Campus News

Department of Theatre and Dance announces spring season

Dancers performing on stage.

Theatrical barriers and sets allowed unmasked dancers to share the stage during filming of the "Home and Away: A Virtual Dance Concert" last fall. Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki

CAS STAFF

Published March 5, 2021

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The Department of Theatre and Dance will continue with a virtual format for its spring season of musicals, plays and dance, a lineup of productions that feature nationally recognized directors and choreographers working with faculty and students to produce innovative original performances that both entertain and explore the human condition.

Productions will include both live and pre-recorded segments filmed in the Center for the Arts and observing all social distancing and safety protocols to ensure the best experience for both students and patrons.

The season is a mix of ticketed performances on showtix4u.com and free performances — with donations welcome — on the Center for the Arts’ YouTube channel.

Tickets on showtix4u.com are $6 for the general public, $4 for students and seniors, and $10 for group viewings

The spring lineup:

Promotional graphic for a Department of Theatre and Dance performance of “Living in a Topsy Turvey World: The Theatre of Gilbert and Sullivan”.

“Living in a Topsy Turvey World: The Theatre of Gilbert and Sullivan”

March 26 and 27, 7:30 p.m.

March 28, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Click here for tickets

The traditional spring musical will be a newly conceived, virtual, music theatre revue. The compilation of songs and scenes are from four shows written by the 19th-century team of Sir Arthur Sullivan and W.S. Gilbert, who were beloved for their knack for turning the world upside down.

The show was conceived and is being music-directed by Nathan R. Matthews, associate professor, with UCLA alumnus Gary John La Rosa, who has staged well over 300 productions nationally, returning to UB to direct his fourth production.

The cast is made up of UB performance students enrolled in Matthews’ creative research project course.

Promotional graphic for a Department of Theatre and Dance performance of “Trifles” by Susan Glaspell.

“Trifles” by Susan Glaspell

April 9 and 10, 7:30 p.m.

April 11, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Click here for tickets

The Theatre and Dance will stream two versions of “Trifles,” under the direction of Meredith Conti, assistant professor and associate chair. “‘Trifles’ is a character-driven piece that explores how long distances and extreme isolation affect human relationships, as well as the hope that can be found in supportive communities,” Conti explains. “It may have been first performed in 1916, but ‘Trifles’ feels perfectly crafted to speak to our present moment. With two casts of actors and Zoom as our artistic medium, we will be able to explore the diverse issues in Glaspell’s play in ways unique to 2021.”

Promotional graphic for a Department of Theatre and Dance performance of MFA Dance Thesis Concert.

MFA Dance Thesis Concert

April 16 and 17, 7:30 p.m.

April 18, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

View via the Center for the Arts’ YouTube

The fourth annual MFA Dance Thesis Concert will spotlight new works by MFA student choreographers Kate Mackey and Phil Wackerfuss featuring undergraduate dancers Anna Caison Boyd, Lily Colligan, Alexis Corletta, Zuriel Enoe, Devon Hard, Katy Maddalina, Delia Mandik, Leah Mcnerney, Mia Pierce, Haley Sanders and Natasha Skidmore, along with collaborator and editor Michael Spears. The faculty supervisor is Ariel Nereson, assistant professor and director of graduate dance.

The production showcases the work of the department’s graduating MFA students and features collaborations with other media artists and students.

Promotional graphic for a Department of Theatre and Dance performance of Student Directed Series: “Pipeline” by Dominique Morisseau.

Student Directed Series: “Pipeline” by Dominique Morisseau

April 23 and 24, 7:30 p.m.

April 25, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Click here for tickets

Co-directed by junior Sydné Jackson and sophomore Tioga Simpson, “Pipeline” will be rehearsed and performed entirely virtually by an all-student cast and crew. “Pipeline” is the first play to be presented by Theatre and Dance’s Dreams Affirmed collective, an alliance of students of color from across the department. It is also a part of the annual Student Directed Series.

Promotional graphic for a Department of Theatre and Dance performance of “Shutter Speed: An Evening of Dance on Film”.

“Shutter Speed: An Evening of Dance on Film”

April 30 and May 1, 7:30 p.m.

View via the Center for the Arts’ YouTube

Theatre and Dance’s “Shutter Speed: An Evening of Dance on Film” will feature original dance film premieres from a dozen undergraduate and MFA-candidate choreographers. A new interdisciplinary collaboration will begin with professional choreographer and department chair Anne Burnidge; poet Eli Clare, a 2020-21 UB Center for Diversity Innovation Distinguished Visiting Scholar; and a team of undergraduate and graduate students.

More than 60 UB dance majors and MFA candidates will be featured, with pieces ranging from a singular performer to duets and larger group pieces in multiple outdoor locations with different themes and contexts. Dancers will uphold the highest safety precautions with respect to COVID-19, with dancers remaining masked socially distanced at all times.

The program is directed by Jenna Del Monte Zavrel, clinical assistant professor. Student choreographers and filmmakers include Daniella Bertrand, Anna Caison Boyd, Jacqueline Cherry, Alexis Corletta, Maria Gionis, Melanie Kaisen, Meg Kirchhoff, Homeria Lubin, Karrigan Rotella and Samantha Schmeer.

Promotional graphic for a Department of Theatre and Dance performance of “The Center in Motion: A Virtual Dance Concert”.

“The Center in Motion: A Virtual Dance Concert”

May 6, 7:30 p.m.

May 7, 10 a.m. (schools performance) and 7:30 p.m.

View via the Center for the Arts’ YouTube

This unique new dance project features more than 60 student choreographers, dancers, designers and technicians working in collaboration. The show is co-directed by Kerry Ring, clinical associate dance professor; Lynne Koscielniak, design technology theatre professor; and UB alumnus Michael Deeb Weaver, adjunct dance instructor.

From a design and safety perspective, works are being created following all health and safety guidelines. Multiple versions of reconfigurable translucent barrier scenery have been constructed to support various artistic visions and individual dance pieces of varying length within the same program. This allows small groups of dancers — no more than four at a time — to be on stage together while completely separated by the vinyl barriers, which can be shaped and lit theatrically to add interest and dimensionality.

Ring, Deeb Weaver and first-year MFA candidate Abby Cass will choreograph the program, to be performed by undergraduate dance majors Stephanie Avila, Lyssie Hartzog, Kyle Kershner, Ava Lovsin, Homeria Lubin, Mandy McLenigan, Ally Mersereau and Kelsey Sullivan. Under Koscielniak’s mentorship, new set, light and projection designs are being prepared by undergraduate theatre design and technology students Eve Brunswick, Molly Crandall, Isabella Fortunato, Francisca Losada Hernandez, Sophie McGuire, Katja Rabus, Timothy Swenson, Nicholas J. Taboni and Timothy “TJ” Wildow.

For more information about the spring 2021 season, visit the Department of Theatre and Dance’s website.