UArts Fall Show Line Up

College Majors Musical Theater Major
1

<p>UArts Fall 2008 show schedule is out. Thought I would post it for those contemplating visiting during this time.</p>

<p>Court Marshal at Fort Devens - 9/3 - 9/7 -Part of Philly Fringe Festival
Hot L Baltimore - 10/3 - 10/11 (congratulations to shellipearl’s D)
Lone Star - 10/16 - 10/19
'Tis Pity She’s a Whore - 10/31 - 11/9
Tintypes - 11/6 - 11/9 - To be entered in American College Theater Festival
Equinox - 11/20 - 11/23 (congratulations to mainstage’s D)
Fugue State - 10/24 - 10/26 staged reading
Little Women - 12/5 - 12/7</p>

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<p>Thank you!! I can't wait to share this with my son tonight when he gets home from work. I must say, I am always so excited when I see a little yellow dot next to the UArts page and I get more news of my son's soon-to-be school!</p>

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<p>Me too, AZKMom! My D is also going to be a freshman in Sept, and she is so excited!! What part did shellipearl's D get in Hot L Baltimore?</p>

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<p>^ I'll leave that to shellipearl - it should be her joy. :)</p>

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<p>Thanks for the above congratulation MichaelNKat, and congratulations
to your D on Tintypes!</p>

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<p>Thanks Mainstage. I did a quick count and including some spots still to be filled, there will be in excess of 90 students cast for the Fall shows. This does not include the Fall Directing Class scenes for which auditions will be held in the September. As I understand it, there is a policy that students can not be cast for more than 1 show a semester. Taken in conjunction with number of shows being staged and the number of spots being cast, I think this is a reflection of the priority UArts has given to having its productions serve as an integral and broad reaching part of its educational mission as opposed to simply a showcase for the school. (Although having one of the shows in the Philly Fringe Festival and one in the American College Theater Festival ain't too shabby either. :) )</p>

7

<p>Saw Hot L Baltimore last night at the Arts Bank, one of UArts main stages. The show is about the lives of an interesting mix of quirky characters ranging from elderly residents to hookers, con artists, various drifters and the remaining staff who now face an uncertain future as they are being evicted from a hotel which was once luxurious but is now dilapidated and closing for demolition. Great show. Well acted, interesting characters, sets and use of the performance space was very creative. Congrats to shellipearl's D for a wonderful performance.</p>

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<p>Had the opportunity to see Tintypes last week (ok, I'll fess up, since my daughter was in it and it was her first show since high school, I saw it 6 times last week :D ).</p>

<p>The show was held in the new Caplan Theatre located at the top of the Terra Building. The Caplan is a state of the art black box that offers tremendous versatility in configuration ranging from wrap around tiered seating (which is how it was arranged for Tintypes) to theatre in the round. It is 1 of 2 new performance spaces in the Terra Building, the other being a concert hall that extends from the 17th floor down to the 16th. As configured for Tintypes, seating capacity was about 85 which was quickly filled and for some of the performances extra seats had to be brought in to handle the standing room only crowd.</p>

<p>The show is a period piece that weaves a rich tapestry of the immigrant experience, technological, industrial and social growth and historical events of our country from about 1890 to 1917. It is a true ensemble show with each character a principal that spends at least 80% the show's run time on stage. Both moving and thoughtful as well often comedic, the show relies upon a multitude of popular songs from the period to tell the story of events as diverse as arriving by boat at Ellis Island, the sweat shops of American industry, the development of trade unionism from the roots of socialism, the disparity of big capitalism vs the working poor, the War of the Roses, the War of 1812, the expansion of the United States sphere of influence to the building of the Panama Canal and the emergence of vaudeville as a popular form of entertainment. It tells the story of the historical, social and industrial growth of our country through a series of linked vignettes.</p>

<p>Tintypes is a candidate for entry into the American College Theater Festival which will be hosted by UArts regionally in January. On 2 of the nights, adjudicators were present to evaluate the show. In addition, at various shows agents from NYC and LA were in the audience as was the casting director for a major professional theatre in Philadelphia.</p>

<p>Congratulations to the cast, crew, techs, musicians and to the director for a wonderful show.</p>

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<p>^Oops, not War of 1812, the Spanish American War!!</p>

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<p>Here's the Spring line up of shows:</p>

<p>MAIN STAGE:</p>

<p>QUAKE
By Melanie Marnich
February 20-28
The Philadelphia Arts Bank
Directed by Amy Feinberg, Associate Professor, School of Theater Arts, Head of the Theatre Management and Production program.
Producing Artistic Director, The Hypothetical Theatre Company, New York</p>

<p>THE CIDER HOUSE RULES, PARTS I and II
by Peter Parnell
Merriam Theater
April 1 – 5
Co-Directed by
Johnnie Hobbs, Associate Professor, School of Theater Arts, Head of the Acting Program.
Aaron Cromie, Senior Lecturer, School of Theater Arts. Barrymore Award winning ‘The Happiness Lecture’ (Philadelphia Theatre Company), ‘The European Lesson’ (Live Arts), director of Barrymore Award winning ‘The Fantasticks’ (Mum)</p>

<p>BAT BOY: THE MUSICAL
April 24 - May 2
The Philadelphia Arts Bank
Story and book by Keythe Farley and Brian Fleming, music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe
Directed by Richard Stoppleworth, Assistant Professor, Theater Arts and Head of the Musical Theater Minor. </p>

<p>STUDIO SERIES </p>

<p>Eleemosynary, by Lee Blessing
February 26 – March 1, Caplan Center for the Performing Arts </p>

<p>No Exit, by Jean-Paul Sartre
April 16 –19, Gershman Hall Black Box Theater </p>

<p>Savage in Limbo, by John Patrick Shanley
April 16 –19, Gershman Hall Black Box Theater </p>

<p>Realm of the Unreal: the Vivian Requiem
April 30 - May 3, Caplan Center for the Performing Arts
A new musical by Musical Theater senior Jamison Foreman, directed by Elana Boulos. Jamie’s new work is based on the remarkable story of 20th century artist and writer Henry Darger, a mentally ill dishwasher and laborer who created hundreds of paintings and thousands of pages of narrative and autobiographical writings that were only discovered after his death. The musical explores the places where reality and fantasy intersected in Darger’s mind.</p>

<p>Casting should be posted by the end of December.</p>

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<p>Saw Little Women Last night on the main stage at the Arts Bank. What a wonderful show and production. The cast, with seniors and juniors in the principle roles and mostly sophomores in the ensemble, was extraordinarily talented with acting and singing that conveyed the nuances of the characters, drew the audience in, was musically excellent and moved the audience to laughter, tears and rapt attention as the lives of the March sisters unfolded. What was also very impressive was watching the seamless work of the production and stage management crew as they worked like a well oiled machine with their own choreography in moving, rotating and swinging large set pieces and numerous props to transition from one scene to the next. Those who appeared in view of the audience were dressed in period costumes so that very often what they were doing seemed to flow and blend in with the scenes and story on stage. Congratulations to the cast and crew for a shining performance.</p>

12

<p>(Since the Equinox Fall Shows were mentioned here, I thought I'd post this on this thread as well.) :-)</p>

<p>CONGRATS to this year's invitation extended to the USOTA to reprise their
November '08 production of Equinox's (in Equinox's historical lst musical);
"BARBIE BOY" - A New Musical @ the KCACTF (Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival - Region II)
this January '09!!!</p>

<p>"BARBIE BOY" was created/(written/&music/lyrics written), musically directed and choreographed by the very talented
Jake Bremkamp, and co-directed with the talented Danielle Commini.</p>