CURRENT NEWS
Professor Oteíza's documentary on the Santiago a Mil Theatre Festival makes Canadian premiere at Concordia University
Professor Marcela Oteíza's documentary Santiago (en) Vivo, about the Santiago a Mil Theatre Festival in Santiago, Chile, made its Canadian premiere at Concordia University. Oteíza screened the film and gave a lecture afterwards to students at the Concordia Fine Arts program. The following discussion touched on the exchange between audience and site in street performance and reclaiming the performative qualities of a given urban space for the community.
Bogin '18 and Monson '18 Participate in Creative Residency at Goodspeed Musicals
Over Winter Break, Molly Bogin '18 and Tekla Monson '18 joined 36 established and emerging composers and lyricists to participate in the Johnny Mercer Writers Colony, a two-week creative residency at Goodspeed Musicals in East Haddam, Connecticut.
Their musical stemmed from work done in their Musical Theater Workshop class taught by Visiting Artist Greg Kotis. Their musical, which started as a one-act called The Ditch Digger's Apprentice and developed into a two-act entitled The Storm Readers, was selected amongst their peers for participation by Kotis, Theater Department chair Kathleen Conlin, and Dean of the Arts and Humanities Ellen Nerenberg.
Over the two-week residency period, nightly salons gave Bogin and Monson the opportunity to perform scenes and songs in front of their fellow composers and lyricists. Feedback from fellow composers and lyricists informed the development.
Read more about the Johnny Mercer Writers Colony here.
Students Study Theater, Oteíza's film premieres in Santiago, Chile over Winter Session
During Winter Session, 14 Wesleyan students studied live, site-based theatrical performances in Santiago, Chile.
Under the instruction of Assistant Professor of Theater Marcela Oteíza, these students spent two weeks at the Festival Internacional Santiago a Mil (FITAM), studying site-specific performance, street performance, and immersive theater.
Check out this interview and more photos in WesNews
Also during the festival, Oteíza's documentary film, Santiago (en) Vivo received its first screening at the Centro Cultural la Moneda (the Chilean Presidential Palace). This work, which follows the festival street performances, practitioners, and audiences over the course of five consecutive years, analyzes how and when the city of Santiago is transformed into a stage.
Miranda Haymon ’16 has been announced as one of Roundabout Theatre Company's Artists-in-Residence.
Miranda is a director currently serving as the Roundabout 2017/18 Directing Fellow. Her adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five
For more information, visit Roundabout Theatre Company’s website and check out Miranda Haymon’s website.
To Premiere at La Mama NYC in 2018
Conceived by Wesleyan Theater alum Nick Benacerraf '08 and co-directed by Nick Benacerraf 08' and Jess Chayes 07', The Assmebly’s SEAGULLMACHINE will receive its premiere at La Mama in 2018. SEAGULLMACHINE is a combination of two iconic riffs on Hamlet—Anton Chekhov's The Seagull and Heiner Muller's Hamletmachine. The play explores what it means to become trapped in your own illusions and the radical transformations needed to break free of them.
For more information, visit THE ASSEMBLY’s website and check out Nick Benacerraf’s website. Check back for more information about the production at La Mama here.
Theatre Department Welcomes New Interim Chair and Faculty
Kathleen Conlin, Frank B. Weeks Visiting Professor of Theater, is now the new Interim Chair of Wesleyan Theatre Department. Dean Ellen Nerenberg said, “It is a pleasure as well as a privilege to work with her to build on theater’s past successes and create new kinds of opportunities of all sorts for Wesleyan students".
Professor Conlin has held tenured faculty positions at the University of Texas at Austin, Ohio State University, and the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana. While juggling the varied demands of an academic career, she also served for 22 seasons as associate artistic director and stage director at the Utah Shakespeare Theater.
Click here for the full Wesleyan News Article:
In addition, Wesleyan Theatre has welcomed other new faculty for Fall 2017:
- Tira Palmquist, Visiting Artist-in-Residence in Theater, is currently teaching Introduction to Playwriting and Advanced Playwriting: Long Form at Wesleyan. Her works include Overburden, Two Degrees (Denver Center), Ten Mile Lake (Serenbe Playhouse), Age of Bees (MadLab Theater, Tesseract), And Then They Fell (Brimmer Street, New York Film Academy)
- Greg Kotis, Visiting Artist-in-Residence in Theater, is currently teaching Music Theater Workshop at Wesleyan.He is the author of many plays and musicals, including the Tony Award and Obie winner Urinetown.
- Donnie Mather, Visiting Assistant Professor of Theater, is currently teaching Viewpoints, a physical approach to actor training and a vocabulary that addresses issues of Time and Space. He is the founding artist of the Adaptations Project, which adapts new forms of storytelling to create works based on unusual source material.
- Paul Pryce, Visiting Assistant Professor of Theater, is currently teaching Acting I. He is a native of Trinidad and Tobago, and is an experienced actor who established a theater company called Scarlett Project, dedicated to production and creation of West Indian art and theater.
Wesleyan Professors win more awards for La Canción
In addition to a previously posted ACE Award, La Canción recently won the 2017 Gilberto Zaldívar Award for Outstanding Musical, given by The Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA). These awards recognized excellence in New York Latino Theater.
Visiting Professor of Practice, Eddie Torres directed the production of La Canción by Cándido Tirado at Repetorio Español in May 2017, and Assistant Professor of Theater, Marcela Oteíza, was the scenic designer.
This production also won the ACE Award for Mejor Producción Teatro Musical.
Oteiza Featured in a New Book: Scenography Expanded
Assitant Professor of Theater, Marcela Oteiza's latest work: City as Site: Street Performance and Site Permeability during the Festival Internacional Teatro a Mil, Chile, 2012-2015 has been featured in Scenography Expanded, published by Bloomsbury.
Scenography Expanded is a foundational text offering readers a thorough introduction to contemporary performance design, both in and beyond the theatre. It examines the potential of the visual, spatial, technological, material and environmental aspects of performance to shape performative encounters.
Wesleyan Alumni Relaunch NY Time's Top Pick Show
Wesleyan alumni Jess Chayes '07, Nick Benacerraf '08, Edward Bauer '08, and Stephen Aubrey '06 along with the rest of their company, The Assembly, are relaunching their production HOME/SICK. HOME/SICK explores the Weather Underground during the late 1960's. The show runs from March 9-25, 2017 at JACK. Conversations with political organizers will follow multiple performances.
For more information and tickets, visit The Assembly's website.
Shapiro Professor Quiara Hudes' new Play opens Off-Broadway
Shapiro Distinguished Professor of Writing and Theater, Quiara Alegria Hudes invited her playwrighting students and theater faculty to the final dress rehearsal of her play Daphne's Dive which opened on April 26th at the Signature Theatre.
For more information about the performance, visit the Signature Theatre website.
Visiting Directing Professor Collaborates with PS 374 on New Work
Visiting Associate Professor of Theater, Kim Weild, is opening a new work devised with the students at PS 374, The ASL and English Lower School. In collaboration with first, second, and third graders from PS 374 and her new company OUR VOICES/OTHER VOICES, Weild is creating a new piece entitled How the I Becomes the We which will be performed on April 23rd on the High Line under the Standard Hotel at Little West 12th Street. Performed in ASL and spoken English, the production features 4 deaf actors, 2 hearing actors, and a puppeteer from the 2011 Broadway play, War Horse.
In addition to the performance, Weild is collaborating with Broadway designers and Deaf artists to illustrate a book created by her students at PS 374.
For more information about the performance, visit the High Line website and check out Professor Weild's blog and kickstarter page to learn more about the collaboration.
New Play by Meg Miroshnik Opens in California
Lady Tattoo, a new play written by former instructor of Playwrighting Meg Miroshnik opens on April 24th in Costa Mesa, CA.
At the beginning of the 20th century, tattooed lady Picky is commissioned by Lady Elizabeth Arterton to do some custom inking. It quickly becomes more than a transaction as desperation, regret and art collide in a world where a woman’s options are corseted.
Visit South Coast Repertory's website for more information about the production.
Edward Torres Opens New Play in Chicago
Mosque Alert, a new play written by Jamil Khoury and directed by Visiting Assistant Professor of Theater Edward Torres opens on April 2nd in Chicago, IL.
Inspired by the "Ground Zero Mosque" controversy in New York City, Mosque Alert tells the story of three fictional families living in Naperville, Illinois, whose lives are interrupted by a proposed Islamic Center on the site of a beloved local landmark. Mosque Alert explores the intersections of zoning and Islamophobia with humor, family drama, and refreshingly blunt honesty.
Visit Silk Road Rising's website for more information about the production.
