Upload
phamduong
View
216
Download
1
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Spring 2016
Newsletter
The
Stage
Door
SPRING 2016 BOUNDLESS DANCE CONCERT
The University of Central Missouri’s Department of Theatre &
Dance will present their spring dance concert, Boundless, April
22nd at 6:30 p.m. and April 23rd at 1:00 p.m. and 4:00
p.m. April 24th will be a rain date at 1:00 p.m. and 4:00
p.m. Escaping the confines of the traditional stage for the out-
side world, boundaries disappear as choreographers are present-
ed with unique opportunities to create dances at various locations
on campus.
Beginning in the Highlander Theatre, patrons will visit seven
different dance sites on the beautiful UCM campus as this “site
specific” concert unfolds. Golf carts will be available for those
in need of assistance moving between sites. Admission is $12
for the general public, $10 for faculty, staff, senior citizens and
military and $7 for students. Tickets will be available at the box
office, Wood 128 beginning Monday, April 19th through Friday,
April 22nd from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Tickets may be reserved by call-
ing the box office at 660-543-8811 and will also be available at
the door and on-line at ucmo.edu/theatretickets.
Pictured: Chris Scott as Baptista, Stephanie Laaker as Kate,
and Leah Eggimann as Bianca in The Taming of the Shrew
April 6-10, 2016.
ED SEE OUTSTANDING THEA-
TRE ALUM PRESENTATION
The Ed See Outstanding Theatre
Alumnus Award was presented
to Donald L. Johnson on Satur-
day, April 9, 2016 at the perfor-
mance of The Taming of the
Shrew.
Dr. Ed See, on his retirement
from the University of Central
Missouri, established the Ed See
Outstanding Theatre Alumnus
Award through the University
Foundation. The purpose of the
endowment is to honor Universi-
ty of Central Missouri Theatre
alumni who have in some way
distinguished themselves in thea-
tre education, community theatre, or in some area of professional theatre
and have demonstrated commitment and love for the theatre arts. The
award recognizes those alumni who have honored their alma mater
through their dedication and various theatrical achievements.
Don graduated from Central Missouri State University in 1994 with a
Bachelor of Science in Education, Speech and Theatre with a minor in
English. Don began teaching in 1999 at Raytown South High School
until 2008. He returned to CMSU in 2001 to begin his post graduate
degree in the summers. In 2006 he graduated from the University of
Central Missouri with a Master of Arts in Theatre. He has
been teaching at Liberty High School since 2008. He has directed ap-
proximately 70 productions. Some of his favorites were All My Sons,
Hello, Dolly!, The Wizard of OZ, Macbeth, Death of a Salesman, and
Steel Magnolias. In 2003-2004 he was awarded Teacher of the Year at
Raytown South High School. In 2008-2009 he was awarded the Speech
and Theatre Association of Missouri Wayne Brown Award for Out-
standing Teacher. He has directed three first place one acts at the Mis-
souri State High School Activities Association Competition (2009,
2014, 2015), and has also directed 3 Best Actresses, 2 Best Actors, 2
Best Supporting Actors, and 1 Best Supporting Actress. Since joining
the Starlight Theater’s Blue Star Awards in 2012-2013 his productions
have been nominated for Outstanding Overall Musical every year and in
2013-14, Tarzan won Outstanding Overall Musical.
Department of Theatre & Dance
MERIDITH HARMON SAUER GUEST ARTIST Todd Potter was the
guest scenic designer for The Taming of the Shrew. During his stay
he held a workshop in the scene shop
REFLECTIONS FROM THE CHAIR
As our 2015-2016 academic year and production season journeys
towards its close, I want to offer up some thanksgivings as well as
highlight some accomplishments for which our department can be
very proud. First off, we were without Dr. Julie Mollenkamp most of
the year and she was sorely missed! I am thankful to UCM alum,
Phil Kinen who filled in academically with great enthusiasm and
resilience in her absence; and another alum, Jill Szoo Wilson who
took over the directing responsibilities for The Little Foxes. Both
these Theatre and Dance alums rose to and met all their challenges
with great aplomb.
Secondly, anytime there is a change in leadership, the smoothness of
the transition really depends not only on the new person, but the
previous Chair, and of course, the faculty in general. Understanding
this truth, I am indebted to Dr. Richard Herman’s 14 years of service
as our Chair and the template of managerial success he left as his
legacy. Thanks to Buzz for not retiring during this change, but re-
maining as a highly valued faculty member and subsequent mentor
to myself! Even more appreciated is the entire faculty’s willingness
to “jump on board” with new initiatives and responsibilities and con-
tinue the tradition of being artistically and programmatically collegi-
al. But it is Colette Tilden, our Office Professional who is the real
hero of my story this year. Without her, I truly believe our depart-
ment would be ripped apart in some kind of wormhole of chaos!
