Jesse talks with CSU theatre
students on April 18, 2013

Earlier this semester, Colorado State University alumnus, Jesse Luken ’06, sat down with CSU theatre students to “talk turkey” about what it takes to make it as an actor in Los Angeles.

Jesse has appeared in several popular TV series, including Justified, The Mentalist, Last Resort, Glee, NCIS, and others. Most recently he played the role of second-baseman Eddie Stanky in the movie 42, chronicling the life and story of Jackie Robinson.

Graduating from CSU in 2006 with dual degrees in Biology and International Relations and a minor in Theatre, Jesse packed up and moved to L.A. after graduation to become an actor.

“Theatre was far and away the best part of college for me,” noted Jesse. “Not having done it before, it was very much a new love with which I was entirely and completely smitten – it brings a story to life and develops all sorts of different characters and expressions of art which affect people.”

A baseball player in high school, Jesse noted that “the teamwork and camaraderie of threatre was also something that I had been missing since team sports, and I found such wonderful, passionate people who would inject me with enthusiasm daily. I decided to make it a career because I couldn’t find any sort of replacement for that.”

Jesse as Eddie Stanky in “42″

Jesse began his career in L.A. the way most aspiring actors do – by getting a “real job” to pay the bills. He began working at The Cheesecake Factory five days a week and started auditioning.

“I started auditioning for anything I could find,” Jesse remembered. “Plays, student films, infomercials, you name it. I did a couple really terrible plays in my first year there, but that experience is ultimately beneficial. A lot of times you have to do the bad stuff before you can figure out what’s good, or, as someone once told me, ‘you can’t be a snob fresh off the boat.’”

Jesse also smartly realized he needed to balance his work and auditioning with the business side of acting.

“It’s really something which all beginning actors need to make a priority,” Jesse told CSU students. “Taking headshots, doing agent mailers, getting into classes – the whole nine yards.”

Jesse is currently a member of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and signed with Greene & Associates in L.A.

Students laughed and nodded knowingly as Jesse remembered his theatre experiences at CSU – late night rehearsals and joking around with fellow students and faculty members.

He also noted his great appreciation for faculty guidance and encouragement.

“I have a great admiration for Morris Burns,” Jesse told students. “He always treated his students with the utmost respect and his passion and excitement are unparalleled.”

Jesse performs in “Waiting for Godot” at the University Theatre

Fast Facts All About Jesse:

Productions at CSU: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (directed by Dr. Prince), Side Man (Laura Jones), James and the Giant Peach (Jones), To Kill A Mockingbird (Morris Burns), and Waiting for Godot (Prince). Side Man and Waiting for Godot got to travel as selections in American College Theater Festival (ACTF).

Favorite show: Right now, probably The Newsroom on HBO, but Lost is my favorite show of all time.

Favorite professor/director: I loved all of my directors, but I guess as a favorite teacher I’d have to go with Morris Burns. He’s actually my favorite teacher of all time.

Favorite performance at CSU: It’s difficult to pick a favorite, but I guess I’d have to go with Waiting for Godot. It was incredibly challenging and rewarding material. I got to do the show with my best friend, Matt Murphy (now a teacher in Denver), and we both knew it was our final production, which made it all the more special. And it was the first show at the new UCA!

Favorite Spot on Campus: It’s actually no longer there! It would have been the old Black Box theatre at Johnson Hall – lots of fantastic, creative memories.

Favorite CSU Memory: Performing Side Man at ACTF – the crowd was eating up everything we did. It was a two-hour show that wound up taking about three because of how much we were milking it! In the end we won all the awards – so much fun.

Favorite Movie: The Princess Bride. Duh.

Favorite Actor: I think the best actor on the planet is Daniel Day-Lewis. I don’t even think it’s subjective, it’s like when Michael Jordan was playing basketball and everybody just knew “yeah, he’s obviously the best.” But my personal favorite might be Javier Bardem.

Major influences: I’m influenced by everybody – too many to count! In my personal life I have a family that words don’t even begin to describe. My friends are second to none. Professionally, I can’t single out any one influence for fear of excluding so many others – from wonderful actors, to brilliant directors, and fun-loving crew members – it’s my favorite part of this crazy thing we do.

The University Center for the Arts at Colorado State University provides an enriched venue in which the study and practice of Art, Dance, Music and Theatre are nurtured and sustained by building the skills and knowledge needed by future generations of arts professionals to become contributors to the essential vitality of our culture and society. For more information, visit www.UniversityCenterfortheArts.com.

FORT COLLINS – CSU has moved up one spot to No. 2 in the United States in international student satisfaction, according to a worldwide survey.

The rankings, released Thursday by International Student Barometer, were based on surveys of international undergraduates, graduate students and doctoral candidates at more than 180 universities in 15 countries.

More than 160,000 students around the world participated in the survey, according to a news release from CSU.

“We are delighted with these results,” said Jim Cooney, vice provost for International Affairs at CSU. CSU ranked No. 1 in the U.S. for international student satisfaction with the academic experience and student support services, Cooney said.

“These are two of the four broad categories for the survey, and the results are even better than last year,” Cooney said.

CSU also participated in the survey last year, and was ranked No. 3.

In 2012, CSU created a partnership with INTO International Partnerships to recruit potential students around the world. International enrollment at CSU has increased 39 percent in the last four years.

Link to original story.

Coach Mac made a cameo appearance in “Evil Dead: The Musical” on opening night. The audience loved your acting debut Coach Jim McElwain! More surprise cameos are planned – who would you like to see?!

The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival is a national theater program, with over 18,000 participants annually, and according to the organization’s website, “[KCACTF] has served as a catalyst in improving the quality of college theatre in the United States.”

Region VII is comprised of nine western states including Alaska, northern Calif., Colo., Idaho, Mont., northern Nev., Ore., Wash. and Wyo. Over 1,000 theatre students from Region VII convene annually to participate in workshops; attend symposia and colloquies and professional presentation; work with resident artists; and compete for honors, awards, and scholarships for their creative accomplishments in theatre productions at staged at their schools.

Students winning regional awards will travel to Washington, D.C., April 15-20, 2013, to compete at the 45th annual Kennedy Center national conference, where, since 2007, CSU students have distinguished themselves as national award-winners in Stage Management, Acting, Lighting Design, Sound Design, and Playwriting. National winners are selected by discipline-discrete judges from a panel of highly visible theatre professionals.

2013 Regional Awards
David Culp (CSU ‘14) was the Design, Tech and Management: Sound Design Winner for his work on the CSU production of A Christmas Story. He will attend the national conference as a finalist in April.

Mackenzie Mulligan (’14) was the Design, Tech and Management: Lighting Design Winner for her work on the CSU production of Spring Awakening. She will attend the national conference as a finalist in April.

KC Cseresnyes (’13) won a Stage Management Meritorious Achievement award for his work on the CSU production of A Christmas Story.

Dr. Laura Jones, CSU professor, won the ATHE/KCACTF Innovation Teaching Award, presented at the festival by a representative from the Association for Theatre in Higher Education.

By Anna Massara

Artwork by Nathan Young

Bringing high quality, affordable live theatre to the Front Range, the theatre program at Colorado State University presents the horror-comedy Evil Dead: The Musical by agreement with Samuel French, Inc. Performances are nightly Thursdays through Sundays, running April 11, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 21, 7:30 p.m. in the University Theatre at the University Center of the Arts, 1400 Remington Street. Production extras include a ‘Splash Zone’ and a Zombie Blood Drive.

Get Tickets

Evil Dead: The Musical, which premiered in Toronto, Canada, was an immediate success and moved to an off-Broadway run in 2006 with hundreds of regional and international performances around the world. Critics praised the show, including a rave from the New York Times, calling it “the next Rocky Horror Show.”

The Canadian pop-rock musical is based on the cult classic Evil Dead horror film franchise. The innovative performance combines all the favorite moments from the original series that launched the directing career of Sam Raimi. The story follows five friends as they head to an old, isolated, and abandoned cabin in the woods where they accidentally unleash an evil force that’s hell-bent on converting them to the restless undead, in this case, “Deadites.”

CSU Director of Theatre & Dance, Walt Jones, will stage the production. He notes that his interest in the play was, “confronting the challenge to do the self-referential musical as written: super cheesy and massively tongue-in-cheek—almost tongue-‘through’-cheek,” but to also “try to do what the original 1979-80 film set out to do—scare.” He added, “The script is thin enough—thin in a good way—that we are able to poke visual fun at our own list of targets. And the authors’ casting requirements are loose enough that we could offer ten times more roles than were in the original cast, and our production team—designers, technicians, production crew, tricks, special effects, and fight experts—is triple the size of our typical mainstage productions. When we are in rehearsal I look around and think, ‘who’s minding the store?’”

The show will appeal to all types of audiences, as it offers itself to comedy, horror, and musical theatre. Jones describes it as more like a circus, “a dark, in-your-face-and-up-close carnival that presents both the allure and revulsion for freaks in a side show, a contemporary Théâtre du Grand-Guignol.”

Evil Dead: The Musical will feature unique costumes by CSU Costume Shop Supervisor Janelle Sutton, who says her inspiration for the original costumes came from the Evil Dead films, Walking Dead, Night of the Living Dead, Cabin in the Woods, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Her costumes depict a bold diversity; “You’ll see every kind of zombie you could imagine and some you couldn’t.”

Along with the fun production elements, Jones cited his cast and creative team as being his favorite part of directing the show. “We’ve had about a dozen designer and crew ‘breakout’ sessions specifically for the special effects.” Featuring a cast of almost 50 CSU students (majors in Theatre, Dance, Music, Business, Engineering, History, and a dozen other majors campus-wide) along with a live four-piece rock band, featuring members of Fort Collins-based, Circana, an Associate Director and Choreographer, Emma Kimball (a senior Dance major at CSU) is “awesome, and has already shown her competence as a nervy and confident director,” Jones said.

“This show takes two full-time directors, a skilled musical director (David Hörger), two vocal coaches (CSU Opera-Theatre majors Nate Alpers and graduate student Alex Diesner), fight choreographer Bryan Connolly, even a ‘First Unit Director of Deadites’ (Theatre/Business major Chelsea Case) for the 38 zombies.”

Of the company, Jones said “they all embrace the ‘out-there’ and come up with whacky but hilarious solutions and toss them out for consideration.” he said. “I’d be really stupid not to incorporate their ideas; my cast represents our targeted audience. We laugh a lot.”

Don’t miss this opportunity to see if an unwitting S-Mart employee named Ash can save himself from death and survive a mass attack of the evil undead, all while he delivers unforgettable lines from the classic horror series.

Sit in the Splash Zone:

Along with the ghoulish makeup and costumes evocative setting by Maggie Seymour (Polaroid Stories, The Distance From Here, Sweeney Todd, The Kafka Project), the performance will feature a designated “Splash Zone”: reserved spots for those lucky front row seat-holders who will receive a commemorative Evil Dead: The Musical tee-shirt to help soak up the (stage) blood from the performance (think Sea World but gooier and red). Purchase or upgrade to the “Splash Zone” for only $10 at the Box Office.

“It’ll be seriously messy,” said Jones. “Approximately 1,000 gallons of blood will wash out, but it will be plentiful, gooey, viscous, and slippery.”

Give Blood and get FREE Tickets:

On Wednesday, April 10, the theatre program at CSU will host a ‘Zombie Blood Drive’ at the University Center for the Arts from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., sponsored by the Garth Englund Blood Center of Poudre Valley Hospital. Join the cast of Evil Dead: The Musical  and get in the ‘spirit’ to support blood donations for Northern Colorado. Qualified donors will receive a free ticket to a performance CSU’s production. Read more.

Evil Dead: The Musical Performances:

Nightly (Thursday through Sunday): April 11, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 21, 7:30 p.m.

Directed by Walt Jones and Emma Kimball, Choreography by Emma Kimball, Music Direction by David Hörger, Scenic Design by Maggie Seymour, Costume Design by Janelle Sutton, Lighting Design by Andy Killion, Property Design by Brittany Lealman, Makeup Design by Siobhan Gleason, Projection Design by Price Johnston, Sound Design by Parker Stegmaier, Fight Choreography by Bryan Connolly, Production Stage Manager, Tory Sheppard, Producing Technical Director, Nathan Cory Seymour, “Evil Dead” Graphics Designed by Nathan Young.

Book and Lyrics by George Reinblatt. Music by Frank Cipolla, Christopher Bond, Melissa Morris, George Reinblatt. Music Supervision by Frank Cipolla. Additional Lyrics by Christopher Bond. Additional Music by Rob Daleman. Produced by special arrangement with Renaissance Pictures, LTD. & Studio Canal Image, S.A. and Samuel French, Inc.

