2021-2022 Stage Season
FALL SEMESTER 2021
By The Way, Meet Vera Stark by Lynn Nottage, directed by Tara Ahmadinejad, Thursday 10/21/21 - Saturday 10/23/21
Vera Stark, aspiring actress and maid to film star Gloria Mitchell, will do whatever it takes to achieve her dream, no matter the role. For a Black actress in old Hollywood, there aren’t many parts to choose: when cast, her breakout role is as a stereotypical enslaved person. Decades later, critics and scholars scrutinize Vera’s life and work: Was she a victim of the system or did she subvert it from within? Lynn Nottage’s time-jumping, satirical play examines Vera’s legacy and agency, and issues of representation.
Orlando by Sarah Ruhl, adapted from the novel by Virginia Woolf, directed by Ran Xia. Thursday 12/9/21 - Saturday 12/11/21
Orlando grew up a boy in Elizabethan England; Orlando awoke a woman during his ambassadorship in Constantinople. Skimming through history, Orlando gained the favor of the Virgin Queen, found his first love during the Great Frost, got herself a husband, and swung through the roaring 1920s. He lived a thousand lives and she a thousand deaths, all as “Orlando” and so much more.
SPRING SEMESTER 2022
Senior Thesis Festival I
April 21, 22, and 23, 2022
Senior Theatre majors will present theses in directing and dramaturgy
Jackie
by Elfriede Jelinek
Translated by Gitta Honneger
Directed by Madison Hatchett
Dramaturg by Kristoff Smith
Thursday, April 21, 8 PM
Friday, April 22, 9 PM
Saturday, April 23, 7 PM
The Sonic Life of a Giant Tortoise
by Toshiki Okada
Translated by Aya Ogawa
Directed by Celia Krefter
Thursday, April 21, 7 PM
Friday, April 22, 8 PM
Saturday, April 23, 9 PM
The Appeal
by Young Jean Lee
Directed by Kate Purdum
Dramaturg by Camilla Cox
Thursday, April 21, 9 PM
Friday, April 22, 7 PM
Saturday, April 23, 8 PM
Senior Thesis Festival I Program Spring 2022
Two weekends featuring creative and research theses by graduating seniors: performance theses in directing, design, dramaturgy, playwriting, and solo performance, and lecture presentations of senior theses in research. Senior theses in acting have appeared in previous productions.
THTR UN2024 Practicum Performance Thesis 1: Jackie by Elfriede Jelinek, translated by Gitta Honegger, transl. Gitta Honegger; Directed by Madison Hatchett; Dramaturg: Kristoff Erin Smith
The realities of being the most famous woman alive yet living a life struck by grief and loss are made theatrical in Jackie, by Elfriede Jelinek, as Jacqueline Kennedy-Onassis gives us an inside look into her world. While originally a one-woman show, this iteration will tell Jackie's story from an ensemble of diverse actors. Thus, we are looking for 3-5 actors of any ethnicity and gender identity who can cultivate their own perspective on Jackie, providing a modern interpretation of this iconic woman on stage.
THTR UN2025 Practicum Performance Thesis 2: The Sonic Life of a Giant Tortoise by Toshiki Okada, translated by Aya Ogawa; Directed by Celia Krefter
In the dreams of her lover, a woman who longs to travel goes on a seemingly endless subway ride. When she finally disembarks, she attends a disco dance party thrown in her honor. Upon returning home, she finds her lover has aged incredibly, and he dies in front of her. Sonic Life is a meditation on grief, longing, and dancing it all out.
Seeking a five-person ensemble — in particular, actors who love to move and groove!
THTR UN2026 Practicum Performance Thesis 3: The Appeal by Young Jean Lee; Directed by Kate Purdum; Dramaturg: Camilla Cox
It’s the summer of 1800 and the poet William Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy are hosting their good friend Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Hijinks ensue as the three write poetry, take opium, and compete for attention. Things only get more absurd when Lord Byron enters the scene in this sardonic, existential, dark comedy.
The four characters, to be played by actors of any gender:
William Wordsworth
Dorothy Wordsworth
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Lord Byron
Senior Thesis Festival II
April 29 and 30, 2022
Senior Thesis in research, solo performance and playwriting
Friday, April 29, 2022
3:30 PM | RESEARCH PRESENTATION - GET TICKETS
Creating Gorgeous by Estee Dechtman
Performing Science: Rethinking the Neutrality and Agency of the Experimental Apparatus by Mia Kyler
6 PM | READING - GET TICKETS
Lost Memories by Eleanor Reich
7 PM | READING - GET TICKETS
and god made man by Kay Kemp
9 PM | SOLO PERFORMANCE - GET TICKETS
Nate Jones
Justice Robinson
Thomas Baker
Saturday, April 30, 2022
2 PM | READING - GET TICKETS
Chasers by Joanna Berkowitz
3 PM | READING - GET TICKETS
When Particles Resonate by Hongfei Xian
4 PM | READING - GET TICKETS
And They Lived by Jessica Skinner
7 PM | SOLO PERFORMANCE - GET TICKETS
Nate Jones
Justice Robinson
Thomas Baker
Senior Thesis Festival II Program Spring 2022