There was a lot to celebrate this year! We are in the midst of a three-
year collaboration with The Acting Company out of NYC. We had
multiple guest artists visit our campus, funded by the Meridith Har-
mon Sauer Guest Artists Series. Six pair of brand new legs for the
Highlander were acquired, along with a brand new floor in our Nick-
erson Black Box—all spearheaded by our excellent Dean, Dr. Ger-
sham Nelson. We had great regional success at KCACTF, including
sending our Irene Ryan winner, Nellie Maple to Washington, DC to
compete at the national festival. And we are about to embark on our
first ever Chicago Senior Showcase! There is much more to cele-
brate; and these are hopefully signposts of greater things to come for
The Department of Theatre and Dance at UCM. Most of all, I thank
our students, our patrons and all who lovingly support our programs.
My best to all of you and my wishes for a wonderful summer!
The Stage Door
THEATRE AND DANCE DEPARTMENT INVADES NEW YORK CITY
FOR SPRING BREAK. This year over spring break, Richard and Di-
ana Herman took 62 students, alumni, retired professors and commu-
nity members to New York
City for a six day theatre
tour. Members of the group
saw a total of 23 different
Broadway shows including
Hamilton, An American in
Paris, The Curious Incident
of a Dog in the Nighttime,
Something Rotten, Phantom
of the Opera, The Crucible
and Beautiful. UCM theatre
students attended work-
shops at the Broadway
Dance Center and with The
Acting Company (where
they performed their Senior
Showcase), and toured
backstage at Radio City
Music Hall and at the Pal-
ace Theatre. Dr. Ed See,
Dave and Toni Peerbolte,
Norma Highlander and Ashley Miller were part of the group and
helped host an alumni reunion on Monday evening in Times Square.
UCM alums attending the event included Todd Potter, Matt Jones,
Tyler Mullen, Joe Burkard, Joe Reece, Matt Pedersen, Louis Wells,
Jason Bohon, Amanda Duffy, Tim Schaffer, Geoff Pottorff and Joe
Drobezko.
WHAT OUR FACULTY ARE DOING THIS SUMMER:
Victoria Depew, Assistant Professor of Theatre, will design costumes
for Our Town and Romeo and Juliet at American Shakespeare center
in Staunton, Virginia. Both productions will tour the country for six
months before being presented in residence during their spring sea-
son.
Michael Benson, Assistant Professor of Theatre, will design My Fair
Lady for Fuse Productions in State College, PA. It opens June 9th.
John Wilson will direct: ONCE IN THE TIME OF THE RAINBOW CROW
adapted from the Lenape Legend by Claudia I. Haas. This winner of
our Theatre for Young Audiences National Playwriting Contest will
tour the surrounding area. The schedule is as follows: Whiteman Air
Force Base, June 8; Camp Wonderland-Lake of the Ozarks, June 9;
Richmond, MO, June 10; Carrollton, MO, June 15; Warrensburg,
MO, June 16 and Marshall, MO, June 17. All performances will be at
10:00AM and admission is free!
In a time before humans inhabit the Earth, our story opens up with
animals experiencing their first snow. Confused by the texture and
uncomfortable with the cold, the animals elect the beautiful rainbow
crow to travel through the clouds and past the moon and stars to the
great heavens above. Her task? Find the Creator and get some much
needed help and advice in how to deal with all the white stuff! Once
In The Time Of The Rainbow Crow will teach great lessons on collab-
oration, discovery, curiosity and trust. …Rainbow Crow is a very fun
and funny show that will have the whole family smiling.
John Wilson, Chair and Professor of Theatre, along with serving as
Company Manager and Director for Central Missouri Repertory, will
travel to Athens, Greece to present from his book, The Actor As Fire
And Cloud (Bold Vision Books) at the Athens Institute for Education
and Research during their Panel on the Education and Training of
Actors. At the end of the summer, he will travel to Oklahoma City,
OK to shoot a round of commercials for Communication Federal
Credit Union, for which he is their spokesman.
AMERICAN COLLEGE THEATRE FESTIVAL REGION V
The University of Central Missouri Department of Theatre and Dance
received several honors at the Kennedy Center American College Re-
gion V Theatre Festival held in Minneapolis, MN, January 17-23,
2016.