The University Center for the Arts at Colorado State University provides an enriched venue in which the study and practice of Art, Dance, Music and Theatre are nurtured and sustained by building the skills and knowledge needed by future generations of arts professionals to become contributors to the essential vitality of our culture and society. For more information, visit www.UniversityCenterfortheArts.com.

The most visible change is the ability for incoming students to now major in “theatre” or “dance” as standalone majors. Previously, students pursuing these areas of study were enrolled is the degree of “Performing Arts” with a theatre or dance concentration. The change has been made to more adequately reflect the strong, specialized programs of study already being offered in these areas at CSU, which also places the programs on the same “playing field” with competitive universities.

“It wasn’t intuitive to have to look under “Performing Arts” and we received feedback that potential students didn’t think we offered theatre or dance,” said Jennifer Clary, Marketing Director for the department. “We are pleased to now be able to list ‘Theatre Major and Dance Major’.”

With this change, the department anticipates an increase in theatre majors and dance majors with the enhanced perception and validity of the program to incoming students. Although the strong curriculum and program were already in place, the new degree name is a more sought after and preferred degree.

Coupled with the name change, the most significant change in the theatre program is the curriculum overhaul that began in 2011, and is still under way. The addition of upper division courses such as directing, professional actor preparation, and advanced topics in acting adds a whole new level to CSU’s theatre education and provides new options for students with a variety of interests.

The expanded areas of study may draw in even more theater students and develop the program further.

“I think our new major will be unique in the region, with a full complement of courses for the actor, the playwright, the dramaturge, theatre critic or researcher, the director, the designer, and technical production students,” said Walt Jones, Director of Theatre & Dance and department co-chair.

More changes are anticipated for the Fall 2013 semester; several completely new focus areas are being implemented this fall as well.

According to Jones, the department hopes to increase the variation of study to include classical and contemporary options. New seminars will also be offered to prepare students for the professional world or for graduate school.

Theatre students will have the option of three concentrations: Performance, Theatrical Design & Production, Playwriting & Dramatic Literature, or General Theatre. Each new focus includes lab education and, in most cases, software education. These areas are designed to give students more direction in their pre-professional training in the program as they prepare for a career in the performing arts and/or graduate school.

While these classes are already being taught to current students, they will be able to officially declare concentrations in these areas starting in the fall.

“The strength of our talent and level of production skills in theatre and dance has been prominent for a while, especially since moving into the state-of-the-art University Center for the Arts,” notes Clary.

Due of this established reputation and world class facility, last year the department hosted the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, (read more about the Regional Conference and “A Look Back”). With thousands of theatre professors and students attending, the festival definitely put the department in the national spotlight.

“Since moving into the UCA, bringing on more faculty members, overhauling the curriculum, and now changing the name, we have positioned the theatre program for continued success and growth, and now changing the names of the degrees change is part of the comprehensive process,” noted Clary.

The University Center for the Arts at Colorado State University provides an enriched venue in which the study and practice of Art, Dance, Music and Theatre are nurtured and sustained by building the skills and knowledge needed by future generations of arts professionals to become contributors to the essential vitality of our culture and society. For more information, visit www.UniversityCenterfortheArts.com.

Qualifications
Required qualifications are a terminal degree in arts management or arts-related field, or equivalent professional experience. Highly desirable qualifications are effective teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels, especially, but not limited to, courses in arts leadership, public policy, producing, cultural branding, law and the arts, grantsmanship; evidence of scholarship, research, and/or professional experience in arts management; strong commitment to work in an interdisciplinary environment; experience with arts non-profits; evidence of arts advocacy; a strong commitment to arts entrepreneurship; evidence of strong administrative experience; and a strong commitment to work with community partners.

Responsibilities
This position will teach primarily graduate students in the newly approved Master of Arts Leadership and Administration (MALA). Courses will include Leadership in the Arts, Arts and the Law, Arts Policy and Advocacy, Arts Events Management and Arts Collaboration and the Community. Teaching responsibilities include five courses per year. This position will also work with the Director of the LEAP Institute to help coordinate the internship program with the Arts Incubator of the Rockies, continue to develop new and innovative coursework, advise graduate students, and share in administrative duties within the LEAP Institute.

Salary will be commensurate with background and experience.

Applications and nominations will be accepted until this position is filled; however, to ensure full consideration applications should be submitted by March 22, 2013. For a complete position description and application procedure, click here. CSU is an EO/EA/AA employer and conducts background checks on final candidates.

The Colorado State University Art Museum is pleased to announce that the Campbell’s Tomato Soup Can, which is currently installed in front of Griffin Concert Hall at the University Center for the Arts, is to be restored this spring. The large scale can, signed by Andy Warhol, will be removed from the University Center for the Arts (UCA) grounds on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013, with an anticipated return in the Spring/Summer 2013 timeframe.

Three soup cans were created in collaboration with Andy Warhol for the opening of the Warhol at Colorado State University exhibit, and were signed by Warhol upon his arrival at the art building on Sept. 1, 1981. The massive can resided on the Dept. of Art front lawn until the late 80s, and was installed at the UCA on Sept. 29, 2008 as the third piece in the developing UCA Sculpture Garden.

The soup can restoration is being funded by a generous donation from Denver art patrons J. Landis and Sharon Martin. Mr. Martin is the founder and managing partner of Platte River Ventures.

The Martins first encountered the Warhol soup can during a tour of the campus given by CSU President, Dr. Tony Frank. They observed the deterioration of the sculpture and expressed a desire to assist in its renovation.

University Art Museum Director and Curator Linny Frickman worked with the Martin’s representative, Dianne Vanderlip, former curator of modern and contemporary art at the Denver Art Museum, to identify a restorer for the can. The restoration, with special care to conserve Warhol’s signature, will be completed by Mark Rossi, founder of HANDMADE located in Los Angeles, Calif. The skilled sculptor and fabricator has worked with art luminaries such as Claus Oldenburg and Charles Ray.

“The sculpture has been presenting rust around the bottom since 2008,” said Frickman who has consulted with campus facility management and landscape architects on the reinstallation which will address drainage problems that caused the rust to expand.

“The soup can has both historical and sentimental value to the University,” expressed Frickman. Archival documentation of Warhol’s involvement with the Dept. of Art throughout the planning process for the original construction and fabrication of the cans shows a method of working that is in keeping with Warhol’s oeuvre, whereby assistants produced much of the work in accordance with Warhol’s plans and instruction. “The importance of the can has transcended conventional measures to become a landmark and beloved image for the University and the UCA – we are thrilled and deeply grateful that the Martins have made an investment in its preservation,” said Frickman.

The Campbell’s Tomato Soup Can is part of the University Art Museum’s larger sculptural plan. The current museum expansion plan to create a dynamic architectural addition to the museum, in order to house the bequest of the Hartford/Tandstad collection, also incorporates more outdoor sculpture.

The University Art Museum is located in the University Center for the Arts, 1400 Remington Street. For further information please call (970) 491-1989 or visit the museum’s website at artmuseum.colostate.edu.

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The University Center for the Arts at Colorado State University provides an enriched venue in which the study and practice of art, music, theatre, and dance are nurtured and sustained by building the skills and knowledge needed by future generations of arts professionals to become contributors to the essential vitality of our culture and society. For more information, visit UCA.colostate.edu.

This is the world of Adam Trainsmith, an aspiring comedy writer, who has just landed a job writing for a banal, never-ending soap opera. While left alone in the studio, Adam runs an old comedy film and notices actoid JC-F31-333 laughing – an endearing malfunction. Astounded and elated by this, Adam nicknames the actoid Jacie and begins teaching her comedic acting techniques.

When high-powered executive Carla Pepperbloom witnesses the actoids abilities, she orders to have Jacie scrapped, which poses a problem – Adam and Jacie have fallen in love.

Comic Potential premiered in Scarborough in June 1998 before hitting the London theatre circuit the following year. The play was an immediate success; critics and audiences alike praised Sir Alan Ayckbourn’s story-telling ability and his commentary on the human characteristics of love and laughter.

Ayckbourn is considered one of Britain’s most performed playwrights (rumored to be second only to William Shakespeare), and has, to date, written 77 plays. His plays have been translated into 35 languages, won numerous awards nationally and internationally, and have been performed worldwide on stage and television.

CSU theatre professor and director of Comic Potential, Dr. Eric Prince, has special ties to Sir Alan Ayckbourn. He worked in close association with the writer and his acclaimed Stephen Joseph Theatre for 18 years in Scarborough, North Yorkshire.

“I got to be backstage at his shows and see him at work with his actors. It was exhilarating to watch the master at work creating his pieces and bringing them to life on stage,” Prince said.

Prince, who saw the world premiere of the play in 1998, is excited to be bringing Comic Potential to the CSU stage.

“After you leave the show, you’ll wonder what you’ve just been laughing at,” said Prince. “It’s human life! Ayckbourn is a shrewd observer of human behavior, and this is evident in his writing.”

In a personal note to CSU, Ayckbourn shares his original inspiration for writing Comic Potential: “It sprang from my belief that laughter and love are closely allied. Both concepts, laughter and love, are essentially devoid of logic. Machines, however humanoid in appearance, cannot comprehend these two unique quirks of human behavior. And if they could, they would suspect an illogical malfunction. The play divides the humans with humor, the humans devoid of humor, the actoids without humor, and the actoid with humor. How close are we to machines and how close to us are they? I hope the play combines both elements; it’s full of humor and it’s filled with love,” said the writer.

The audience will be able to watch these themes unfold in a theatre-in-the-round performance – the same way Ayckbourn staged the play. This brings the audience closer to the action with one-third of the audience being in the front row seated around the circular stage in CSU’s Studio Theatre.

“This allows the audience to connect with each other and the actors, putting everyone in the room on display, which creates a different atmosphere,” Prince said. “The students will have to rise up to the occasion and be confident when creating the illusion of the story.”

Comic Potential is known for making a lasting impression, and the end of the play leaves the audience with a single warning.

“I can’t share that piece,” said Prince. “You’ll just have to come and find out for yourself.”

Comic Potential performance dates:

Nightly: Jan. 31, Feb. 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, 17 at 7:30 p.m.

For a full performance and event calendar, more information, and to sign up for a free event e-newsletter, visit www.UniversityCenterfortheArts.com.

The story of Ralphie and his efforts to possess a Red Ryder BB gun is one many of us are more than familiar with. Now, CSU’s Theatre Department is bringing Philip Grecian’s stage version of the 1983 classic comedy film “A Christmas Story” to life.

While CSU doesn’t usually do holiday theatrical performances, CSU Director of Theatre Walt Jones said it was time. And choosing “A Christmas Story” was a no-brainer.

“The play is so iconic and people know the dialogue by heart,” Jones said.

While not the musical version that is taking Broadway by storm, this version is a must for those who loved the film, he added. Beloved references including Ovaltine, the leg lamp, Chinese turkey, flagpoles and fire departments and soap poisoning all show up.

Read the full article (pdf)

By Courtney Roling

Ralphie and the Red Ryder BB gun, rich-chocolate Ovaltine, the leg lamp, Chinese turkey, flagpoles and fire departments, soap poisoning, and more – just some of the favorite references from this beloved holiday classic. A play in two acts by Philip Grecian, A Christmas Story is based upon the classic American 1983 motion picture of the same title, written by Jean Shepherd, Leigh Brown, and Bob Clark.

In the weeks leading up to Christmas, 1939, in the fictional northern Indiana town of Hohman, Ralphie Parker desperately wants a Red Ryder BB Gun and will do anything to make sure he gets it.

At CSU, the decision to put on A Christmas Story was not a difficult one for the theatre program.

“We read it and thought it would have great appeal to our community,” said Walt Jones, director of theatre at CSU. “We were also looking for a show that would involve the children from our summer theatre camp, ‘Kids Do It All,’ and A Christmas Story fit the bill.”

The audience can expect a performance that follows the movie quite closely, with only a few minor differences. There are certain scenes that are deleted and others that are expanded to facilitate the requirements of live theatre.

“There are scenic and costume changes that must be covered by additional dialogue,” said Laura Jones, who is stage directing the production. “And while Jean Shepherd himself did the voice over in the film; in the play, the storyteller in the character of adult Ralphie who, reminiscing about his childhood, is physically represented on the stage by an actor– guest artist and CSU theatre alumnus James Burns.”

Yet even with this visual difference, the production stays true to the funniest scenes and themes for which A Christmas Story became so well known.

“The audience will recognize many of their favorite moments from the film, such as Ralphie’s obsession with the official legendary Red Ryder BB gun everyone is sure he’ll use to ‘shoot his eye out’– as well as his translation of Little Orphan Annie’s secret code after receiving his mail order decoder pin,” said Laura Jones. “And of course, when his father wins the infamous leg lamp, much to his mother’s chagrin; and not to mention the theft of the turkey by the Bumpus hounds who live next door.”

