVOLUTIONS in the Wings
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| rehearsal photo: Brandon Stengel |
Dance Revolutions takes center stage presenting a dazzling collection of four cutting- edge pieces,
including a premiere, December 10 -13
at the Rarig Center. Performed by U of M students,
this exciting program includes "Two Pieces of One: Green" by the
internationally acclaimed Tony Award winning choreographer Garth Fagan, a
leading force in the contemporary modern dance world, Gerald Casel’s
highly praised Proxima,
and artistic director Joanie Smith re-imagines her entertaining work Pat A Cake from Shapiro & Smith
Dance's repertoire. The much anticipated premiere of The People’s Circus, created by McKnight Fellow Wynn Fricke
concludes the program. Directed by Toni Pierce-Sands, artistic director of TU
Dance and member of Theatre Arts & Dance faculty Dance Revolutions performs
December 10, 11, 12 at 7:30 pm and December 13 at 2:00 pm. Tickets are now
available by visiting dance.umn.edu or by calling (612) 624-2345.
Crticis have named Garth Fagan “a true original,” “a genuine leader,” and
“one of the great reformers of modern dance.”
Fagan is the founder and artistic director of the award-winning and
internationally acclaimed Garth Fagan Dance, now celebrating its 45th
season. A Tony and Olivier award winner for his extraordinary choreography of
the musical hit The Lion King, Fagan
continually renews his own distinctive dance vocabulary. “Originality has
always been Mr. Fagan’s strong suit, not least in his transformation of
recognizable idioms into a dance language that looks not only fresh but even
idiosyncratic,” writes Anna Kisselgoff of the New York Times.
Dance Revolutions begins with Gerald Casel’s piece Proxima. In reviewing his work Dance Magazine (May 2010) posed the
question
“What is it about just a few bodies moving in space that can hold an audience
captive? Maybe it’s Casel’s endlessly inventive lexicon, lush yet quirky, that
keeps you transfixed.” A
first-generation Filipino-American who grew up in California before moving to
New York to study dance at the Juilliard School, Casel has danced in the
companies of Michael Clark, Sungsoo Ahn, Stanley Love, Zvi Gotheiner, the
Metropolitan Opera Ballet, Lar Lubovitch and Stephen Petronio. Now a faculty member of Dance in the Theater
Arts Department at the University of California-Santa Cruz, Casel says his
current work is motivated by a desire to understand his personal history.
Joanie Smith’s Pat A Cake opens the second part of the Dance Revolutions
program. Smith founded Shapiro & Smith Dance with Daniel Shapiro in 1987,
developing a collaborative method to create their work. Danial Shapiro died in
2006 and now Joanie Smith serves as sole Artistic Director. Shapiro &
Smith’s work has been commissioned by companies as diverse as the Alvin Ailey
American Dance Theater, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and the PACT Company of
South Africa. The Company has toured all over the U.S. and abroad including
performing four times at The Joyce Theater in New York City, ten years at The
Southern Theater in Minneapolis and now three seasons at The Cowles Center For
Dance And The Performing Arts. Over 600 dancers have performed, To Have and to Hold, and Shapiro &
Smith’s production of ANYTOWN has had
more than 40 performances across the U.S., including New York City’s The Joyce
Theater and Minneapolis’ The Guthrie Theater.
The premiere of
Wynn Fricke’s The Peoples’ Circus concludes
the program. Fricke has been called a “choreographic shaman” who creates
“timeless works that comment on the human condition with muscular choreography
and primordial power” (Star Tribune).
Her choreography has been produced across the America, in Russia, and
Micronesia. Her commissions include new works from Zenon Dance Company,
Ragamala Dance, James Sewell Ballet, Ballet Arts Minnesota, and Frank Theatre.
She served for two years as Resident Choreographer for Minnesota Dance Theatre,
and is founder of Borrowed Bones Dance Theatre. Wynn is the recipient of seven
McKnight Fellowships in Choreography and Performance, and two New York
State-funded grants from Arts International and Trust for Mutual Understanding.
She has been named “Best Choreographer” and one of the “Artists of the Year” by
Minneapolis’ City Pages, and has been
honored with two Sage Awards for “Outstanding Performance.”
