What's New - Department of Theatre & Dance

 
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Interaction Design Installation

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Please stop by and see Professor Joan Karlen's "Interaction Design Installation", which is a result of her sabbatical research. The installation is located in the Carlsten Gallery and will be open Monday-Friday from 10-4 May 21-29 (building is closed weekends and on Memorial Day)

Dance 496 Students Present Camera Dances

​Department of Theatre & Dance students in Dance 496 will present five original camera dances on May 14 at 5:15 p.m. in room 221 of the Noel Fine Arts Center, 1800 Portage Street.

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Dances presented:

In the Garden (6:26) - Kayla Dziak, Director
The Way Things Change (5:04) - Ellen Petersen, Director
The Chase (9:02) - Emma Fitzsimmons, Director
Freight (8:22) - Hannah Carlson, Director
Everyday Problems of the Everyday Child (9:58) - Kristin Brockman, Director
"The Producers" Staged at UW-Stevens Point

​The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Department of Theatre and Dance will stage one of its most ambitious productions to date as it brings the musical comedy “The Producers” to audiences May 3–5 and 8–10.

“The Producers” will be performed in Jenkins Theatre in the Noel Fine Arts Center, 1800 Portage St., at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, May 3 and 4, and Wednesday through Friday, May 8–10. A 2 p.m. matinee will be performed Sunday, May 5.
Admission is $17 for adults, $16 for senior citizens and $12 for students. Tickets are available at the Information and Tickets Office in the Dreyfus University Center, http://tickets.uwsp.edu, or by calling 715-346-4100 or 800-838-3378.
Based on a film written by Mel Brooks, the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical tells the story of a down-on-his-luck producer, Max Bialystock (played by Nick Wheeler, Moorhead, Minn.), and his mild-mannered accountant, Leo Bloom (played by John Ford-Dunker, Fargo, N.D.), as they try to cheat all their backers out of millions by producing a show, “Springtime for Hitler,” as the most notorious flop in Broadway history. There’s only one problem—the show becomes a smash hit.
“The show is Mel Brook’s love letter to old Broadway,” says its director, Alan Patrick Kenny, assistant professor at UW-Stevens Point. “It’s a throwback to the golden age of musicals. We are bringing that vision to life, making it the biggest show I’ve ever directed.”
Consider: The production uses about 500 props, 1,000 light bulbs and a dozen different old-school wagon and scenic units created under the leadership of set designer Greg Kaye, an assistant professor of theatre. Costume designer and assistant professor Sandy Childers and her student crew are putting together 250 costumes for a cast of 25, some with several characters and multiple costume changes.
A 14-member orchestra will perform songs, including “Springtime for Hitler” and “King of Broadway,” with students’ dance choreography by Jeannie Hill, associate professor of dance.
With its unusual characters, songs and unlikely “bromance” between the two anti-heroes, “each scene is like visiting a zoo exhibit,” said Kenny. “The fun for the audience is observing each of the crazy characters in their natural habitats. The show is full of constant surprises.”
Colleges Collaborate to Present "Deaf Jam"

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This UWSP screening of Judy Lieff's documentary Deaf Jam  came about as a result of Associate Professor of Dance Jeannie Hill's research into deaf culture for her new dance work which considers sound and silence.  Hill sought out UWSP interpreter Beth Krolikowski to advise and collaborate with her on the project and learn more about the deaf culture in our community.  With support from the sign language club we hope to gather interested poets, dancers, musicians, filmmakers,  hearing and deaf university and community members to enjoy the documentary.  Thanks to the generous support from the Department of Theatre & Dance UWSP will also own a permanent copy of the documentary in our library when it becomes available this summer. 
 
April 6, 2013
NFAC 221
Hosted by UWSP Theatre & Dance and the UWSP Sign Language Club
Opening comments and post-film discussion will be led by Professor Jeannie Hill and sign language club president Danae Jaslow and interpreted by Beth Krolikowski.
 
Hill's dance, “Listening In" will be performed on Danstage 2013, an evening of dynamic and original dance by faculty and guest choreographers April 12-14 and April 17-20 in the Noel Fine Arts Center Studio Theatre at UWSP. 
 
Communicating through gesture, body percussion, sign language, and tap the danced quartet unveils universal feelings about being understood. Inspired by the artistry of percussionist Evelyn Glennie, Hill invites the dancers to listen in new ways, to feel vibrations inside and outside of their bodies and to become fully sensitized by the desire to touch sound.
UW-Stevens Point to host night of original dance

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Staged for the first time “in the round,” allowing audience members on four sides to see dance unfold on multiple fronts, Danstage 2013 is a night of original choreography at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

The production will be held April 12-14 and 17-20 in the Noel Fine Arts Center Studio Theatre by the UW-Stevens Point Department of Theatre and Dance, featuring new work by guest artist Melinda Jean Myers as well as new pieces by Professor Joan Karlen, Associate Professor Jeannie Hill and Associate Professor Michael Estanich.
Performances begin Friday, April 12, at 7:30 p.m., and follow at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 13; Wednesday, April 17; Thursday, April 18; Friday, April 19; and Saturday, April 20. A 2 p.m. matinee showing will be offered Sunday, April 14.
Tickets are $17 for adults, $16 for senior citizens and $12 for youth. UWSP students with a valid ID may purchase advance tickets for $4.50 per show or be admitted free the day of the show, if seats are still available. Tickets may be purchased at the University Information and Ticket counter in the Dreyfus University Center concourse, by calling (715) 346-4100 or (800) 838-3378, or online at www.uwsp.edu/centers/uit/ordering.asp. Visa, MasterCard and Discover are accepted.
Myers’ new work, “head and tail,” uses “chance choreography,” as the eight dancers’ movements and how they respond to each other are determined by a flip of a coin. The resulting work is never performed the same way twice. Pamela Luedtke, an associate lecturer in dance, assisted in its direction. A Stevens Point native, Myers has performed around the world with the Trisha Brown Dance Company and now works with Lucky Plush Productions in Chicago.
Karlen’s new work, “Tacit,” was inspired by nature and our connection and responsibility to it. Set to a score by Dmitri Shostakovich, it features an ensemble of 11 dancers whose movements develop and arise like new growth from the forest floor.
“Hokkaido Sanctuary, Japan 7:21 am,” choreographed by Estanich, is inspired by Taiwanese photographer Feng Ying Ke’s images of the red-crowned crane in flight and at rest. Performed by 15 dancers to John Adams’ “Common Tones in Simple Time” and set in a dense fog, the work creates quivering landscapes of birds on the brink of flight.
“Listening In,” choreographed by Hill, explores what it means to truly listen. Four dancers researched deaf culture to communicate through gesture, body percussion, sign language and tap dance.
For more information, visit uwspdanstage.blogspot.com or www.facebook.com/uwspdanstage.
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