Most of the main characters will be played by CSU undergraduates, including Tim Werth as the Old Man, Ralphie’s father; Annie Booth as Ralphie’s mother; Jasmine Winfrey as Miss Shields, Ralphie’s teacher; and Sean O’ Reilly plays the infamous Scut Farkas.

The roles of Ralphie, Randy, and the other children are filled by youth who have participated in CSU’s summer children’s theatre program, ‘Kids Do It All.’

“Managing all of the children and integrating them into our cast has largely been the responsibility of our CSU theatre students who are enrolled in the Teaching Creative Drama to Children course this semester,” said Laura Jones. “It’s been a great experience for everyone.”

With a lot of time and hard work going into bringing this holiday favorite to the stage, director and cast agree that watching these characters come to life is worth the effort.

“It’s truly been exciting to watch these now-classic characters be re-enacted by our cast of college students and child actors from the community,” said Laura Jones. “They have all both embraced traditional interpretations and created their own personal ‘takes’ on the characters.”

This production marks the first annual holiday theatre production at CSU that will become a long-standing tradition in years to come

“It’s such a great time for all kinds of celebration and a family trip to the theatre would be a wonderful tradition to start.”

A Christmas Story performance dates:

Nightly: Nov. 15, 16, 17, 23, 24, 29, 30, Dec. 1, 6, 7, 8, 13, 14, 15 at 7:30 p.m.

Matinees: Nov. 18, 25, Dec. 2, 9 at 2 p.m.

For a full performance and event calendar, more information, and to sign up for a free event e-newsletter, visit www.UniversityCenterfortheArts.com.

Rape, child abuse, suicide, and abortion are just a few themes in the new Colorado State University theatre production of Spring Awakening. Based on the controversial German play written in 1891 by Frank Wedekind, Spring Awakening pushes the boundaries and stirs discussion about tough issues. It is truly a play you will never forget.

A “tragedy of childhood,” Spring Awakening spotlights the life and struggles of a group of teenagers discovering the trials and tribulations of sexuality and coming of age. The story follows Melchior, Moritz, and Wendla as they wade through the uncertain waters of teenage life. The characters face many challenges that every teenager feels during their transition to adulthood. Set in an ambiguous location, the play boasts a pre-modern feel while still tackling current and tough issues. The play will hopefully raise discussion about topics in society that are often difficult to have.

“The play touches on those ideas of abortion, beating, rape, and suicide that are not usually discussed in regular conversation because of the potent emotions they bring up,” says cast member Tim Garrity. Garrity has several roles in the play that include the popular character of Headmaster Sunstroke. Garrity feels that the play has something very important to bring to the table.

“Yes, it should drum up a discussion of those topics that must be talked about even though we would prefer they didn’t exist,” says Garrity. “This dialogue is important because the ideas in the play are so real and pressing, even in this day and age.”

While the 2006 rock-musical has recently made the title well-known, the Broadway show is based on an original German play written in 1891 by Frank Wedekind. CSU’s production is a Colorado premier of a new translation by Denver playwright, Douglas Langworthy.

“I first read the play in its original language in a German literature class in college and immediately fell in love with it,” said Langworthy. “Not just for what it had to say about the importance of honesty in parent-child relationships, but also for its inventive form and style – each character has a unique voice, and finding their expression in English was a difficult yet satisfying challenge.

While the CSU production is translated from German, the production does not miss any of the play’s potency. While translating for the state between languages and time periods is often a challenge due in part to grammar and outdated phrases, Langworthy triumphs in his representation – allowing a modern audience to see things in a new light.

The play is directed by Garret Ayers, who has worked for over a decade as a professional actor and director with some of the world’s foremost theatre companies. Ayers feels that the play is not just an artistic presentation, but a production that means something important.

“This play really matters,” says Ayers. “Anyone passionate about life, about humanity, who loves to laugh, but also loves to wrestle with big issues, should see this production. This play has something for everyone – while not everyone is a parent, everyone has been a child.”

The production will be presented in a workshop style with minimal scenic elements for the purpose of focusing attention on the characters and content. Given the minimalistic nature of the production, the audience is really drawn to the actor’s expressive goal and inner thoughts. Despite the minimalistic scenery and undisclosed location, the play still carries a magical feel.

“In the midst of my preparation,” Ayers said, “I noticed many themes and metaphors related to fairy tales, and soon decided to frame the entire production around this vision that Spring Awakening was, essentially, a fairy tale… with one big difference. Fairy tales are written to teach us a specific moral lesson at the end of ‘happily ever after.’ There is no moralizing in this play. I was, and still am, passionately drawn to this idea of the play being a fairy tale without a moral.”

While the play hits home for many people, it has not always been so acclaimed. Originally presented in Germany during the late 1800’s, the play was either heavily censored or banned for 63 years due to the controversial topics it incorporates. The CSU production is uncensored and will present touchy topics and push the audience’s comfort levels to the extreme in order to generate thought about these sobering issues.

“Spring Awakening certainly pushes the boundaries of what is comfortable,” said Ayers. “But I find that reality to be pleasant – it definitely will push your envelope, but at the same time I feel that we are able to keep the audience on our side by not pushing it too hard. We touch on those tough ideas without punching people in the face with it.”

Spring Awakening performances run Oct. 11, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 21, at 7:30 p.m. in the Studio Theatre at the University Center of the Arts, 1400 Remington St.

Tickets are $18 for the public and $8 for Colorado State students. Content is not appropriate for youth under 18. Tickets are available at the University Center for the Arts (UCA) Ticket Office in the UCA Griffin Lobby, by phone at (970) 491-2787, or online at www.CSUArtsTickets.com.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

AUDITION INFORMATION:

TIME: 1:00-2:30 – All Children currently in the 3^rd & 4^th Grades

2:30-4:00 – All Children currently in the 5^th & 6^th Grades

PLACE: University Center for the Arts (UCA), 1400 Remington St., Rooms 238, 240, 242

NOTE: All children auditioning Sat, Sept 22 must be accompanied by an adult who should be available for the full 90-minute session.

There is NO COST to you nor will you be asked to provide your child’s costume!

Each child auditioning will be asked to read his/her choice of pre-selected poems by Shel Silverstein.

Memorization is optional, but practice reading aloud in advance is suggested.

View the selected readings.

Questions or concerns? Please contact Dr. Laura Jones.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE:

IMPORTANT!  All children’s roles will be double-cast to help alleviate the time commitment required.

For example, we will alternate the two casts for all evening rehearsals, so your child would only be required to attend every other night. Additionally, performance weekend will also rotate as follows:

Red Cast                    November 15 thru 18

Green Cast                November 23 thru 25

Red Cast                    November 29 thru December 2

Green Cast                December 6 thru 9

Red Cast                    December 13 and 15

Green Cast                December 14 and 16

However, the members of BOTH casts will be required to attend ALL the Tuesday/Thursday after-school workshops. See below for dates and times.

After-School Acting Workshops:

Sept 25-October 25, Tuesdays and Thursdays

4:00 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.

Evening Rehearsals:

Beginning Monday, October 29, Mondays thru Fridays

6:30 p.m. – 8:15 p.m.

No rehearsal on Halloween

Performances:

Beginning Thursday, November 15 through Sunday, December 16, running Thursday/Friday/Saturday/Sunday

Nightly at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2:00 p.m.

No show on Thanksgiving Day

The theatre program at Colorado State University announces a special offer for current CSU students to attend performances. The new Ticket Thursdays initiative allows CSU students to attend any Thursday performance of a theatre production for FREE.

“We want to make coming to see theatre a habit,” says Theatre & Dance Division Director Walt Jones. “The very nature of live theatre is that nothing’s canned or edited – this art form lives right along with you, and now we’re taking away all barriers so students can make this a part of their lives.”

Students can pick up their ticket at the Ticket Office at the University Center for the Arts Monday through Friday, 4-6 p.m. or one hour prior to the show. A valid student ID must be presented for ticket redemption (one ticket per ID). Space is limited and available on a first come, first served basis. Advance reservations recommended. Contact the Ticket Office at (970) 491-ARTS (2787) for more information.

Opportunities this semester include:

Shakespeare at Sunset presents The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare
Thursdays through Sundays: August 23 – September 2, 7:30 p.m.
Ticket Thursdays: August 23, 30

Spring Awakening, by Frank Wedekind
Thursdays through Sundays: October 4 – 21, 7:30 p.m.
Ticket Thursdays: October 4, 11, 18

A Christmas Story, by Philip Grecian
Nightly, Thursdays through Saturdays: November 15 through December 15 (excluding Nov. 22), 7:30 p.m.
Matinees: November 18, 25, December 2, 9, 16 2 p.m.
Ticket Thursdays: November 15, 29, December 6, 13, 7:30 p.m.

Get Tickets

For a full schedule of theatre events at the University Center for the Arts, please visit our website.

The story of two sets of identical twins accidentally separated at birth, Antipholus of Syracuse and his servant, Dromio of Syracuse, arrive in Ephesus, the home of their twin brothers, Antipholus of Ephesus and his servant, Dromio of Ephesus. When the Syracusans encounter the friends and families of their twins, a series of wild mishaps – based on mistaken identities – leads to melodramatic developments: damsels in distress, heroes, villains, hijinx, pranks, japes and general mayhem. A hilarious evening for the whole family!

Adding to this mayhem, director Candice Ingold has adapted the work to the 1920s in the silent film slapstick tradition of Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, and even the Three Stooges.

“This type of comedy lends so well to the nature of this play,” says Ingold. “The constant gags and fake falls provide constant opportunity for laughter, but also an appreciation of the silent film era and slapstick comedy.”

This farcical aura is also played out in larger-than-life costumes, set design elements, and lighting.

“Think Charlie Chapman meets Tim Burton,” says Ingold. “This will not be your typical Shakespeare show – it’s a little dark, a little dangerous, and absolutely dream-like – but will keep you laughing the whole night.”

This production marks Candice Ingold’s directing debut at CSU. As a CSU theatre alum she also directs at OpenStage and Bas Bleu theatres in Fort Collins. This fall, she will also join the department as an adjunct professor for the 2012-13 school year.

“I’m excited to be joining CSU! As an alum, this is where my heart is,” Ingold says. “I want to give new faces a chance to shine and help these up-and-coming actors – that is what educational theatre is all about.”

This project/event is sponsored by a grant from the Lilla B. Morgan Memorial Fund, a premier supporter of arts and culture at CSU.

For a full performance and event calendar, more information, and to sign up for a free event e-newsletter, visit www.UniversityCenterfortheArts.com.

• More than $141,000 to 20 music, theater, and dance scholarships
• $499, 728 in programmatic support
• Four planned gifts to music and dance programs

By giving to any CSU music, theater, or dance fund in the 2012-2013 season, you are invited to join us for fascinating exchanges with faculty and insider access to the University Center for the Arts.

Click here for a print out of the Friends of the UCA 2012-2013 season. Friends One Page_FINAL

Proposals were reviewed by a panel of CSU faculty, and a representative from Beet Street; the award was funded by the Department of Music, Theatre, and Dance.

LEAP courses, a dual effort of the Department of Music, Theatre, and Dance and the Department of Art, integrate an arts management curriculum into the performing arts at Colorado State University. Recognizing that success in the arts is being redefined, LEAP courses provide visual and performing arts majors the skills required to thrive in a 21^st century job market. The class was taught by visiting professor Amy Feinberg, faculty at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.

Beet Street, an organization that fosters and contributes to the evolving landscape of the arts in Fort Collins, is partnering with CSU/LEAP to develop the Arts Incubator of the Rockies (AIR). AIR is the only full service incubator in the Intermountain West, and the only one of its kind to partner with a major land grant university in the United States. AIR serves all creative and community members in the Intermountain West who want to shift the paradigms about art, money, value, and community.

The winning team – Kiernan Angley, Chelsea Case, Trevor Grattan, and Rachel Tschanz – presented a project based on a reverse paradigm: using the arts to market and promote local non-arts businesses. “Arts in a Flash” is based on guerilla marketing techniques, specifically designing advertising campaigns utilizing “flash mobs” and social media, while employing artists to carry out the scheme. The team received a $1,000 award.

Honorable mention and $500 was awarded to “The Knock-Out Nancies” – Chelsea Dirks, Jennifer Titone, Isis Lanigan, and Chantel Flooden – for the “Pop-up Performances” campaign where instant theatre, designed for family participation, is created in public areas. Participants receive online access to the short play they perform.

Other projects included a “Career Festival and Coaching Series” for visual artists, and a multi-disciplinary performance company whose first project would be centered in comic book style graphics.

Panel members included CSU music faculty Michelle Stanley and Margaret Miller, CSU Director of Theatre and Dance Walt Jones, and the Executive Director of Beet Street Beth Flowers.

“As a panel member I want to congratulate all of the presenters as the creativity and attention to detail was most impressive,” said Miller.

12-month, full-time position
Administrative Professional
College: College of Liberal Arts
Department: Music, Theatre and Dance
Salary commensurate with background and experience

Colorado State University seeks applicants for the position of Venue and Events Manager for the CSU Center for the Arts.

Required Qualifications
• Bachelor’s degree
Preferred Qualifications
• Professional arts management experience
• Two or more years of customer service experience that is progressively more responsible and includes supervisory experience
• Experience with planning and coordination of events
• Experience with box office operations
• Experience and/or knowledge specific to arts events
• Experience in Theatre Production (stage management and technical theatre)
• Proficiency with Microsoft‐Office Suite.

For info: walt.jones@colostate.edu. Position open until filled; however, full consideration only for applications received by application deadline of May 27, 2012. Start date: July 10, 2012. Click here for a complete job description.

CSU is an EO/EA/AA employer and conducts background checks on all final candidates.

Position: Theatre Shop Technician

12-month, Full-Time Position
Administrative Professional
College: College of Liberal Arts
Department: Music, Theatre and Dance
Salary: Commensurate with an Entry-Level Position

Colorado State University seeks applicants for Scene Shop Technician serving the University Center for the Arts.

Required Qualifications
• Bachelor of Arts program in Theatre with an emphasis in Theatrical Design and Production
• Working knowledge and experience of all areas of technical theatre
• Physical strength, coordination, and flexibility (must climb ladders / trestles and be able to lift over 50 lbs)
• Scene shop experience in academic theatre
• Strong understanding of power and hand tools and their safe use within a scene shop
• Ability to interact well with others and understand common vocabulary among artisans
• Must be highly-organized, self-motivated, and self-sufficient

Preferred Qualifications
• CSU Theatre Program graduate

Responsibilities/Duties
Applicant will be responsible for working in the scene shop collaborating with the Technical Director and Assistant Technical Director/Shop Foreman in the planning, construction, and load-in/load-out, of all productions produced by the Department of Music, Theater, and Dance; will be expected to execute assigned projects within established deadlines while also supervising practicum and work study students in their daily assignments; will execute specific production-related responsibilities and duties; must be able to work at any height on ladders (including trestle style i.e. “a-frame”), Genie personnel lifts, scaffolding, and a wide variety of catwalks; assist Producing Technical Director and Assistant Technical Director in year-round maintenance, upkeep, and organizational tasks associated with running a large arts center and theatre construction facility. Some evenings and weekends required during rehearsal and production runs and special events. This is a professional entry-level position emphasizing skill acquisition necessary for further professional advancement or graduate school opportunities in theatre production.

Apply
Email letter of interest, resume, contact information for three references, and any relevant support materials to: Walton Jones (walt.jones@colostate.edu), Chair, Search Committee, Music, Theatre and Dance, 1778 Campus Delivery, 200 W Lake St, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1778. For clarification / info: walt.jones@colostate.edu. Applications considered until position filled; however, applicants should submit applications by June 1, 2012 for full consideration. Start date: July 1, 2012. This is a regional search: up to $350 will be provided to cover travel expenses for each finalist candidate invited to the CSU campus for an interview. Click here for the complete job description.

CSU is an EO/EA/AA employer and conducts background checks on all final candidates.

Position: Costume Shop Stitcher/Draper

12-month, Half-Time (50%) Position
Administrative Professional
College: College of Liberal Arts
Department: Music, Theatre and Dance
Salary commensurate with qualifications and experience

Colorado State University is seeking applicants for a 12-month, half-time (50%) position as the stitcher and draper and lead assistant to the Costume Shop Supervisor in an academic arts program that provides costumes for all producing units within the Department of Music, Theatre, and Dance.

Required Qualifications
• Bachelor of Arts
• Experience in a variety of hand and machine sewing techniques
• Ability to skillfully operate industrial and domestic sewing machines and sergers
• Ability to operate industrial steam iron
• Ability to interact well with others and speak and understand common vocabulary among theatre artisans
• Candidate must be highly-organized, self-motivated, and self-sufficient

Preferred Qualifications
• Graduate degree in Costume Construction, Design, or Fashion Design
• 1-2 year experience in a professional theatre or academic department costume shop
• Anticipating an expansion in costume shop staffing, additional experience in wig-making and production hair design and maintenance would be a plus

To Apply: Email letter of interest, resume, contact information for three references, and support materials to: Walton Jones (walt.jones@colostate.edu), Chair, Search Committee, Department of Music, Theatre, and Dance, 1778 Campus Delivery, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1778. Limited travel funds for interview. For further information: walt.jones@colostate.edu. Applications will be considered until position is filled; however, applicants should submit applications by June 1, 2012 for full consideration. Start date: July 1, 2012

CSU is an EO/EA/AA employer and conducts background checks on all final candidates. Click here for complete job description.

Costume Shop Stitcher/Draper, Colorado State University, Department of Music, Theatre, and Dance. 12-mo., half-time. See full position description at http://uca.colostate.edu. For info.: walt.jones@colostate.edu. Applications due by 6/1/12 for full consideration. Regional search: CSU will reimburse finalists up to $350 for travel to and from campus. CSU is an EO/EA/AA employer and conducts background checks on all final candidates.

Position: Master Electrician

12-month, Full-Time Position with possibility of renewal
Administrative Professional
College: College of Liberal Arts
Department: Music, Theatre and Dance
Salary commensurate with an entry-level position

CSU is seeking applicants for Master Electrician serving all producing units in Music, Theatre, and Dance.

Required Qualifications
• Bachelor of Arts in Theatre, emphasis in Theatre Design and Production
• Valid driver’s license
• Physical strength, coordination, and flexibility (must climb ladders / trestles and be able to lift over 50 lbs)
• Electrics experience in academic theatre
• Knowledge and experience in technical areas of theatre lighting and sound, including with high-end lighting consoles like ETC
• Basic computer and digital media skills
• Knowledge and ability with VectorWorks, Lightwright 5, WYSIWYG, and Google Sketch-up
• Ability to interact well with others and speak and understand common vocabulary among theatre artisans
• Must be highly-organized, self-motivated, and self-sufficient

Preferred Qualification
• CSU Theatre Program graduate

For more info: walt.jones@colostate.edu. Click here for a complete job description. Position open until filled; however, full consideration will be extended to applications received by application deadline date: June 1, 2012. Start date: July 1, 2012. This is a regional search: travel funds to a maximum of $350.00 will be available for finalist candidates brought to campus for interviews.

CSU is an EO/EA/AA employer and conducts background checks on all final candidates.

Position: Costume Shop Supervisor

12-month, full-time position
College: College of Liberal Arts
Department: Music, Theatre and Dance
Salary commensurate with experience

Colorado State University is seeking applicants for a full-time professional staff and adjunct professor position to serve as Costume Shop Supervisor in a costume shop that serves all producing units within the Department of Music, Theatre and Dance.

Required Qualifications
• Graduate Degree in Costume or Fashion Design
• Minimum 1-2 years’ work experience in professional or academic costume shop management and demonstrate a familiarity with the pressures and deadlines of an 8+ production-per-calendar-year schedule
• Costume Design experience
• Working knowledge of cutting, sewing techniques, costume crafts, wigs, hair and make-up
• Experience in preparing tasks for and supervising student workers.
• Candidate must be highly-organized, self-motivated, and self-sufficient

To apply, email letter of interest, resume, contact information for three references, and supportive materials to walt.jones@colostate.edu. Limited funds for interviews. Click here for complete job description. Applications will be considered until position is filled; however, applicants should submit applications by June 1, 2012 for full consideration. Start date: July 1, 2012.

CSU is an EO/EA/AA employer and conducts background checks on all final candidates.

What years did you attend CSU?
I went to CSU for my Freshman year of college: Fall of ’98-Spring ’99

Did you start as a theatre major at CSU?
No.  I actually started out just doing gen-ed with the eventual goal of becoming a sound engineer.  Little did I know that CSU didn’t really have a major for that!  But it was during that year that I realized that I wanted to go to school for acting.  I have a lot of great memories from that year! 

What skills that you learned at CSU have carried on in your career today?
My time at CSU was extremely helpful because I was around so many different types of people.  I didn’t have a declared major and was living in the dorms so I was around a lot of people who had different interests than me.  As an actor, I think it’s important to have that kind of variety in your life…to be around people who challenge your points of view and make you think about things differently.

“In the opening credits of the movie ‘Wilde,’ the title ‘Leadville, Colorado,’ pops up,” explained Professor of Theatre Eric Prince. “Wilde toured all over America, he was massively famous.”

Prince is describing the film “Wilde,” a biopic about Oscar Wilde, one of the greatest playwrights of the Victorian Era. Aside from his work and infamous personal life, he is remembered for his touring lecture series in North America. One of his first stops? That’s right, Leadville, Colorado, home to thousands of gold miners in the 1800’s. In the film the opening credits span over the mountainous landscape of Colorado’s highest city, with miners gathering around Wilde, eager to learn about the English gentleman.

Aside from the Oscar Wilde trivia, there are many lessons to be learned about Victorian society from CSU Theatre’s production of The Importance of Being Earnest at the University Center for the Arts in April.

“Besides the beautiful costumes and lovely set, the story is woven together beautifully in its structure. I didn’t realize it was this good, I’ve forgotten how brilliant the dialogue is,” said Prince. “It’s like a verbal opera, the language is the music.”

The story of two men who decide to lead double lives in order to win over the women they love is complicated, but so comical that the plot becomes engrossing.

After dark productions like The Kafka Project and the drama of A Few Good Men, the students involved in the production are looking forward to the switch to comedy. The classic play has also provided a chance for the Earnest cast to focus on movement and diction.

“In this theater program we are really focused on speech and sometimes we lose out on the movement,” said sophomore Tim Garrity, who plays Lady Bracknell in the April production. “The movement we have learned really internalizes the Victorian snobbery.”

The students were visited by Tamara Meneghini, a theater professor at the University of Colorado and an expert in Victorian period styles and movement.

Brenna Otts, a freshman theater major and Cecily in the production, learned how to control her appearance as a society woman did in Victorian England.

“For women, you always stand and hold yourself like someone’s watching you,” said Brenna. “Tamara taught us the customs of the time, and she explained how scandalous it was when a couple would simply hold hands in the Victorian era.”

As for what the actors plan to bring to their respective roles, senior business major Kiernan Angley wants to show the childish side of Jack, the English gentleman who masquerades as Earnest in London when he wants to get away from his life in the country.

“Jack is usually very stiff, but there are moments when he’s childish, when he is trying to escape his life, and I am bringing that silliness to him,” said Kiernan.

Garrity, in the role of the arrogant Lady Bracknell, will play into her high society role while perfecting his inner Victorian.

“In that era, their personal space was like a cylinder around them; they didn’t take any big steps or flail about, and we learned that we need to look at everyone like they have a secret,” said Garrity. “In the end, I want Lady Bracknell to be the most pompous snob.”

After diving into rehearsals one week after the UCA hosted the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, the students have had the chance to compare the theater program at CSU to other programs in the West and Northwest.

“It was interesting to see these schools that were a little more theatrical, whereas we are more natural,” said Angley. “There is stuff that we do here at CSU that they couldn’t even fathom, and it made me really proud to be coming out of this department.”

Garrity thanks the alumni and theatre patrons who made it possible for CSU to host KCACTF.

“KCACTF was a gathering for theatre students to make contacts and learn about theatre,” says Garrity.”Without that extra ‘umph’ and support, we wouldn’t have been able to make the showing that we did. Isaac Newton said that you have to ‘stand on the shoulders of giants,’ and the alumni and supporters are the shoulders of our program.”

Prince acknowledged that the growth of the program has enabled the production of Earnest.

“The Importance of Being Earnest is a real treat. I think we overlook these great period plays because we concentrate on the modern pieces,” said Prince. “They are different plays to produce, but the program has grown, and we have the talent to do it.”

The Importance of Being Earnest runs April 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, 21, 22 in the University Theatre at the UCA. Showtime is 7:30 p.m., all nights. Opening night will be followed by a Meet the Artist Reception.

To buy tickets click here.

Read our current Class Notes submissions, watch videos about the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival hosted by the University Center for the Arts (including scenes from Walt Jones and Company’s The Kafka Project), and read about dance alumnus Katie Swenson ’05.

Theatre Alumni News

Gemma Aguayo-Murphy ’05 is an educator in Denver public schools. She married Matt Murphy (class 0f 2005) in the summer of 2011.

Shannon (Maguire) Walsh ’02 writes “I earned my doctorate in Theatre Historiography from the University of Minnesota in September 2011.”

Theatre News

The CSU theater program hosted the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival Region VII in February. With over 1,700 students from universities from all over the West and the Northwest, the UCA was buzzing with theater conversation. For the fifth consecutive year, students from Colorado State University’s theater program took home major awards at the regional Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (listed below). Watch the videos below to hear firsthand about KCACTF, courtesy of RambleOn.  

The Kafka Project, created by Walt Jones and the Company, was named a regional finalist production and will now compete for a national production award.

Parker Stegmaier (CSU ‘14) won the Theatrical Design Excellence in the Sound Design category for his work on the CSU production of The Kafka Project. He will attend the national conference in April. Parker received a sound design Meritorious Certificate at the 2010 KCACTF regional competition.

Kaylen Higgins (CSU ‘12) won the Theatrical Design Excellence in the Stage Management category for her work on the CSU production of A Few Good Men by Aaron Sorkin. She will also attend the national conference in April.

Nicole Newcomb (CSU ’12) won the Theatrical Design Excellence in the Projection Design category for her work on the CSU production of The Kafka Project, receiving an Allied Arts scholarship to attend the Stagecraft Institute (SCI) of Las Vegas which specializes in hands-on training for cutting-edge, live entertainment technology. She will travel to SCI for a week in March.

Brittany Lealman (CSU ’13) won the Props Allied Design and Technologies S.P.A.M. Award for her work on the CSU production of The Kafka Project, receiving a scholarship to the “2012 United States Institute of Theatre Technology” conference held March 28 – 31, 2012 in Long Beach, Cali.

Taylor Webster (CSU ’12) received a United State Institute of Theatre Technology award.

Alex Ostwald (CSU ’12) received a Lighting Design Meritorious Achievement Award for his work on the CSU production of The Kafka Project.

Based on her NextStep Initiative interview, Rebekah Mustain (CSU ’12) was offered a position as Assistant Stage Manager and Charge Artist for the production of My Fair Lady at the Mt. Baker Theatre in Bellingham, Wash., an eight-week paid professional assignment beginning in August 2012.

Cecilia McNeel (CSU ’12) was offered a summer tech position at Creede Repertory Theatre in Creede, Colo.

Aleisha Mork (CSU ’12) was offered a summer tech position at Creede Repertory Theatre in Creede, Colo.

Hosting KCACTF… a look back

Read the Coloradoan article about “Mump and Smoot,” the guest performance in conjunction with KCACTF.

CSU in the Spotlight – Coloradoan article

Dance Alumni News

Katie Swenson ’05 came back to CSU to teach an advanced modern dance class.

“Even though I am no longer with the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble on a daily basis, I brought some of my ties with the company to class. I touched upon some Horton technique, Dunham technique, some movement from CPRDE repertory, and some of my own choreography.  Within this past year, I saw some of the CSU dancers perform, so I know what beautiful movers they are.  It was exciting to see how they attached themselves to the movement in my class,” said Katie. Read more about Katie here.

Do you remember your Student Dance Concert? Was it challenging? What themes was your chereography based on for the concert? Visit our Facebook page to tell us about your student dance concert!

Senior dance major Cecilia McNeil tell us about the Student Dance Concert in April

I invite you to attend this semester’s Student Dance Concert for a chance to see a different side of our dance program. A CSU dance tradition since 1987, the Student Dance Concert is an opportunity to see a variety of dances choreographed and performed by CSU Dance students. This concert gives both new and experienced choreographers, performers, and designers a valuable production experience.

This performance is unique because it is completely directed, produced, choreographed and designed by Dance and Theatre students. This production gives dance majors a valuable and recurring opportunity to choreograph every semester after their sophomore year. One of the beauties of the choreography in this performance is that it can be done in any style of dance that a student wants to explore. This helps to create a diverse, well received, and exciting production. 

This semester’s concert features the work of Choreography I students under the direction of Professor Judy Bejarano. Using this experience to prepare themselves for the work of their senior capstone project next semester, each student performs a solo of their own creation; you will witness the works of seniors Emma Kimball, Shannon McGee, Cheryl Senser and Brittany Hazel.

 “My piece, which is tentatively titled ‘Continuum’ is an exploration of time from an abstract perspective.  The seven dancers move as both a corps and as individuals in a modern/contemporary style,” explains Kimball. “The choreography has a pedestrian and relaxed feel most of the time with tempo changes and repetitive movement. The music is ‘Cycling Trivialities’ by Jose Gonzales.”

As a former student director of this production I went through the process of putting together choreography and publicity for this performance. It was a wonderful experience that taught me some highly valuable information about dance production. I hope you can come and support these students while enjoying the work that they are doing in the Dance program. This is one performance that you do not want to miss. See you there!

-Cecilia McNeel, senior dance major and technical theatre minor

By Brian Hanlin

The dust has finally settled at the University Center for the Arts (UCA) at Colorado State University, after a busy but successful week hosting the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) Region VII conference February 13 through 17. The week-long event saw more than 1,400 theatre students from nine different states flocking to the CSU’s new state-of-the-art facility. To these students, KCACTF provided an unparalleled glimpse into what is takes to succeed in theatre; providing specifically catered workshops and discussion sessions, allowing them to attend professional presentations, and critiquing their own individual works and abilities.

“Hosting is a great honor,” notes director of theatre Walt Jones. “[Being selected to host] is an investment in those who will be leaders in the future of American Theatre.”

The festival granted the perfect opportunity for CSU’s theatre program to showcase the suitability of its cutting-edge facility, along with its fully-professional theatrical resources.

“It was amazing,” said CSU freshman Lily Aspen. “I loved having ALL theatre, ALL the time.”

“I’ve been to many theatre festivals, but this one, in particular, I will remember as being especially well done” said Philip Kelley, a junior theatre major from the University of Wyoming. “It was really a good overall experience.”

In addition to the aptness of the facility, the creativity and expertise of this year’s performances at the event were inspiring to conference participants. School productions handpicked to be featured in the festival included 14 from the University of Colorado at Boulder, All in the Timing from the University of Portland, US from Western Washington University, and The Kafka Project from CSU.

“US blew my mind!” said theatre major Sean Nill from Sacramento State University. “It taught me to continue to work and move forward in my art—acting takes a lot of time and effort.”

The festival represented a culmination of 18 months of preparation and required a disciplined joint effort between CSU faculty, staff, students and volunteers from the Department of Music, Theatre and Dance. It fell upon Cory Seymour; technical director at the UCA, to spearheaded the event’s coordination.

He described how other schools who have hosted in the past kept relating an almost-doomsday apprehension once CSU had been selected to host in 2012—mostly a result of horror stories from previous festival hosts. Luckily, disciples of the performing arts are accustomed to overcoming anxiety and trouble-shooting—the key being hard work mainly in the planning and preparation process. Close to 100 CSU students aided in the organization and execution of CSU’s hosting duties for the festival, and Seymour commented that it was amazing to see them step up to help run the festival. The “chaos” that can sometimes ensue and the need for intricate organization during these types of events brought students closer together, provided an unparalleled learning experience for those new to the festival and amplified the positive dynamic between students and faculty.

“Overall it was just about keeping our eyes on the prize,” said Seymour. “And in the end, we all succeeded together—as a team; both with our festival participants and with our hosting duties. We showed the total experience of what theatre truly is at CSU.”

The hard work put into the event certainly paid off; with an event that met universal praise from students, faculty, presenters and performers attending the festival. In fact, CSU’s execution and organization during the festival week was so admired that, at the request of KCACTF Region VII officials, the UCA production team will provide a “host template” for subsequent festivals.

“It truly was an extraordinary event, and I was so impressed by the professionalism of our faculty, staff and students,” said Dr. Todd Queen; Music, Theatre and Dance Department Chair. “The week really came off without a hitch, and that was due to the great organizational skills of our theater faculty and staff.”

The festival was not just a learning opportunity for theatre students or a chance for the UCA to show off its organizational aptitude; KCACTF also presents coveted awards to those who distinguish themselves as on the frontline in theatre innovation. CSU’s theatre program scored big with seven students receiving accolades. In addition, The Kafka Project, an original production written by director of theatre Walt Jones and the COMPANY, achieved the honor of becoming a regional finalist production.

“The event gave us “bragging points” to the university, Fort Collins, our region and it places CSU theatre in a national spotlight,” said Jones. “It helped us define what we do, our status and our significance.”

CSU’s KCACTF Winners:

Honored students included Parker Stegmaier, for first place in Theatrical Design Excellence for the Sound Design in The Kafka Project, and Kaylen Higgins, for first place in Theatrical Design Excellence in Stage Management on A Few Good Men, both of whom will be moving on to compete at the national KCACTF conference in Washington D.C. in April.

“The moment they announced my name as the winner, I was completely exhilarated, so much so that I tackled Price Johnston, my adviser,” said Parker Stegmaier. We are a powerful theatre program, and the industry is starting to learn that. I will do everything within my power to represent CSU well in D.C.,” he said.

Additionally, Nicole Newcomb, who received first place in Theatrical Design Excellence in Projection Design for Kafka, was commended with a full scholarship to attend the Stagecraft Institute of Las Vegas; Brittany Lealman was awarded the Props Allied Design and Technologies S.P.A.M. Award for her work on Kafka, which included a scholarship to the United States Institute of Theatre Technology (USITT); Lealman and Taylor Webster were granted the USITT Award, the highest honor given by the institute; Alex Ostwald earned the Lighting Design Meritorious Achievement Award for his work on Kafka; Rebekah Mustain was offered a position as Assistant Stage Manager and Charge Artist for the production of My Fair Lady at the Mt. Baker Theatre in Washington as a result of an interview during KCACTF; Cecilia McNeel and Aleisha Mork both were offered a summer tech position at Creede Repertory Theatre in Creede, Colorado based on their performances at KCACTF; and The Kafka Project was named a regional finalist production and will now compete for a national production award.

The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival is a national theater program, with over 18,000 participants annually, and according to the organization’s website, “[KCACTF] has served as a catalyst in improving the quality of college theatre in the United States.”

Region VII is comprised of nine western states including Alaska, northern Calif., Colo., Idaho, Mont., northern Nev., Ore., Wash. and Wyo. Students from schools in these states convened in Fort Collins to participate in workshops; attend symposia and colloquies and professional presentation; and work with resident artists.

For the fourth year in a row, CSU students will travel to Washington, D.C., April 16 – 21, 2012, to compete at the prestigious Kennedy Center national conference.

Regional Awards

The Kafka Project, created by Walt Jones and the Company, was named a regional finalist production and will now compete for a national production award.

Parker Stegmaier (CSU ‘14) won the Theatrical Design Excellence in the Sound Design category for his work on the CSU production of The Kafka Project. He will attend the national conference in April. Parker received a sound design Meritorious Certificate at the 2010 KCACTF regional competition.

Kaylen Higgins (CSU ‘12) won the Theatrical Design Excellence in the Stage Management category for her work on the CSU production of A Few Good Men by Aaron Sorkin. She will also attend the national conference in April.

Nicole Newcomb (CSU ’12) won the Theatrical Design Excellence in the Projection Design category for her work on the CSU production of The Kafka Project, receiving an Allied Arts scholarship to attend the Stagecraft Institute (SCI) of Las Vegas which specializes in hands-on training for cutting-edge, live entertainment technology. She will travel to SCI for a week in March.

Brittany Lealman (CSU ’13) won the Props Allied Design and Technologies S.P.A.M. Award for her work on the CSU production of The Kafka Project, receiving a scholarship to the “2012 United States Institute of Theatre Technology” conference held March 28 – 31, 2012 in Long Beach, Cali.

Taylor Webster (CSU ’12) received a United State Institute of Theatre Technology award.

Alex Ostwald (CSU ’12) received a Lighting Design Meritorious Achievement Award for his work on the CSU production of The Kafka Project.

Based on her NextStep Initiative interview, Rebekah Mustain (CSU ’12) was offered a position as Assistant Stage Manager and Charge Artist for the production of My Fair Lady at the Mt. Baker Theatre in Bellingham, Wash., an eight-week paid professional assignment beginning in August, 2012.

Cecilia McNeel (CSU ’12) was offered a summer tech position at Creede Repertory Theatre in Creede, Colo.

Aleisha Mork (CSU ’12) was offered a summer tech position at Creede Repertory Theatre in Creede, Colo.