A
Penny for Brecht -- B.A. Creative Collaboration
Glimpse down
dark alleys and slip into smoke filled rooms where finance meets romance, and
criminals become bankers - as you discover Threepenny Opera’s deeper story in A Penny for Brecht, a creative collaboration.
Framed as an open “rehearsal” with Brecht actively imagining his
work with his actors, A Penny for Brecht offers a
critically engaging look into Brecht’s struggle to stage capitalism. A
Penny for Brecht directed by theatre artist and faculty member Kym
Longhi, weaves together interdepartmental resources of the U of M German
Department and Theatre guiding the student collaborators. The workshop
explores the relationship between the Threepenny Opera and the
economic forces that frayed the social fabric of the Weimar Republic -
resulting in a crumbling government, corrupt police, syndicates, gangs, and
spiraling unemployment. Selected songs and highlights from Threepenny
Opera will fuse with Brecht’s revisionist Threepenny
Novel, and his Messingkauf Dialogues to create this
highly provocative theatrical expose.
This showing will be presented
December 5-7 (note: two showings December 6) in Rarig
Center’s Nolte Xperimental Theatre. Admission
is free to this showing. To reserve your general admission seat to a
performance , click http://z.umn.edu/umtad and print your pass.
A Penny for Brecht,
a creative collaboration workshop heralds the upcoming Weill & Brecht
Festival presented by the Theatre Arts and Dance Department and the School of
Music in the spring of 2016. Stay tuned for details.
NEWS
The Theatre Arts & Dance Department is sadden to report Nicole Kopfmann (Theatre Arts '15) honor student, peer
representative, performer passed away Oct 11,2015 after battling cancer.
Deepest sympathy is extended to the Kopfmann family. Our department remembers Nicole’s
indomitable spirit and joy of learning she shared with us all. --Faculty, staff and students.
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| Devon Cox, Warren Bowles and Cage Pierre Park Square Theatre's production of My Children! My Africa! photo: Petronella J. Ytsma |
My Children! My Africa! -- My Minnesota!
“Sometimes, it’s a very
small world.”
Cage
Pierre (BFA ‘16) will soon perform the role of Thami Mbikwana in Athol
Fugard’s My Children! My Africa! in the regional premiere of this powerful three-person drama at Park Square Theatre’s Andy Boss Thrust
stage, November 11-29. Thami is an 18-year-old black South African student in
Mr. M's class at Zolile High School in 1984.
Six months ago, Cage was introduced by chance to the stage, film and screen actor Courtney B. Vance as they were riding
up a Guthrie Theatre elevator. They chatted for a moment as they exited. Mr.
Vance advised the young actor about launching his professional career and
choosing with care his roles and audition material. “Look at Fugard – Thami of in My Children!, My Africa! Great for
part you,” he suggested. Vance played the role in My Children! My Africa! in his
professional debut at the New York Theatre Workshop in the play's 1989 American premiere.
Meanwhile, stars were
aligning themselves.... James A. Williams,
the professional Twin Cities actor who played Mr. M in the highly acclaimed
2012 Signature Theatre production in New York City, now was preparing to cast
the play in St. Paul. Cage audtioned and “I guess it was just meant to be,” says the smiling
senior.
Cage will play opposite the
award-winning actor and playwright Warren
C. Bowles, who is cast as Mr.M. Incidentally, Mr. Bowles also trained in the
University of Minnesota Theatre department, as well as at the University of
Notre Dame and Université Catholique de l'Ouest. He has been a member of the
Mixed Blood Theatre company since 1977, and his theatrical credits span stages across the Twin Cities and nation.
The U of M connections reach
further. Lance Brockman, Professor Emeritus, creates set design for and props
for the production, adding to his already impressive list of Park Square
artistic contributions. Faculty member Lucinda Holshue, who teaches voice,
speech, and text in the University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater B.F.A. Actor
Training Program, shares her expertise with the My Children! My Africa! company at Park Square.