Upcoming Works by Shapiro Professor Quiara Hudes
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Shapiro Distinguished Professor of Writing and Theater, Quiara Alegria Hudes, is premiering two new works this year at La Jolla Playhouse and Signature Theatre. Miss You Like Hell, a road trip musical about a "deeply imaginative teenager and her free-spirited Latina mother," opens in the Fall written by Hudes (book) and Erin McKeown (music and lyrics). Daphne's Dive, Hudes' first work in residency with the Signature Theatre, opens in April and is directed by Thomas Kail '99.
For more information, visit the La Jolla Playhouse and Signature Theatre for more information.
Visiting Playwrights' Work Gets Produced
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Visiting Playwrighting Professors Hansol Jung and Brendan Pelsue are having their works Cardboard Piano and Wellesley Girl produced at the 40th Humana Festical of New American Plays this spring.
For more information, visit the Actors Theatre website.
Christina Anderson interviewed about work in Science Fiction
Christina Anderson and two other playwrights were interviewed by American Theatre about their work on science fiction plays.
To read the full article, visit American Theater's website for more details.
Roberta Pereira listed among American Theater's "Theater Workers You Should Know"
Roberta Pereira is the producing director of Playwrights Realm where Sojourners, a play about a Nigerian immigrant to the U.S. faced with a tough decision, is making it’s debut. “So many companies are about producing new plays, but Playwrights Realm wants to support the person writing the play,” Pereira says. Playwrights Realm provides the playwrights with year’s access to the company, including free rein over the troupe’s office and conference room and a year of health insurance.
To read the full article, visit American Theater's website for more details.
Cheryl Tan '11 stars in Beauty World revival in Singapore
Wesleyan Theater alum Cheryl Tan Barnett '11 has been cast as Ivy Chan in a fresh revival of Dick Lee and Michael Chiang’s iconic musical Beauty World at the Victoria Theatre starting Nov. 13.
Set in 1960s Singapore, Beauty World is the story of Ivy Chan, a girl from Malaysia whose journey to find her long-lost father brings her to a colourful cabaret in Singapore.
More information about the production visit: https://www.youth.sg/events/2015/9/beauty-world-2015
Wesleyan Theater Alumni Panel
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Five Wesleyan Theater Department alumni talk about their work and careers in theater after Wesleyan in a panel moderated by Associate Professor of TheaterCláudia Tatinge Nascimento.
"While Wesleyan isn’t the most pre-professional school, this panel served as proof that we will graduate with the tools required to make careers out of our respective interests. “We learn how to be self-starters at Wesleyan,” Rau remarked. With the multitude of creative projects constantly being carried out at any given moment on campus, it’s impossible not to hone your skills in the field that interests you, and Thursday’s panelists clearly took full advantage of this quality."
Wesleyan Theater Alumni Impress at Panel by Danielle Cohen, Assistant Arts Editor, The Wesleyan Argus
Lin-Manuel Miranda receives MacArthur 'Genius Grant'
Wesleyan Theater alum Lin-Manuel Miranda '02 has been named one of the 2015 MacArthur Foundation Fellows, placing him on a short list of some of the most brilliant minds in the arts, sciences, and humanities. The fellowship is awarded for "exceptional creativity, promise for important future advances based on a track record of significant accomplishment, and potential for the fellowship to facilitate subsequent creative work" and comes with a stipend of $625,000 paid in installments over the course of five years.
Other 2015 recipients include tap dancer and choreographer Michelle Dorrance and puppet artist and director Basil Twist.
Ken Barnett '94 cast in new musical at The Public Theater
Wesleyan Theater alum Ken Barnett '94 was cast as Abraham Ebdus in the world premiere of a new musical The Fortress of Solitude at The Public Theater. Conceived and directed by Daniel Aukin, the production ran from October 22 to November 16, 2014 after an extension to the original closing date of November 2.
More about the production here: http://publictheater.org/fortressofsolitude/
Lily Whitsitt '06 receives Princess Grace award
The Princess Grace Foundation is awards over $1 million to artists every year in theater, dance performance, choreography and film. The 33rd Annual Awards will continue the legacy of Princess Grace (Kelly) of Monaco, who helped emerging artists pursue their artistic goals during Her lifetime. Lily Whitsitt recieved the Works in Progress Residency with the Princess Grace Foundation.
Emma MacLean '14 - Huffington Post features recent grad's thesis
Focusing on how disability is represented in theater, Emma MacLean's thesis topic has garnered national attention from the widely-read liberal online media site, The Huffington Post. The article was written by MacLean and was posted as part of the HuffPost College Thesis Project, which gives students a chance to share the fruit of their hard academic work with a wide audience.
MacLean's oeuvre, which received High Honors, will be posted to Student Thesis library soon.
Emma MacLean is a Phi Beta Kappa member, and was awarded the Theater Department's Outreach and Community Service Award.
Kaneza Schaal '06 - Spring 2014 Residency
Theater artist Kaneza Schaal completed a five week residency program with the Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York City. As a Princess Grace Foundation-USA Works-in-Progress Resident Artist, Schaal used the Egyptian Book of the Dead as a point of departure to investigate the traditions of burial and grief through an intricate architecture of visual projections, light, and sound. Her residency work included development of her first evening length piece entitled Please, Bury Me, which will be presented at Performance Space 122 (PS122.org) through the RAMP residency program with support from a 50th Anniversary Grant from the Jerome Foundation.
To read more about her residency click here:http://www.bacnyc.org/residencies/resident/kaneza-schaal
Click here to see a video conversation with the artist: http://vimeo.com/88356603
For more information/tickets for the upcoming performance at Performance Space 122: http:www.ps122.org/kaneza-schaal/
Roberta Maia Pereira '03 publishes The Untold Stories of Broadway with Dress Circle Publishing
Released on October 13, 2013, The Untold Stories of Broadway scores a front row seat to hear hundreds of stories about the most important stages in the world, seen through the eyes of the producers, actors, stage hands, writers, musicians, company managers, dressers, designers, directors, ushers, and door men who bring The Great White Way to life each night. This is the first book in a multi-volume series that will tell the stories of all of the Broadway houses. Volume 1 includes the Winter Garden, the Richard Rodgers, the Marriott Marquis, the Al Hirschfeld, the Neil Simon, the August Wilson, the Mark Hellinger, and the Lyceum: eight Broadway theaters that light up New York City. Also featured in the book is fellow alum Lin-Manuel Miranda '02, also pictured with the author of the book, Jennifer Ashley Tepper.
Pereira is Managing Director of the boutique publishing company, Dress Circle Publishing, co-founded with fellow Broadway producer Brisa Trischero in 2011.
Click here for ordering information for The Untold Stoies of Broadway.
Click here to read a March 2014 interview with Pereira featured in the Wesleyan Alumni Newsletter.
Shaw featured in book release on Black Theater and Dance in Chicago
The November 30, 2013 publication of Black Theater Is Black Life: An Oral History of Chicago Theater and Dance, 1970-2010 features interviews with prominent producers, directors, choreographers, designers, dancers, and actors. Included among them is Rashida Z. Shaw '99, Assistant Professor of Theater, who shares her observations as a researcher, ethnographer, and audience member who has attended urban theater productions in Chicago.
For more information on the publication, click here.
Oteiza selected to showcase her work during World Stage Design 2013
Assistant Professor of Theater, Marcela Oteiza, was slected as one of 100 international designers who will showcare their work during the 10-day celebration of performance design at WSD2013; the event runs from September 5-15 in Cardiff, Wales.
Event Website: www.wsd2013.com
Kordonsky directs Chekhov's The Seagull at the German State Theater, Timisoara
Yuri Kordonsky, Associate Professor of Theater, directed Anton Chekhov's The Seagullat the German State Theater in Timisoara, Romania. The opening took place March 9, 2013.
To visit the production's page with reviews and a photo gallery, click here.
To watch a trailer, click here.
A Threesome by Christopher Correa '10
Christopher Correa '10 wrote and directed this short movie starring Rikki Goldenberg '09 and Edward Bauer '08. The director of photography was Gabe Elder '11.
Here is the link to the six minute movie: A Threesome
Kaneza Schaal Selected Short reading on WSHU
True Selves/Hidden Selves
"Guest host BD Wong presents tales in which identity is questioned, and true selves are revealed. Karen Russell’s 'Reeling for the Empire,' is an eerie take on the idea of exploited workers. It’s read by Kaneza Schall."
http://www.selectedshorts.org/onair
Cheryl Tan '11 performs at Mezze Lounge
Read more: http://www.calendata.com/2013/07/live-at-mezze-cheryl-tan.html
Food Play by Tess Jonas '15 Under Consideration for National John Cauble Short Play Award
The play is a one-act written in Quiara Alegria Hudes' Advanced Playwriting Workshop last spring.
Food Play was accepted to the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival and is also under consideration for the National John Cauble Short Play award. It will be cast, rehearsed, and given a concert reading during the KCACTF 2013 Region 1 Festival in Hyannis, MA from January 29-February 2. Two national semi-finalist plays will be announced at the festival.