On a February afternoon Colorado State University alumnus Matt Murphy ’06 is walking through the streets of Boston reveling in excitement over his debate student’s performances in the Harvard National Speech and Debate Tournament. The Denver East High School teacher couldn’t be happier as he explains that 12 of his students placed in the national competition. As the head coach of the Denver East Forensics Team (DEFT), he trains speech and debate students in a wide variety of communication styles from humorous interpretation to original oratory. Having lead 200 students to numerous regional and national competitions, Matt was awarded the December 2011 9Teachers Who Care award from Channel 9News.

“I don’t deal with praise very well, but winning the 9Teachers Who Care award was beautiful, and it made me feel appreciated,” says Matt. “Out of 3,000 schools, our program has gone from 230th in the National Forensics League Tournament to 46^th in the nation. These experiences have been really positive and unreal.”

It wasn’t long ago that Matt, who started at Denver East High School as a student teacher, was fresh out of college and tasked with leading the Speech and Debate team based on his degrees in English and theater from CSU.

“It was kind of by accident that I got involved with the Forensics team,” says Matt. “The school said ‘oh, well, your theatre background will be great for the speech part, and your English background would be great for the debate part,’ and it turned out to be one of the hardest things in my life. I was 23 years old and wildly insecure, a first year teacher exemplified.”

That is when Matt decided to emulate one of his favorite professors at CSU, Emeritus Professor of Theatre Morris Burns.

“I would channel Morris Burns on a consistent basis because I loved his empathy and compassion. The man was a total inspiration and continues to be. I would try to do the things he did because I thought that if it worked for me, it must work for my students,” says Matt.

As a senior in high school, Matt was not sure if college was the right fit for him and, unfortunately, he wasn’t given much encouragement.

“In high school there were certain expectations and assumptions that I couldn’t handle a four year institute,” says Matt. “When I got to college, I really didn’t think that I could be successful, but the theater department was a game changer. It was the theater department that really saved me.”

At first Matt turned his back on the theater program, an experience he says shaped how he approaches teaching today.

“I went back to my high school teacher and said that I wasn’t going to be involved in theater at CSU because I had doubts about the program. I’ll never forget that she said ‘if you don’t know that it’s good, then go in there and find out if it’s good, and if it’s not, then it’s your responsibility to make it better.’ The program turned out to be life changing, thoughtful, beautiful, and creative,” says Matt. “Some of the most wonderful individuals that I met came from there. It shows you how you can screw up reality by basing assumptions. That experience plays into how I communicate, direct and teach.”

Matt went on to perform in To Kill a Mockingbird, Waiting for Godot and Every Good Boy Deserves Favor.

“CSU Theatre gives all kids a chance to participate. There is no snobbery, no hierarchy, and it wasn’t elitist. It was small and intimate; I was encouraged to do whatever I had the imagination to do,” says Matt. “I’m Puerto Rican, darker than the ‘average Joe,’ and I was never defined by my color in the theater program. You had people like Morris Burns or Eric Prince who saw your talent and intellect before they saw anything else.”

In addition to his experience in the theater program, Matt also credits Associate Professor of English Education Pamela Coke for keeping tabs on him and his progress at CSU. Even now he has a current connection to the University and the College of Liberal Arts; DEFT’s senior assistant coach Grant Wylie ‘04, a CSU political science and Denver East High School graduate, left the law field to coach the speech and debate students.

Throughout his academic career and into his teaching career, Matt credits CSU for expanding his horizons and getting him to a place where he wants to help other communities.

“The theater program stroked my intellectual curiosity and it made it O.K. to be smart and passionate,” says Matt. “What CSU did was make me realize how the rest of the world is not Fort Collins, how I could leave the University and take the great community that is Fort Collins to different places.”

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Last year, three alumni from the College of Liberal Arts walked away with awards.

GOLD – Graduate of the Last Decade Award: André Heller (BA ’03, Art) Head of Mission, Médecins Sans Frontieres

College of Liberal Arts Distinguished Alumni Award: Jim Sheeler (BA ’90, Technical Journalism) Pultizer Prize winning Journalist

Distinguished Athletics Award: George Seward (BA ’72, Political Science) President, Power Genetics

This year, we would like to nominate an alumnus from the Department of Music, Theatre and Dance. If you know a CSU alumnus who would be a perfect candidate for the Distinguished Alumni Awards, contact MTD Alumni Relations Coordinator Marilyn Bistline at Marilyn.Bistline@colostate.edu by Monday, February 27, 2012.

Find nomination guidelines and deadlines here.

The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival is a national theater program, with over 18,000 participants annually, and according to the organization’s website, “[KCACTF] has served as a catalyst in improving the quality of college theatre in the United States.”

The Region VII conference is comprised of nine western states including Alaska, northern Calif., Colo., Idaho, Mont., northern Nev., Ore., Wash. and Wyo. Students from schools in these states will convene to participate in workshops; attend symposia and colloquies and professional presentation; and work with resident artists. Additionally, they will participate in performance competitions where winners advance to the KCACTF final in Washington, D.C.

In December 2011, productions in each region were adjudicated for selection to compete in the regional festivals. CSU’s new work The Kafka Project, created by Walt Jones and the Company, was selected to compete in February’s conference.

Over 1,400 theatre students will occupy CSU’s University Center for the Arts (UCA) from Feb. 13 – 17. The UCA is a new state-of-the-art facility, completed in 2008, containing five premiere performance venues along with rehearsal and production spaces that make it an ideal location for festival. Additional workshops and symposia take place at the Hilton Fort Collins, which is the official host hotel for the conference.

“Hosting the regional festival this year is a great honor,” says Walt Jones, director of the Division of Theatre and Dance at CSU. “It gives us prominent status among this region’s theatre programs; along with our awards on regional and national levels over the past few years, we are really making our mark.”

Ten years ago, hosting this type of event would have been inconceivable, with separate departments of music, theatre and dance scattered in academic buildings across campus. But CSU’s commitment to investing in the arts through the UCA facility has brought together some of the best faculty, students and resources, creating a new hallmark for arts at CSU, and in the region.

Not only is the UCA a one-of-a-kind facility, but bringing together these departments and resources allows unprecedented collaboration, such as theatre students working with opera productions and dance concerts along with the scenic and costume shops, which are solely dedicated to CSU productions. This unique type of “cross training” fosters an environment that creates Broadway entry-level artists.

“Our facilities and expertise in production definitely put us way ahead of the curve,” says Jones. “This is the face of CSU theatre.”

Photo Credit: Gary Mulcahey

Theatre students at CSU couldn’t be more thrilled to host their regional theatre colleagues at the UCA, as well.

“One of the most important aspects of theatre is collaboration,” notes CSU theatre major Chelsea Case, who participated in the festival last year. “The only way theatre can grow is from new ideas and new interpretations of old ones—we are the future of this field and we are creating new innovations right now.”

“It’s a unique opportunity to showcase our facilities and department here at CSU and also our Fort Collins community,” notes theatre major Willa Bograd.

“It’s one of those amazingly rare chances you get to be totally immersed in art,” reflects theatre major Jeff Garland, who also travelled to the KCACTF last year. “The UCA is going to be flooded with young new voices—which is so significant in shaping the future of American theatre—and this year we get to share the experience with our whole CSU family.”

During the festival, professional Canadian horror-clown duo Mump & Smoot will be the keynote presenters. In addition to performing their own shows at the UCA on Feb. 18 at 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 19 at 2 p.m., the duo will provide instruction and presentations, encouraging students in reacting to their environment along with exploration in creativity—tools used in their full-length clown courses.

“We’re looking forward to seeing the kind of theatre the next generation of artists is doing and where they take it,” Mump and Smoot agree.

For a full performance and event calendar, more information, and to sign up for a free event e-newsletter, visit www.CSUSchooloftheArts.com.

I never thought of Franz Kafka as a particularly funny guy — until I saw him through Walt Jones’s eyes, that is.

The CSU Co-director of the Division of Dance and Theatre’s sampling of some of Kafka’s works makes the writer not only funny but also accessible, a feat for anyone who’s tackled some of Kafka’s more bizarre stories.

Jones’s “Chrysalis: The Kafka Project” is a sampling of writings, including six of Kafka’s major works and entries from his diaries and letters.

Read the full story (pdf)

The Kafka Project, written by Theatre Director Walt Jones, is a perfect example of the collaboration that is characteristic of the department. Assistant Professor of Composition and Music Theory James David composed three movements for The Kafka Project. The complete work, performed by Assistant Professor of Jazz Studies Peter Sommer, is a concerto for saxophone meant to capture the elusive nature of Kafka’s stories.

“Walt Jones approached me about collaborating with the theatre area. When he mentioned that he was interested in directing a piece inspired by Kafka, I was immediately excited at the chance to take on some of my favorite short stories. Many of my previous works are inspired by literary works, so it was a natural fit,” says David.

The Kafka Project is a collectively-created sampling of Kafka’s bizarre world of works. The project features staging of six major works along with entries from his diaries and letters; all centered around his most famous work, The Metamorphosis.

“Kafka’s work is mysterious, hard to crack, challenging and compelling — full of contradictions,” notes writer and director of The Kafka Project, Walt Jones. “His writing, while not ‘theatre,’ per se, is very theatrical.”

A Hunger Artist is a first-person monologue by a man who, as a side-show act, is starving himself to death. In A Report to an Academy, an ape tells a group of scientists why he chose to become a man. The story In the Penal Colony describes the last use of an elaborate torture and execution device that carves the sentence of the condemned prisoner on his skin in a script before letting him die, all in the course of twelve hours.

The centerpiece of this haunting evening, presented in five installments throughout the piece, The Metamorphosis, follows the six-legged nightmare of traveling salesman, Gregor Samsa, who awakens one morning to discover he has been transformed into a giant bug.

The work written by David for The Kafka Project is cast in three movements with each representing a particular character from Kafka’s output. The central movement, scored for a trio of saxophone, cello, and an electronic harp, centers around A Hunger Artist whose torture is heard in microtonal clouds of distorted sounds. The final movement is based on Kafka’s most famous character: Gregor Samsa from The Metamorphosis. Here, the transformed man’s psyche is heard through the increasingly chaotic dance rhythms of his new insect legs.

“The ‘humanity’ of the jazz tenor saxophone combined with the clarity of a chamber orchestra and the harsh expansiveness of digital sounds seemed to somehow complement the enigmatic nature of these stories,” says David. “It is my hope that the work will be perceived as an unusual, but satisfactory solution to an extremely rewarding challenge.”

12-month, Full-Time Position

College:   College of Liberal Arts; Department: Music, Theatre and Dance

Salary:  Commensurate with Experience

Essential Responsibilities/Duties: Works in concert with the Producing Technical Director with all scene shop assignments and scheduling of work tasks associated with the building of scenery, props, masking, flattage as well as load-in and strike of all productions. Acts as head of scene shop, coordinating construction schedules to meet production deadlines; guides, organizes and supervises the student workers and scene shop techs to meet deadlines set by production staff; secures approval from directors and designers for changes in the construction, assembly, and setting of stage materials and costumes; purchases materials for set construction; approves expenditures for equipment and materials; coordinates with outside vendors; keeps records regarding expenditures; reads blueprints and creates scale-working drawings of set designs, and other duties as assigned by the Producing Technical Director.

Click here for full description and application instructions.

Porter was a member of the National Cathedral Choir and graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in Washington D.C in 1948. In 1952, he received his Bachelor of Arts from Brown University, where he was a member and soloist with the University Glee Club and a founding member of the Jabberwocks. While at Brown, he also met his future wife, Gail Erickson of Edgewood, Rhode Island.

While Gail completed college, Porter taught at the Cambridge School in Weston, Massachusetts. They married on June 12, 1954. The summer of their wedding, he and Gail moved cross-country to Salem, Oregon, where Porter explored careers and worked on his Master of Arts in English Literature at the University of Oregon. During these years and subsequently he continued to sing, often joining in with choirs of various faiths.

On a friend’s advice he applied to Yale University (School of Drama) which accepted him to work on a Doctorate in Fine Arts, playwriting and directing. In 1961, the couple left for Yale, with son Timothy and daughter Katherine in the back of a VW bug. (It was tight.) Having no car radio, they sang the entire way to the east coast. This family tradition, which Porter and Gail began on their honeymoon, continued throughout the years. Following his graduation from Yale, Porter, now with third child Constance, taught English and directed plays, and next at Grinnell College in Iowa, where he headed the theatre department.

Porter Woods came to the Colorado State University Theatre in August of 1970 and for the next 28 years engaged in an active career teaching, directing, playwriting and serving as Director of Theatre for a number of those years. His first production, designed by Robert Braddy, was A Streetcar Named Desire. During his CSU years, Porter directed more than 60 productions, his last at CSU Six Degrees of Separation in 1998, performed to a full house almost every night during a two-week run in the spring.

“It really was an enjoyable night at the theater,” Woods said in a 1998 Coloradoan article announcing his retirement from CSU. “And it is officially my last performance.”

He was a Visiting Professor in the Department of Foreign Languages at the National Taiwan University, Taiwan, R.O.C. in the fall of 1988. In the academic year 1984-85 he was a Fulbright Lecturer at the National Taiwan University. In the fall of 1980, he was a faculty member of the University of Colorado’s Semester-at-Sea Program. He was the author of two books, Experiencing Theatre and Teacher as Actor which he co-authored with colleague, Morris Burns. Porter and Morris gave workshops on the subject of the “teacher as actor” on campuses throughout the country. Porter had a penchant for seeing new ways to direct classic plays an example was his production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth set in Central America where the actors began the performance in Spanish and slowly made their way into English. He was equally at home directing plays, musicals and operas. Two of his own plays, Blodgett and Night Nurse were staged at CSU during Porter’s tenure.

Porter also guided many students enabling them to achieve their hopes. Academe was his fulfillment, and the 28-years of work and collaboration at CSU with Robert Braddy and Morris Burns were extremely rewarding. Together, they nurtured and enriched theatre in Ft. Collins for keeps.

Beneath all of these facts is the soul of a caring and reassured artist and teacher, a teacher who had the most empathy and sensitive feeling for the most vulnerable of students. He and Gail came to the assistance of many of these young people down through the years. “Porter and Gail have been such steadfast and wonderful friends to the artistic community in Fort Collins and at CSU,” said Walt Jones, assistant chair of the Department of Music Theatre and Dance at CSU. “His wit and humor, his intelligence and compassion were matched only by the size of his talent and heart. Although I only arrived at CSU in 2006 and never had an opportunity to work with Porter, he laid out such a careful road map for our theatre program at CSU, that following Porter’s map has been easy. Porter will be missed.”

There will be a celebration in honor of Porter hosted by Bas Bleu Theatre Company on Tuesday, August 16 at 5:30 pm. This will be a festive celebration for those friends, patrons, students, and colleagues who shared Porter’s passion for theatre.

A memorial service will be at Plymouth Congregational Church, Fort Collins at 2 p.m. August 17. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the College of Liberal Arts Memorial Fund to help establish a scholarship in Porter’s name. Please send checks, made payable to CSU Foundation, to CSU Theatre at 1778 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1778.

Porter is survived by his wife, Gail, three children, and six grandchildren and over 500 alumni of the theatre program.

Shakespearean purists may look in disbelief, but avid theatergoers just may be delighted with directors Walt Jones’ and Megan Guidarelli’s take on William Shakespeare’s classic comedy, “Twelfth Night,” as presented by the Colorado State University’s School of the Art.

Currently playing at the University Center for the Arts, the production is a delight from the first stormy ship-wrecking scene. While strong, the set, staging and lighting initially lulls the audience into believing that what is to come might be just another production of Shakespeare. Not so.

Characters – all women – soon fill the stage. In Shakespeare’s time, all roles were traditionally played by men. The tables are now turned, with women playing all the roles in the gender-bending twist of theatrics.

The situation is doubly challenging, as the play itself is about a woman masquerading as a man.

Click here to read the full story.

The ninth annual ceremony, hosted by Student Leadership, Involvement and Community Engagement (SLICE), is an opportunity to present awards and recognition for outstanding achievement in 5 areas: organizational performance, marketing, programming, leadership and service, and advising.

This is the first SOAR award for this relatively new organization and both the members and leaders are ecstatic about the recognition.

The Young Producers Organization (YPO) is a Colorado State University student organization that promotes student involvement and education in theatre, while being a fun and safe place for new students to make friends and begin their growth as artists.

YPO produces around seven student-run productions each school year, giving students hands-on experience in theatrical work. Students direct, act, and design in a flexible and experimental environment; limits are often pushed as YPO considers itself a “safe place for failure.” These popular productions run two or three nights in the University Center for the Arts’ Large Acting Lab. The space seats fifty audience members and shows are free – show up early as YPO shows are sell-out hits!

Beyond annual productions, YPO hosts an educational workshop series, building upon standard classroom lessons and skills in preparation for the “real world.” YPO also runs a weekly play-reading group, reading fifteen plays over the course of the semester, spanning the classics to new works, and even work-shopping student pieces.

To provide additional performance opportunities, YPO presents a cabaret night each semester where CSU students, regardless of their major, may submit a five-minute act. The sold-out spring show featured musical acts, stand-up comedians, a monologue, and a very talented impersonator.

YPO provides student representation to the theatre faculty, and the strong bond between the Theatre Program and the organization has lead to YPO assisting with special events and senior students’ capstone projects.

In the coming years, the Young Producers Organization hopes to continue its growth and prominence in the campus and Front Range communities. In a bold move away from college theatre, YPO is venturing into children’s theatre with The Little Prince, coming this fall.

The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) is a national theater program with over 18,000 participants annually, and serves as a catalyst to improve the quality of college theater in the United States.

According to the KCACTF website, “The purpose of the Barbizon Awards for Theatrical Design Excellence is to provide student designers with feedback from professionals working in the field; to give outstanding student designers national recognition; and to provide the opportunity for student designers to exhibit their work at the Kennedy Center. Designs will be appraised on the basis of quality, effectiveness, originality, and rendering techniques.”

The national level award includes full tuition and expenses paid to attend the Stagecraft Institute of Las Vegas, specializing in hands-on training for cutting-edge, live entertainment technology, as well as a paid trip to the Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space, the world’s largest performance design event, held June 16-26, 2011 in the Czech Republic.

The competition in DC was a week-long submersion in theatrical design. “We brainstormed, implemented, and talked design and theater from 8 a.m. to midnight daily,” said Gray. For the final round of competition, interpretations of the same scene from Naomi Iizuka’s Language of Angels were designed and presented by all eight finalists. “Winning was a completely unexpected surprise,” said Gray, “There were many talented people there.”

Gray became eligible for the national contest by winning Best Lighting Design for her design for the CSU production of Polaroid Stories by Naomi Iizuka at the regional Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, held in Arcata, Cali. Feb. 14 – 18, 2011.

“Polaroid Stories was one of my favorite projects as a student because it gave me more creative freedom than any other design I’d taken on,” said Gray. “My goal was to make the lighting an experience – not an unnoticeable element – for the audience and performers as well.” Gray also received a sound design award at the 2009 KCACTF regional competition.

Senior Luke Peckinpaugh (CSU ’11) also competed at the national festival. Peckinpaugh won the coveted Irene Ryan Acting Award out of 408 actors, at the 2011 Regional KCACTF. His competition partner was Jeff Garland (CSU ’12).

“Our students represent the future of American theatre and we are always very proud to share their talents with the nation at the Kennedy Center,” said Walt Jones, director of theatre at CSU. “We have sent regional winners to the national competition for the last four years, which is as rewarding for us as it is for them. When a student wins, it makes it all the sweeter.”

Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival 2012
Colorado State University will host the 2012 regional KCACTF on Feb. 13 – 18. Over 1,200 participants are expected to attend the weeklong event being held at the University Center for the Arts and the Hilton Hotel.

The audience files in, seeing a mysterious figure center stage sitting perfectly still underneath a white sheet. This figure remains unmoving for a full 20 minutes before the stage lights go down.

Blue light filters through missing window panes from above, slightly illuminating the figure as well as another sheet covering a rectangular structure.

Michael Toland, who plays Clov in CSU’s production of Samuel Beckett’s “Endgame,” enters the room, hunched over and humming to himself.

“Endgame” takes place in a post-apocalyptic world.  The house, where Clov is a servant to Hamm, played by Tim Garrity, sits on a beach where nothing else remains except for a grey sky, a grey sea and a grey earth.

Clov whips off one of the sheets revealing two trashcans, making a small cloud of dust fly into the air. These two trashcans are the homes of Nagg and Nell, Hamm’s elderly and legless parents, played by Tony Vessels and Kelly Oury, respectively.
Garrity, Oury and Vessels remain in the same positions for the entirety of the play. Toland is the only person on stage with the ability to walk, but not to sit.

This contradiction, and many others, is what embody Absurdist Theatre such as “Endgame.”

Read the full article: Rocky Mountain Collegian, 04.21.2011

Endgame is usually known as a series of moves at the end of a chess game. Samuel Beckett’s play “Endgame” portrays characters with hopeless circumstances and uses cynical comedy to ease the pain of loneliness that we all feel. Like chess, someone has to lose in life.

Tonight at 8 p.m. is the opening performance of CSU’s production of “Endgame” at the University Theatre in the University Center for the Arts.

“Endgame” takes place in the home of Hamm, played by freshman theater major Tim Garrity. Hamm cannot see or stand and must be served by Clov, played by junior theater and history major, Michael Toland.

Clov does not have the ability to sit. This gives him a hunched appearance, which proved to be an acting challenge, Toland said. However, Toland leapt at the chance to become a part of “Endgame” for its strange qualities.

“Part of being an actor is versatility,” Toland said. “I wanted to strengthen my absurdist theater and my Beckett muscles.”

Nagg, Hamm’s father, is played by sophomore theater and family and consumer sciences major, Tony Vessels.

Both Nagg and Nell, Hamm’s mother, are confined to living in trashcans because they do not have legs.

Hamm’s parents are elderly and continually complain for food, to Hamm and Clov’s dismay.

Nell is played by junior theater major Kelly Oury, who also came across acting challenges with her character. An actor can usually depend on motion by walking around the stage, Oury said. She, however, does not have that option.

“My whole time on stage is in a trash can, and all you can see are the tops of my hands and my face. I’m stuck with voice inflection and facial expression,” Oury said.

This production is directed by Dr. Eric Prince, who is not only a professor of theater at CSU but also the director of CSU’s Center for Studies in Beckett and Performance.

“I believe Beckett to be one of the very greatest writers of all time, and I’m personally so glad he turned away from his novels to write some powerful, enduring plays like ‘Endgame,’” Prince said in an e-mail to the Collegian. “I think our audiences will be impressed at the sheer quality of this production and its high professional standards.”

The Center for Studies in Beckett and Performance was established at CSU in 2002 and is the only one of its kind in the U.S. and Europe, according to Prince. Its purpose is to promote the creations of Beckett as well as new productions that challenge contemporary theater.

Tickets can be purchased at csuartstickets.com.

Staff writer Lianna Salva can be reached at verve@collegian.com.

Article by Samantha Baker, The Rocky Mountain Collegian

Imagine having just one month to prepare for a world-premier play that could make or break your collegiate career. Now imagine doing this and never meeting the person who wrote the script.

Senior theatre major Holly Marks knows all about this.“I liked the idea of doing a script that had never been done before,” said Marks, who directed “TA-DA!”, a play written by New York University freshman dramatic writing major Ken Greller.

The play is premiering tonight and playing Saturday at 8 p.m. in the Second Floor Large Acting Lab at the University Center for the Arts. “When I read it I just knew I wanted to do it,” Marks said.

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Image: Photo by Erin Eastburn, Collegian – Freshman Tim Werth plays the son of two punk rockers looking to start a normal family in the production “TA-DA!”

The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival is a national theater program, with over 18,000 participants annually, and according to the organization’s website, “[KCACTF] has served as a catalyst in improving the quality of college theater in the United States.”

Faculty and students representing the department traveled to Humboldt State University last week for the annual conference, winning six awards in five categories – the most of any university in the seven stage region.

For the third year in a row, CSU students will return to Washington, D.C. in April to compete at the prestigious Kennedy Center national conference; three students were invited to the competition, besting CSU’s record set in the 2009.

Award Recipients

Luke Peckinpaugh (CSU ’11) won the coveted Irene Ryan Acting Award out of 408 actors, and an invitation to attend the Kennedy Center national conference competition. Luke won regional nominations from CSU productions of All My Sons by Arthur Miller (Joe Keller), and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Dale Wasserman, adapted from the novel by Ken Kesey (Randal Patrick Murphy). Luke did scenes from Lone Star by Jim McLure, and A Prayer for My Daughter by Thomas Babe, as well as a startling monologue from Utopian Highway by Chuck Mee. Luke is a great nephew of film director Sam Peckinpah.

Luke’s competition partner was Jeff Garland (CSU ’12), who will also attend the national conference.

Meghan Gray (CSU ‘10) won Best Lighting Design for her design for the CSU production of Polaroid Stories by Naomi Iizuka. She will attend the national conference in April. Meghan received a sound design award at the 2009 KCACTF.

Scott Sharp (CSU ’11) won the Mark Twain Award for Comedy with a scene from Fubar by Karl Gadjusek, a scene from The Scene by Theresa Reebeck, and a monologue “Sigmund Fraud” which he wrote. Scott’s partner was Willa Bograd (CSU ’14).