The festival included 80 universities and over 1500 faculty and stu-
dents from theatre departments in Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa,
North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota. The festival presents
performances and scenes from invited productions from the top shows
in the region and hosts acting, directing, design, playwriting, stage
management, dramatic criticism and dramaturgy competitions. Five
faculty members and twenty-eight UCM students attended the event.
Nellie Maple won the Best Musical Acting Award while simultaneous-
ly winning first place overall in the Final Round of the Irene Ryan
Scholarship Auditions. She and her partner, Daniel Parman received
an all expense paid trip to the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC this
April for the National Festival where they competed against seven oth-
er regional winners for different scholarship awards and recognitions,
and participated in several different acting workshops throughout the
week. The department is proud to announce Nellie won the entire com-
petition and is the Irene Ryan National Champion! She also won the
Mark Twain Comedic Acting Award. The Preliminary rounds of the
Irene Ryan Scholarship Auditions included 335 students from around
the region. This was paired down to 64 students of which three UCM
students advanced to the semi-final round. These students included
Nellie Maple, Dane Schnake and Bryson Kenworthy. Bryson,
along with his partner, Stephanie Laaker also advanced to the Final
Round of sixteen competitors. Both Kacy Barta and Samantha Rudy
had their Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers directing
scenes of On The Verge and Clarkston advance to the final round. Ka-
cy’s cast featured UCM actors Nellie Maple, Brooke Myers and Kel-
sey Reinsfelder. Samantha’s cast included UCM actors Jessica Bax-
ter, Zachary Craft and Dane Schnake. Out of sixteen competing di-
rectors from across the region, Kacy Barta and her cast placed 2nd
overall.
During the week long festival, over a hundred students auditioned for
the Musical Theatre Intensive which showcased twenty of the region’s
best voices. Among those selected to perform at the Friday morning
showcase were UCM Musical Theatre majors Kelsey Reinsfelder and
Brooke Myers. Ty Young was the winner of the Regional Technical
Projects award for his technical direction of Vanya and Sonia and Ma-
sha and Spike. Carter Higgs was the 1st runner up for his Regional
Scenic Design of Assassins. Sarah Clifton was the 2nd runner up for
National Allied Crafts recognition for puppets she created for a one-act
production of Punch And Judy.
Students and faculty also received Meritorious Achievement awards,
which included Ashley Miller, for Choreography of Chicago; Victoria
Depew for Costume Design of Spring Awakening; John Wilson had a
Scene Invitation from the production of Under Milk Wood, Rachael
Conroy for Sound Design of Under Milk Wood; Libby Pecher for
Scenic Design of Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike; Olivia
Bradshaw for Scene Design for Under Milk Wood, and Taylor
Harwerth for Sound Design for Chicago.
Richard Herman, Professor of Theatre serves on the KCACTF Na-
tional Executive Committee as Vice Chair of the National Playwriting
Program and this year served as the Region V Invited Scenes Show-
case Coordinator. Julie Mollenkamp, Professor of Theatre serves as
the Chair of Region V National Playwriting Program. Assistant Profes-
sor Victoria Depew taught three design intensives. Professor of Thea-
tre Jeff Peltz served as a Stage Crew Showdown Mentor. Associate
Professor of Dance, Ashley Miller taught a workshop on Musical The-
atre Dance and assisted with the professional auditions for Crane River
Theatre, and Professor of Theatre and Department Chair, John Wilson
served as Irene Ryan Coach and a preliminary round judge.
NEXT SEASON “SECRETS TO SHARE”:
Central Missouri Repertory—June 15-
25, 2016—Once In The Time of the
Rainbow Crow by Claudia Haas. On
tour
August 20, 21, 25-27, 2016—Avenue Q
September 22-24, 2016—Studio Theatre One Acts
October 5-9, 2016—The Secret Garden
(with Department of Music)
November 3-5, 2016—Studio Theatre One Acts
November 15-19, 2016—A Raisin In The Sun
February 2-4, 2017—Studio Theatre One Acts
February 13-20, 2017—9 Circles
February 24-25, 2017—Julius Caesar and Caesar X
(The Acting Company Guest Artists)
March 9-11, 2017—Studio Theatre One Acts
April 5-9, 2017—The Toxic Avenger
April 20-22, 2017—Spring Dance Concert
May 18-20, 23-25, 2017—The Toxic Avenger
(in KC at Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre)