2009-2010 Texas State Dept. of Theatre and Dance Season
Texas State Black and Latino Playwrights Conference
We received submissions from across the country for our 7th annual conference. The selected plays are rehearsed with the playwright, culminating in staged readings. Sept. 18 at 7:30, Sept. 19 at 2:00pm and 7:30pm, Sept. 20 at 12 pm. in the Studio, Theatre Center, All seats $3
Slashes of Light by Judy Tate
Directed by Melissa Maxwell
September 18 7:30 p.m.
September 19 2:00 p.m.
The Bonobos by Amparo Garcia-Crow
Directed by Elizabeth Penã
September 19 7:30 p.m.
September 20 12:00 p.m. (noon)
Rehearsals will be open to the public and held Monday - Thursday from 6:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. in TH Room 209 and the Studio Theatre. There will be a discussion panel with all of the guest artists on Friday, September 18 at 11:00 a.m. in TH Room 206. The discussion panel and rehearsals are free of charge.
Big Love
by Charles Mee
Directed by Caleb Straus
Oct. 6-10 at 7:30 p.m. and Oct. 11 at 2 p.m.
$10 general, $7 students
When fifty women escape to Italy at the last minute of a forced wedding to fifty respective grooms, their grooms come looking for them. It appears the wedding is on, but the sisters will stop at absolutely nothing to be free to make up their own minds. Charles Mee's modern look at Aeschylus's Greek tragedy The Suppliant Women explores the dynamics of power in romantic relationships and is both a powerful drama about the battle of the sexes as well as "a physically and intellectually explosive comedy".
To view Production Photos
Read the review by Austin Live Theatre
Bat Boy: The Musical
Book and Lyrics Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming
Music by Laurence O’Keefe
Directed by Kaitlin Hopkins
Nov. 11-14, 18-21 at 7:30 p.m.; Nov. 15 at noon, and Nov. 22 at 2:00 p.m.
$10 general, $ 7 students
Ripped from the headlines of the Weekly World News, Batboy: The Musical is a cult hit about a half-boy, half-bat discovered in a cave. This campy, satirical twist on the modern musical comedy tells the amazing story of a strange boy with pointy ears, his struggle to find a place in a world that shuns him, and the love that can create both miracles and madness. Hailed as “darkly funny, but curiously touching’, Bat Boy contains a driving, upbeat score, featuring rock, rap, and other musical styles. Director Kaitlin Hopkins was a Drama Desk nominee for her role in the 2001 New York production; fellow faculty member Jim Price was also in the original cast.
To view Production Photos
Read the article on Austin Live Theatre
Arcadia
Directed by Richard Sodders
Feb. 16-20 at 7:30p.m., Feb. 21 at 2 p.m.
$10 general, $7 students
Considered by many to be Tom Stoppard’s finest play, Arcadia is a mix of comedy, drama, and literary detective story as it bounces between two different time periods. The alternating scenes allow the audience to see what actually happened in the early 1800s versus the modern-day scholars attempts to interpret the events. Winner of the 1994 Olivier Award and the 1995 New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play, Arcadia has been called by the New York Post: "Pure entertainment for the heart, mind, soul.... It is a work shot through with fun, passion and, yes, genius." With its dance between art and science, Arcadia is presented as part of the university’s “Whole Mind” Common Experience.
Musical Revue
Directed by Kaitlin Hopkins
March 17-20; March 23-27 at 7:30p.m.; March 21, 28 at 2:00p.m.
Studio Theatre
$10 General; $7 students
We have re-launched our B.F.A. in Musical Theatre, and so join us for our spring musical revue. It will be an evening of memorable melodies as students perform a medley of musical favorites from some of Broadway’s greatest composers and lyricists.
The Servant of Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni
Directed by Michael Costello
April 20-24 at 7:30 p.m.; April 25 at 2:00 p.m.