Parker Stegmaier (CSU ’13) won a Meritorious Certificate for his sound design for the CSU production of Dog Sees God, by Bert V. Royal.

Seth Walter (CSU ’10) won a Meritorious Certificate for his stage management of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

Meghan Connor (CSU ’13) won a callback to a prestigious Bay Area Shakespeare Festival.

“Not a bad week for CSU Theatre,” exclaimed Walt Jones, co-director of the CSU Division of Theatre and Dance.

Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival 2012

Colorado State University will host the 2012 regional KCACTF on Feb. 13 – 18. Over 1,200 participants are expected to attend the weeklong event being held at the University Center for the Arts and the Hilton Hotel.

Image 1: Seth Walter, Scott Sharp, Willa Bograd, Jeff Garland, Parker Stegmaier, Meghan Gray, Luke Peckinpaugh

02.02.2011 – This week at the University Center for the Arts, audiences will get the unique opportunity to see two main stage productions performed by the Theatre Department: “bash,” which premiered Monday night and “Some Girl(s),” which premiers tonight at 8 p.m.

In place of the customary single play, these two plays will give the student actors more opportunities, said Walt Jones, the director of both productions.

Both plays were written within the last 10 years by acclaimed writer and director Neil LaBute.

“LaBute is very prolific, and he’s willing to paint the purest picture of what people are capable of,” Jones said. “He’s relentless.”

Some New York critics have named LaBute one of today’s best writers, Jones said.

Read full article.

Image: Photo by Erin Eastburn, Collegian – Sophomore performing arts major Sophia Guerrero Murphy acts out a middle-aged woman, telling about her past as an impressionable 13 year-old in the dramatic play Medea Redux.

Ben Wasser, right, and Luke Peckinpaugh, left, rehearse Wednesday night in the University Theatre at the University Center for the Arts. Peckinpaugh and Wasser play father and son in the CSU Theatre production “All My Sons,” which opens tonight at 8.

It’s a parent’s duty to teach his or her children everything they can about surviving in the real world. This includes honesty.

But sometimes it’s the child that teaches the parent a thing about life.

Read the entire Collegian article.

Image by Chase Baker, Collegian

Those who walk into the University Center for the Arts’ Studio Theatre this weekend will be treated to an hour of paranoid monologues, spooky revelations and plot twists befitting an M. Night Shyamalan movie.

“Three Short Plays/Three Short Shocks” is the brainchild of director and CSU theater professor Eric Prince. As the title infers, each of the plays is short – averaging about 12 to 15 minutes – and each delivers a dramatic shock at the end that will spin audiences’ heads.

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Date: Thursday, November 11, Friday, November 12, and Saturday, November 13, 2010
Time: 8 p.m.
Location: Studio Theatre, University Center for the Arts
Ticket Price: $9/CSU students, $18/public.
Advance purchase is highly recommended to avoid at-the-door ticket fees.
Buy Tickets

10.13.2010 – One hour to curtain call.

Backstage, Roger Miller walks along the pitch-black path lined on one side by curtains and on the other by shelves. Mumbling a to-do list under his breath, he skillfully makes his way through the darkness to a table.

“I start to feel the anticipation, and I get into my own head and think: ‘I have to do this. I have to do that,’” said Miller, who plays the lead role in the CSU theatre department’s first play of the year, “Dog Sees God: Confessions of A Teenage Blockhead.”

He picks up a pack of fake cigarettes that sits next to a rum bottle filled with iced tea.

Hardly the props expected to be in a play inspired by the 1960s classic comic strip “Peanuts.”

The play puts Charles M. Shultz’s beloved characters in high school where they are dealing with death, drugs, sex and plenty of problems bigger than missing a football.

Read full article.

Image: Photo by Samantha Baker, Collegian

How long has it been since you read Shakespeare’s classic tale of love and loss, “Romeo and Juliet?”

Most of us remember what happens when a young boy and girl from warring families fall in love. Now is the time to refresh those memories and clarify what transpires.

CSU’s Theatre Department has been providing summer productions outside for many years, always concerned about what part Colorado’s unpredictable weather might play. When several outdoor productions were cancelled last summer, the wise decision was made to move the Shakespeare at Sunset Series indoors this year.

A rainstorm ran through Northern Colorado on Friday evening, thoroughly drenching the lawns and gardens around the University’s Theatre for the Arts. Inside, however, the situation was completely under control; there was neither rain nor wind, and the theater itself was welcoming with comfortable seats, an unobstructed view of the stage and no need to wear a jacket.

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At 21, Bryan Connolly decided to run away and join the circus.

Well, the National Circus School, anyway.

In February, the CSU junior attended tryouts for the famed Montreal performing arts academy, and while he found he still has some learning to do, the experience cemented his feelings that a life of knife juggling and fire breathing was the life for him.

“I started juggling when I was 15 – honestly, I was just bored one summer,” said Connolly, who learned basic juggling from his mom and then later met famed juggler Jon Wee of the Passing Zone, who juggles slightly more dangerous items, such as running chainsaws. “He taught me a lot and introduced me to the juggling community in Boulder.”

Soon juggling led to hand balancing and then juggling fire and then eating and breathing fire; he was hooked.

Read the rest of the story.

Fried, who won “Best Actor” in the Irene Ryan Acting Competition at the KCACTF regional competition in February, was awarded a $5,000 scholarship and a year-long apprenticeship to the Actor’s Theatre of Louisville (Ky.).

Cummings, who participated as Fried’s dialogue partner, won a summer apprenticeship with The Orchard Project at the Catskill Mountain Foundation.

According to the website, “Started in 1969 by Roger L. Stevens, the Kennedy Center’s founding chairman, the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) is a national theater program involving 18,000 students from colleges and universities nationwide which has served as a catalyst in improving the quality of college theater in the United States.”

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The School of the Arts at Colorado State University provides an enriched venue in which the study and practice of Art, Dance, Music and Theatre are nurtured and sustained by building the skills and knowledge needed by future generations of arts professionals to become contributors to the essential vitality of our culture and society. For more information, visit www.CSUSchooloftheArts.com.

The Colorado State University Alumni Association and its affiliate student group, the Student Alumni Connection, recognize outstanding Colorado State University educators each year with Best Teacher Awards.

“The Best Teacher Awards program provides a unique opportunity for students to express their appreciation for those who have positively impacted their academic and personal lives,” said Rebecca Lang, Student Alumni Connection past president. Six teachers honored this year

Six teachers are being honored this year including Jolyon T. “JT” Hughes, Siu Au Lee, Gideon Markman, Nathan “Cory” Seymour, Barbara Thiem and Melissa Wdowik.

The Department of Music, Theatre, and Dance is honored to have Cory Seymour, Professor of Stage Management and Stagecraft, and Barbara Thiem, Special Assistant Professor of Cello and Chamber Music as recipients.

Nathan “Cory” Seymour is a professor of Stage Management and Stagecraft in the Division of Dance and Theatre in the College of Liberal Arts. After world tours as an electrician with Alvin Ailey American Dance Company, Seymour worked in New York from 1990 to 1999 on several major Broadway shows as an electrician and props crew head, including “The Who’s Tommy,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Barrymore,” “Sunset Boulevard,” “Titanic” and “Phantom of the Opera.”

Seymour was prop shop foreman with the Denver Center of Performing Arts from 1999 until he joined CSU’s theatre faculty as shop foreman in 2003. Seymour is now technical director of the School of Music, Theatre and Dance, instructs design fundamentals, stage management, production management and technical theatre, and has been involved in major theatre productions, and many dance and opera productions.

“My favorite part about being in his stage management class was that Mr. Seymour ‘walked the walk and talked the talk’,” said Christina Fontana (senior), one of Seymour’s students. “He taught us leadership by being a leader in class discussions, he taught us organization by his detailed structure of the class, and he taught us the importance of balancing patience, guidance, and delegating when stage managing a production, by doing so in the classroom.”

Barbara Thiem is a special assistant professor of cello and chamber music and an artist-in-residence in the Department of Music in the College of Liberal Arts. Thiem is an internationally acclaimed cellist who combines teaching cello and coaching chamber music with her active schedule of performances in Europe and the United States, playing recitals, solo with orchestra and chamber music. She is a member of the Mendelssohn Trio and in the summers administers the International Summer Academy of Schloss Ort, Austria.

Thiem has recorded for many radio stations and has produced several recordings. She has published the translation of Gerhard Mantel’s Cello Technique as well as a number of articles on good postural and practicing habits which appeared in the ASTA and Suzuki journals. She has also been involved in research as part of the Center for Biomedical Research in Music Therapy at CSU.

“Barbara Thiem is a very talented cellist and amazing at teaching students how to be great cellists as well,” said A.J. Bush (junior), a student of Thiem. “I enjoy the way she challenges us to be the best we can be and pushes us to reach for our goals. She is also very encouraging and inspiring. She gives us so many different learning opportunities such as studying with other cellists and getting to play in special ensembles.”

Read about the other four recipients.

The nominees are:

Nathan “Cory” Seymour, Professor of Stage Management and Stagecraft (CSU Theatre & Dance Technical Director). For more about Mr. Seymour, click here.

Barbara Thiem, Special Assistant Professor of Cello and Chamber Music. For more about Ms. Thiem, click here.

About the awards

The Colorado State University Alumni Association and its affiliate student group, the Student Alumni Connection, recognize outstanding Colorado State University educators each year with Best Teacher Awards.

The teachers are nominated by students and alumni and are selected by a committee comprised of members of the Alumni Association Board of Directors and Student Alumni Connection Leadership Council.

Faculty and students representing the department traveled to the University of Nevada Feb. 15 – 19 for the annual conference, and won awards in several categories (pictured left to right):

• Meghan Gray (‘10) for Sound Design
• Deidre Raph (‘13) for Dramatic Literature and Research in Dramaturgy
• Christina Fontana (‘10) for Stage Management
• Sean Cummings (‘12) for Playwriting

For the second year in a row, CSU students will return to Washington, D.C. in April to compete at the prestigious Kennedy Center national conference.

Additionally, Colorado State University has accepted the invitation to host the 2012 regional KCACTF; over 1,200 participants are expected to attend.

According to the KCACTF website, “Started in 1969 by Roger L. Stevens, the Kennedy Center’s founding chairman, the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) is a national theater program involving 18,000 students from colleges and universities nationwide which has served as a catalyst in improving the quality of college theater in the United States.”

Coloradoan 03.15.10

According to the Pee-wee Herman website, “Many of the show’s original artists, both on stage and behind the scenes are involved in this re-imagined production.” Johnson worked with scenic designer David Korins, in collaboration with the influential artist and designer of both the original stage production, as well as CBS’s Pee-wee’s Playhouse, Gary Panter.

The playhouse is still so beautiful!  It’s like what the board game Candy Land would be if it were a house. You’ve always had incredible taste, Pee-wee, and scenic designer David Korins captures the old kitschy magic,” said theatre critic Charles McNulty in a review posted on the Los Angeles Times website on January 21, 2010.

Club Nokia, a multi-use music, entertainment and concert venue, located in the heart of the acclaimed LA Live Complex, accommodates over 2,300 guests. Featuring state-of-the-art acoustics designed for live entertainment…the theatre brings the latest technology to music enthusiasts including an innovative interactive experience embedded in foot-controlled floor interfaces, touch screens, and a large LED installation within the lobby of the Club Nokia space. Club Nokia was awarded the “Best New Major Concert Venue” at the 2009 20th annual Pollstar Concert Industry Awards.

About Price Johnson

Price Johnston’s career in design has spanned theatre, dance and opera in both the U.S. and abroad. With work in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Moscow, Athens (Greece), London, Atlanta, St. Petersburg (Russia), and Denver, he has designed over 130 productions. His credits include the World Premiere of Jomandi Productions – Lavender Lizards Lilac Landmines: Layla’s Dream by Tony nominated playwright Ntozake Shange (14th Street Playhouse – Atlanta, GA and the 2004 National Black Theatre Festival), Guys & Dolls (2000 British Tour), and the World Premieres of Huckleberry Finn: The Musical, and A Southern Christmas Carol (Cotton Hall Theatre), written by award winning playwright/director Rob Lauer. In addition to the Pee-wee Herman Show, Johnston’s recent work includes Janis Brenner’s Lost/Found/Lost (Isadora Duncan International Dance Festival – Kransnoyarsk – Russia), The 2008 Jeff Award Winning Production of 1776 (Chopin Theatre – Chicago), Lighting Supervisor for the International Touring Company – David Dorfman Dance: Underground. Johnston holds a Masters of Fine Arts in Lighting Design from the University of Florida and a Bachelors Degree in Theatrical Design from Mesa State College in Colorado.

Image: Sean Cummings in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Photo by John Eisele, Spring 2010.