Department of Theatre and Dance announces 2009-2010 Season
October 30, 2009
The University of Richmond’s Department of Theatre and Dance announces its 2009-2010 season, which begins on September 14 with the department’s production of a staged reading of Something That Belongs To You. All on campus performances take place in the Modlin Center for the Arts’ Alice Jepson Theatre or Cousins Studio Theatre. Tickets may be purchased in advance by calling the Modlin Center Box Office at (804) 289-8980.
Something That Belongs To You*
By Roald Hoffman
Directed by Walter Schoen
Monday, September 14, 2009 at 7:30PM
Tuesday, September 15, 2009 at 7:30PM
Cousins Studio Theatre
This is a play of memory and forgiveness, of coming to terms with good and evil. The setting is a contemporary Jewish family in Philadelphia – three generations including a grandmother who is a holocaust survivor. She and her brothers were saved by a one good Ukrainian family who hid them, while around most Ukrainians behaved badly, betraying Jews to the Germans if not killing them. Terrible times, with their memory repressed to a degree…. But then the daughter of the Ukrainian man who hid the grandmother comes to work in the U.S., and visits. She wants to return a gold ring that belonged to the grandmother, and which they had used to pay the Ukrainian family. The memories come to the fore; the grandmother and the family are torn apart by confronting collective and individual guilt. Will they find a way to peace? The play takes place in two time frames- the contemporary family in 2009 Philadelphia, and the grandmother and her siblings and son in hiding in 1944.
Dr. Roald Hoffmann, a Nobel Prize Laureate in Chemistry was born in 1937 in Poland. Having survived the war, he came to the United States in 1949, where he studied chemistry at Columbia and Harvard. He has been at Cornell University since 1965. Dr. Hoffmann is also a writer of poems, essays, nonfiction, television scripts and plays, in which he has carved out his own land, between science, poetry, and philosophy. His plays have been produced throughout the United States and Canada. Dr. Hoffman has published four collections of poetry, and three non-fiction books.
*Produced in conjunction with Department of Chemistry, Office of the Provost, and Modlin Center for the Arts.
The African Company Presents Richard III
By Carlyle Brown
Directed by Chuck Mike
Friday, November 13, 2009 at 7:30PM
Saturday, November 14, 2009 at 7:30PM
Sunday, November 15, 2009 at 2:00PM
Thursday, November 19, 2009 at 7:30PM
Friday, November 20, 2009 at 7:30PM
Saturday, November 21, 2009 at 7:30PM
Alice Jepson Theatre
1821, New York. While slavery still ravages a divided nation, Billy Brown’s African Company has mounted a financial and critical success with its all-black production of Shakespeare’s Richard III. But the all-white Park Theatre next door is mounting its own production and they will stop at nothing to subdue their increasingly popular competition. Based on the little known true history of America’s first black theatre company, Carlyle Brown eloquently tells the story of a small group of actors prepared to stand up and take center stage whatever the cost.
After a staged reading at the Modlin Center in Spring 2009, followed by a UK tour, the University of Richmond Department of Theatre and Dance and the University Players are proud to present this production in collaboration with the African American Repertory Theatre and Collective Artistes (UK).
Twenty5
University Dancers
25th Annual Spring Concert
Directed by Myra Daleng
Friday, February 26, 2010 at 7:30PM
Saturday, February 27, 2010 at 7:30PM
Sunday, February 28, 2010 at 2:00PM
Alice Jepson Theatre
In celebration of a milestone, the University Dancers mark their silver anniversary with an exciting choreographic spectrum of modern, ballet, jazz, and tap. These young dancers perform groundbreaking works of movement that are a thrilling experience not to be missed. With international artists Robert Battle and Jessica Lang creating world premieres for this concert, it’s an opportunity to be moved and inspired by the power of dance. The 25th anniversary is the perfect way to celebrate and recognize this company that rises beyond expectations and brings a diverse and artistically acclaimed array of dance to the Modlin Center for the Arts. The University Dancers welcome families and children to their performances.
Confederacy of Dunces
By John Kennedy Toole
A staged reading of a new adaptation by
Matt Di Cintio (’00) and Walter Schoen
Directed by Walter Schoen
Monday, March 22, 2010 at 7:30PM
Tuesday, March 23, 2010 at 7:30PM
Cousins Studio Theatre
Published posthumously in 1980, John Kennedy Toole’s Pulitzer Prize-winner was hailed as an “epic comedy,” “one of the funniest books ever written,” and “destined to become a classic.” In 1960s New Orleans, the prickly, fastidious, and gargantuan Ignatius J. Reilly embarks on a quixotic journey to introduce “geometry and theology” to a city floundering in moral decay. Thwarted by the modern era at every turn, Ignatius is trapped in a world he doesn’t care to understand. This satiric romp is stuffed with odd denizens of the French Quarter, a strip-teasing parrot, a pants factory revolt, and one grand escape in Myrna Minkoff’s cramped Renault. For the first time since its publication, Toole’s celebrated novel is adapted for the stage by the authors who created the Department of Theatre and Dance’s original adaptation of Moby Dick in 2003.
The Madwoman of Chaillot
By Jean Giraudoux
Directed by Dorothy Holland
Friday, April 9, 2010 at 7:30PM
Saturday, April 10, 2010 at 7:30PM
Sunday, April 11, 2010 at 2:00PM
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 7:30PM
Friday, April 16, 2010 at 7:30PM
Saturday, April 17, 2010 at 7:30PM
Alice Jepson Theatre
This internationally acclaimed satiric comedy by Jean Giraudoux, written during the Nazi occupation of Paris, is a surprisingly timely play. Venture capitalists trample over rich and poor alike. Oil fuels war. Greed is good. Sound familiar? The Madwoman of Chaillot is a delicious fable about filthy-rich and corrupt wheeler-dealers who think they have discovered oil under the heart of Paris. They’re willing to destroy the city to harvest the black gold. But their plans are foiled by a marvelously eclectic band of Bohemians, beggars and slightly daffy street-folk. An incredibly funny and moving play filled with hope and light, and with a very contemporary bite!
About the Actor’s Equity Artist-in-Residence program
Each academic year, the Department of Theatre and Dance appoints at least two members of the Actors’ Equity Association, a union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States, as Artists-in-Residence. In addition to teaching basic acting courses, the Equity Artists-in-Residence play roles in mainstage productions and may teach courses in their area of specialty, such as acting for film, stage combat or period styles. The close interaction between students and professionals creates a dynamic exchange of knowledge and experience between master teacher and aspiring artist.
Additional Events
In addition to mainstage season offerings, the Department of Theatre and Dance produces a variety of studio events that are often free and open to the public. While these change from year to year, they may include workshops of upcoming mainstage projects, student-produced and in-class productions, thesis productions and various choreography and dance showcases. For further information about upcoming events, please contact the Modlin Box Office at 804-289-8980.
Posted August 19, 2009
Article ID: 288
