Affiliate Dance Faculty Member Linda Talcott Lee Choreographs "Beauty and the Beast" at the Ordway

The Ordway's production of Beauty and the Beast features choreography by Affiliate Faculty Member Linda Talcott Lee. For more information, check out Rohan Preston's article, The 'Beauty' part.

Department Chair Carl Flink and Associate Professor Lou Bellamy Are Acknowledged in Lavendar Magazine's "Year in Review"

In Lavender Magazine's Year in Review, Department Chair Carl Flink was named Best Choreographer for his work in The Jungle Theater's production of Mary's Wedding. Associate Professor Lou Bellamy was named Best Director for his productions of A Raisin in the Sun, The Whipping Man, and Radio Golf at Penumbra Theatre. Bellamy was also named one of the Theater Artists of the Decade.

Guthrie Theater's "A Christmas Carol" Features U of M Faculty and Alumni

The Guthrie Theater's annual production of A Christmas Carol features numerous U of M faculty and alumni. Included in the Artistic Staff are Assistant Professor Marcus Dilliard and Voice and Speech Coaches Elisa Carlson and Lucinda Holshue. The cast includes alumni Peter Michael Goetz as Ebenezer Scrooge, Laura Esping as Mrs. Cratchit, and John Skelley as Young Scrooge, Mr. Grub, Topper. It also features current U of M/Guthrie Theater B.F.A. Actor Training Program students Elizabeth Pryce Davies as Marigold Fezziwig, Sophia and Prentiss Standridge as Belle.

Associate Professor Lisa Channer Giving Lecture/Demonstration on Meyerhold and Biomechanics at the Institute for Advanced Study

Associate Professor Lisa Channer will be giving a lecture/demonstration on Meyerhold and Biomechanics on Friday, December 11 at 3:30pm at the Institute for Advanced Study in Nolte Center. It is part of her research collaborative on Embodying Gilgamesh: Staging Ancientness, and will include a demonstration of Biomechanics by members of Theatre Novi Most (including several University faculty and associates)

Please see flier for more information:
12-1.11.09-Biomechanics.pdf

Penumbra's Annual Production Highlights U of M Talent

Scripted by Associate Professor Lou Bellamy and Affiliate Acting Faculty T. Mychael Rambo, directed by Associate Professor Dominic Taylor, sound and video design by Associate Professor Martin Gwinup, and featuring Affiliate Dance Faculty Marciano Silva Dos Santos, Penumbra's annual holiday production, Black Nativity, features numerous U of M Theatre Arts and Dance faculty members. Alumni have also played a role in the production's creation. MFA alum Kalere Payton is the Assistant Costume Designer and BA alum Steve Horstmann is the production's Properties Master.

For more information about the production:

'Black Nativity' jazzed up but stays true - Rohan Preston, Star Tribune

'Black Nativity': familiar and fine - Dominic Papatola, Pioneer Press

Finding Minnesota: Penumbra's 'Black Nativity' - Angela Davis

Penumbra's Black Nativity uplifts and perseveres - Quinton Skinner

Penumbra Theatre Website

Open Eye Figure Theatre's Annual Holiday Pageant Features Assistant Professor Michael Sommers's Inventive Puppetry

Open Eye Figure Theatre presents its annual Holiday Pageant Wednesday, December 2, 2009 - Wednesday, December 23, 2009. According to Jay Gabler, the pageant began 24 years ago just a few blocks from Open Eye's storefront theater, in the living room of company founders U of M Theatre Arts and Dance Assistant Professor Michael Sommers and Susan Haas. In recent years, the show has happened only once annually, at the Pantages Theatre. However, this year, Open Eye is staging a three-week run in its own space.

For more information about the production check out the rest of Gabler's article, Open Eye Figure Theatre's Holiday Pageant gets cozier, darker in the Twin Cities Daily Planet, Dominic Papatola's article, Whimsical 'Holiday Pageant' gives you a cookie, too, or visit the Open Eye Figure Theatre website.

Assistant Professor Larasati Receives Prestigious International Collaborative Work Grant

Congratulations to Assistant Professor Diyah Larasati for having received a very prestigious International Collaborative Work Grant: Asia Award sponsored by the Asian Scholarship Foundation.