Click below for
Signature Theatre interview with Athol Fugard on the writing My Children My Africa!
https://vimeo.com/39429858
SAGE Awards Honor Five Dance Faculty Members
Congrats to all the 2015 SAGE winners! Kudos to the members of our TAD
Department faculty and teaching staff honored this year at the SAGE:
Ananya
Chatterjea received a special citation for Outstanding Dance
Educator for commitment and accomplishment in the dance education
Karla
Grotting and Eclectic Edge Ensemble for Outstanding Dance
Performance for Lost Voices in Jazz:
Choreographers of the Minnesota Jazz Dance Company
Penelope
Freeh and Joycelyn
Hagen for Overall Design for Test
Pilot
Dustin
Maxwell for Outstanding Dance Ensemble for Fu-Ku-Shi-Ma with the Nenkin Butoh Dan
Ensemble
The Minnesota SAGE
Awards for Dance are given annually for outstanding achievement in six
categories: Outstanding Performance, Performer, Ensemble, Design, Dance
Educator, and Special Citation. This year marked the eleventh annual
Minnesota SAGE Awards for Dance, which were held at The Cowles Center on
Tuesday, October 13.
Congratulations to all
the winners and nominees! Thanks everyone for contributing to and
cultivating the vibrant dance community in the Twin Cities.
Sage Awards Celebration: http://www.startribune.com/twin-cities-dancers-choreographers-and-teachers-honored-at-11th-annual-sage-awards/332592142/
STUDENTS
Fiona
Lotti
(BA ’16) directed as a student classroom project Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, in an all-student
production performed free in the Nolte Xperimental Theatre in Rarig.
Megan
Burns
(BFA ’15) performs in Mixed Blood Theatre’s provocative production of An Octoroon, by Brandeen Jacobs-Jenkins
and directed by Nataki Garrett. Burns plays a “quietly combustible Zoe the tragic ‘mulatto’ in this production that leaves no archetype left
behind." (StarTribune). An Octoroon performs now
through November 15. For more information, visit:
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| Megan Burns left and Jamila Anderson in Mixed Blood Theatre’s An Octoroon |
photo:Rich Ryan
Emily
Grodzik
(BFA’ 13) is pictured in the current issue of American Theatre's article about Minneapolis’ Playwrights' Center experimenting with its 32nd annual PlayLabs series. Ms.
Grodzik recently appeared in a staged reading of “Small Town Values” by Kathryn
Walat at PlayLabs 2015.
H.
Adams Harris
(BFA’11) is currently performing multiple roles in the Children’s Theatre Company’s
The Jungle Book. Harris was featured
in the Star Tribune as a charismatic positive leader, as well as a talented
actor and teaching artist at Penumbra, the Guthrie, and Ten Thousand Things.
Harris plays Baloo, the big-hearted innocent bear, as well as Father Wolf and a
monkey. Asked what the multi-role experience has taught him as a performer,
Adam responded simply, “I’m capable.”
During the summer, Harris serves as program
manager for the Penumbra Summer Institute, a three-year leadership development
program that trains teens to use their passion for the arts to promote social
justice and equity. Forty-six young people participated in classes, workshops and
devised performances hosted in Rarig Center for six weeks this summer.
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| The Jungle Book at Children's Theatre Company photo: Dan Norman |
Casey
Hoekstra
(BFA ‘10) also performs as Shere Khan, the ravenous tiger in the Children
Theatre Company’s production of The
Jungle Book, playing now through December 15
as does...
Andrea San Miguel
(BFA ’12) who plays Mowgile. Bagheera/ Kaa/ Mother Wolf / Monkey
and Vulture Understudyin The Jungle Book at CTC. She has performed across the Twin Cities with Theatre Latte
Da, History Theatre, Walking Shadow,
Illusions and the Public Theatre of Minnesota. She has aslo worked for Chicago
Shakespeare.
Meghan
Kreidler
(BFA ‘13) plays a variety of characters in the amazing Ten Thousand Things Theatre
Company’s all female staging of Henry
IV Part 1, performed at Open Book until
November 2. “With riveting actor-driven storytelling, the 8-woman cast plays 20
roles, then literally and figuratively kicks butt [with fight choreography by
adjunct faculty member Annie Enneking. The female production paradoxically
illuminates masculinity and how it is constrained in the two primary worlds of
the play,” reports Sonja Kuftinec, associate department chair.