$10 General; $7 students
Carlo Goldoni’s 18th century comic masterpiece, The Servant of Two Masters, reinvigorated commedia dell arte and has influenced the great comic actors to the present day. It tells the story of a clever and mischievous servant, Arlecchino, who decides that two paydays are better than one and hires himself out to two different masters at the same time. As he attempts to juggle the demands of two high-strung lovers who have lost each other and are looking for each other in an unfamiliar city (the woman happens to be disguised in men’s clothing), absolute chaos ensues. You’ll find rich characters, broad comedy, and a love story in this classic commedia tale.
2009-2010 PSH Foundation Studio Theatre Season
$8 General; $5 students
Terminal by Susan Yankowitz
Directed by Aisha Melhem
Oct. 29-31 at 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 1 at 2:00 p.m.
This play exlores the process of death, dying and the acceptance of one's mortality. It looks at western practices in dealing with death and uses physical movement to express emotions exhibited when dealing with death.
Vinegar Tom
by Caryl Churchill
Directed by Lara Willars
Feb. 4-6 at 7:30 p.m.; Feb. 7 at 2:00 p.m.
Written by one of England’s foremost contemporary playwrights Vinegar Tom transports the audience back to the seventeenth-century witchhunts and the role of women within the male-dominated society of the time. With glimpses of past and present intermixed, Caryl Churchill creates a world filled with both vivid imagery and poignant characters.
Dead Man’s Cell Phone
by Sarah Ruhl
Directed by Christine Tankersley
April 8-10 at 7:30p.m.; Apr. 11 at 2:00p.m.
The answering of an incessantly ringing cell phone…of someone who is dead… leads to an unexpected chain of events, in this “wildly, imaginative comedy” by MacArthur “Genius” Grant recipient Sarah Ruhl. Dead Man’s Cell Phone explores how people memorialize the dead-and how that remembering changes them. It is the story of a woman forced to confront her own assumptions about morality, redemption, and the need to connect in a technologically obsessed world.
Special Production
In The Company of Sinners and Saints
by Monica Michell
Directed by Heidi Harrison
Sept. 20, 27 2:00pm and 7:00p.m.
Sept. 21, 28 at 7:00 p.m.
Sept. 23, 30 at 7:00 p.m.
Alkek Teaching Theatre (Rm. 250)
Free for students enrolled in University Seminar
Commissioned by the University’s Common Experience program, In the Company of Sinners and Saints focuses on a group of high school girls and the choices they make in an increasingly technological world. They are joined by an irreverent saint as they strive to understand and develop the rules and values by which they choose to live.
To view Production Photos
2009-2010 Dance Concerts
Opening Door Dance Theatre
Oct. 29 & 30, 7:30 p.m.
Evans Auditorium.
$10 general/$5 Students (cash only)
Join us for Opening Door Dance Theatre's 25th Anniversary Gala. The company presents professional dance concerts featuring the choreography of Texas State Dance faculty, alumni, and guest artists.
Choreographers' Showcase Fall 2008
Nov. 19 & 20 at 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 20: matinee at 2 p.m
Jowers Studio 178
$5 at door (cash only)
This concert features the choreography of students enrolled in “Advanced Choreography.” Also included is faculty choreography set on the “Performance Workshop” class.
Dancers in Flight
Feb. 11 &12 at 7:30 p.m.
Evans Auditorium
$5 at door (cash only)
An eclectic mix of Choreography and performance by TX State's Orchesis Dance Company. Special Guest Artist choreography will also be showcased.
Side Show
March 18 and 19 at 7:30 p.m.
Jowers Studio 178
$5 at door (cash only)
A multi-media, highly entertaining mix of dance and performance genres presented by students, alumni, and guests of the Texas State Dance Division.
Choreographers' Showcase Spring 2009
April 22 and 23 at 7:30 p.m.
April 23 matinee at 2 p.m
Jowers Studio 178
$5 at door (cash only)
This concert features the choreography of students enrolled in “Advanced Choreography.”
For more information: 512-245-2949
