The Department of Theatre & Dance at Gustavus Adolphus College is pleased to announce its 2012-2013 performance season. As the college concludes its Sesquicentennial celebration, the Department of Theatre & Dance begins its celebration of 25 years of the Gustavus Dance Company. This silver anniversary includes performances by students, faculty, alumni and guest artists in the spring dance concert as well as a special performance by the Ragamala Dance Company in March 2013. The selections of these works for performance reflect the department’s ongoing commitment to teach performance as a vital means of working for social justice and personal transformation.
The 2012-13 Gustavus Department of Theatre & Dance Season:
- Behold the Coach, in a Blazer, Uninsured (and other good intentions), five short plays by Will Eno and directed by Henry MacCarthy, October 25-27 at 8:00 p.m., October 28 at 2:00 p.m., Anderson Theatre
- The 2012 Theatre Gallery, The Edge of Our Bodies, written by Adam Rapp and directed by Amy Seham, and At Risk, written by Julia Tindell ’13 and directed by Kaitlyn McElrath ’14, November 16-18, The Black Box Theatre
- The Government Inspector, written by Nicolai Gogol and adapted by David Harrower, directed by Henry MacCarthy, February 21-23 at 8:00 p.m. and February 24 at 2:00 p.m., Anderson Theatre
- The Gustavus Dance Company’s 25th Anniversary Concert, directed by Michele Rusinko and Melissa Rolnick, March 22-23 at 8:00 p.m. and March 24 at 2:00 p.m., Anderson Theatre
- Under the Surface, a senior honors project in physical theatre by Jane Chung ’13, April 26-27 at 8:00 p.m. and April 28 at 2:00 p.m., The Black Box
- Machinal, written by Sophie Treadwell and directed by Amy Seham, May 9-11 at 8:00 p.m. and May 12 at 2:00 p.m., Anderson Theatre
The season opens with five short plays by playwright Will Eno who has been hailed as “the Samuel Beckett of the Jon Stewart generation.” Behold the Coach, in a Blazer, Uninsured (and other good intentions) is, in the words of director Henry MacCarthy, “performances of everyday life …. about how we live in an ongoing reality show that requires us to be audience and performers simultaneously.” Auditions for Behold The Coach are scheduled for September 7 and 8 from 5:30 – 8:00 p.m. in Anderson Theatre. Audition times are available on the Department’s call board.
The Theatre Gallery in the Black Box is a set of 2 one-act plays. The Edge of Our Bodies is a new play by Adam Rapp which forces the audience to examine what it really means to grow up. It features senior Karla Leitzmann ’13 and director Amy Seham. At Risk is written by senior Julia Tindell ’13 and directed by Kaitlyn McElrath ’14. It is an original one-act play that asks the question: Is it possible to preserve your “self” when everyone else has decided you’re abnormal? Tickets and times for this Black Box performance are available through the Department of Theatre & Dance (507) 933-7353.
Nikolai Gogol’s The Government Inspector is a fast-paced version of the 1836 farce directed by Henry MacCarthy. In spite of the title, the play is not about a Government Inspector at all, even though there is one in the play. It is, rather, a hilarious social satire on corruption and bureaucracy and the chaos that ensues as a small town’s bureaucrats try to protect their jobs as they stumble to impress the “inspector.”
For 25 years, the Gustavus Dance Company has been busy creating and presenting dances that challenge, inspire and push us to see the world through different lens, dances that question boundaries, preconceptions and physical limitations, dances that matter. Join us in Anderson Theatre as we celebrate those 25 years with new works created by current and past Gustavus Dance Faculty, guest artists, current students and alumni.
Under the Surface is a senior honors project in physical theatre created and directed by Jane Chung ’13. Chung asks “What is underneath our skin that you don’t see? What is it that’s hiding in the darkness?” Tickets and times for this Black Box performance are available through the Department of Theatre & Dance (507) 933-7353.
The final main stage performance of the season is Sophie Tredwell’s Machinal, directed by Amy Seham. Machinal is a stunning example of American Expressionist theatre and is regarded as a masterpiece of 20th century drama. The sensational 1927 murder trial of Ruth Snyder inspired Treadwell to write this story of an Everywoman as she struggles to find her own voice within the mechanized pressures and entrenched power of society. When Treadwell’s play opened on Broadway in 1928, the New York Times called it, “a triumph of individual distinction, gleaming with intangible beauty.”
Tickets for performances in Anderson Theatre are available online at gustavustickets.com or by calling the Gustavus Ticket Center at (507) 933-7590. Tickets and times for Black Box performance are available through the Department of Theatre & Dance at (507) 933-7353.
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