ALUMS
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| Tovah Feldshuh photo: Tony Cenicola / NYTimes |
Tovah
Feldshuh (MFA) actor singer, playwright will be seen in a featured role in “Flesh and
Bone,” a Starz mini-series set in the ballet world that debuts this month
according to a interview appearing in the New
York Times” Ms. Felshuh who plays the former Ohio congresswoman Deanna
Monroe on the AMC horror series “The Walking Dead” is also performing her cabaret show “Aging is
Optional” at Feinstein’s/54 Below.
To read article click: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/11/realestate/tovah-feldshuh-upper-west-side.html?_r=0
Sarah
Brander (MFA’13) is the Lighting Designer on the artistic staff
of Penumbra Theatre this season. Her
recent scenic and lighting designs include Penumbra’s The Particular Patriot, On the Way to Timbuktu , Jamaica Farewell.
Her work has also included designs for Guthrie Theater Minnesota Opera, and The
Acting Company.
FACULTY
Michael
Sommer prepares to bring back his highly popular Holiday Pageant, not seen at for a number of years at Open Eye
Figure Theatre. Opens December 11.
http://www.openeyetheatre.org/stage/2015-2016-season
Carl Flink, was among the host of
other artists including choreographers Patrick Corbin, Larry Keigwin, James
Sewell and Chris Yon as well as composer Jocelyn Hagen for an evening to raise funds
for Minnesota AIDS Project last month at
the Southern Theatre.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR NOW…
New Dance Works by Penelope Freeh
November 6 and 7 at 7:00 pm and 9:00 pm both nights
Four Seasons Dance Studio, 1637 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis 55403
(Facing Café Lurcat: go right, down the alley)
For tickets and information contact: Penelopefree.com
November 6 and 7 at 7:00 pm and 9:00 pm both nights
Four Seasons Dance Studio, 1637 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis 55403
(Facing Café Lurcat: go right, down the alley)
For tickets and information contact: Penelopefree.com
Performers for New Dance Works Darwin Balck, Penelope
Freeh, Alejandra Iannone , Brittany Keefe, Nic Lincoln, Sally
Rousse , Hannah Sullivan, and Erin Thompson will dance to the music of
composer/instrumentalists Jocelyn Hagen, Timothy Takach, Jeremy Verwys.
How to Make it to theDance Floor: A Salsa Guide for Women (Based on Actual Experiences)
Thursday, November 19, 2015, at 4:00pm Crosby Seminar Room, 2nd Floor East Side, 240 NorthropNo cost and open to the public
No cost and open to the public
A staged reading of a play by IAS Fellow Cindy Garcia and dramaturg Lucy Burns.
Cindy García is an Associate Professor, dance theorist, performance
ethnographer, and playwright in the Department of Theatre Arts and Dance at the
University of Minnesota. Her book Salsa Crossings: Dancing Latinidad in Los
Angeles (Duke UP 2013) addresses the politics of social performances of Mexican-ness, latinidad, and migration in Los Angeles salsa clubs. Her research and teaching interests
include the cultural politics of migration, race, and racialization, feminist ethnography, Chicana/o and Latin/o American Performance Studies, and the gendered performances of latinidad in urban libidinal economies.
Lucy Mae San Pablo Burns is an Associate Professor at UCLA’s Asian American.Studies . She is the author of Puro Arte: On the Filipino Performing Body, published by NYU Press. Current inquiries include representations of the future in performance through the figure of the robot, and “commonwealth” as an American identity. Burns is also a dramaturg,
whose recent collaborations include David Rousseve’s Stardust, and R. Zamora Linmark’s But, Beautiful, and TeAda Productions’Global Taxi Driver. She has participated in several projects focusing on Asian American theater and performance, including attending the 2007 World Social Forum as a member of a UCLA’s Asian American.S. artist delegation and as a reviewer for the National Asian American Theater Festival (2009, 2011).
This event is cosponsored by the Departments of Asian American Studies, Chicano and Latino Studies, Gender Women and Sexuality Studies, Immigration Studies, and Theatre Arts and Dance.
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