"The production is just lovely, and I couldn't be prouder." Playwright EM Lewis posted those words on our Facebook page after seeing the world premiere of her play Reading to Vegetables this past weekend. We are honored to have Ms. Lewis collaborate with our artists and students. You can still catch Reading to Vegetables this Wednesday through Sunday. Check out the trailer and we'll see you at the theatre!
As we have been working to enliven our marketing and communication strategies, it became clear that we needed an outlet which allows us to share a more diverse array of voices and perspectives about our School, our people, and our community. Through the new School of Drama Blog, we hope to provide a platform for fresh insights, engaging stories, in-depth profiles, debate, discussion, and much more.
Most importantly, the blog belongs to our community and creation of its content will be shared by faculty, staff, students, alumni, audience members, regional theatre makers, and more. If you would like to write or pitch an idea for an article, please let us know.
If you haven't yet had a chance to check out the blog, you may have missed interviews with Valerie Curtis-Newton, Professor and Head of MFA Performance; and Tina Polzin, a second-year student in the Professional Director Training Program; as well as a profile on Boundless Arts Performance Collective founder and BA alum Javonna Arriaga. We hope you enjoy reading our blog and welcome your feedback!
Reading to Vegetables
By EM Lewis
Directed by Tina Polzin
Previews Wed, Jan 29 and Thurs, Jan 30
Opening Night Friday, January 31
Runs through February 9
Glenn Hughes Penthouse Theatre
“Reading to Vegetables is very thought-provoking and it provides a message that is extremely relevant to college students." -UW Daily
"The characters and their stories weave through seamlessly." -UDistrict Daily
The opportunity to bring a brand new play from page to stage is rare for student directors. With Reading to Vegetables, Tina Polzin, a student in our Professional Director Training Program (PDTP), worked directly with playwright EM Lewis to create a Hitchcockian world of suspense on stage for the very first time. Inspired by Milgram’s famous “Obedience to Authority Studies” of the 1960s, this psychological thriller centers on a pre-med student, working as a research assistant, who poses as a coma victim...
Read more
Our alumni enjoy success locally and abroad, including film's biggest stages. Lynn Shelton, BA 1987, continued her Sundance Film Festival hot streak. Her newest feature, Laggies, starring Keira Knightley and Chloë Grace Moretz opened to rave reviews and was immediately picked up for distribution after a late-night bidding war. And our very own School of Drama Advisory Board member Ron Leamon, BA 1974, was the film's costume designer!
On local stages, Brian Culbertson, BA 2013, follows up appearances at Intiman's Summer Festival with a performance in Strawberry Theatre Workshop's The Normal Heart. Catch Brian onstage through February 15.
Elena Flory-Barnes, BA 2010, James Lapan, PATP 1989, and Carl Kennedy, PATP 2010, will all participate in Mirror Stage's reading of Greg Kalleres's Honky at the UW's Ethnic Cultural Center this Saturday and Sunday, February 8 and 9.
About 200 miles south, Doug Scholz-Carlson, MFA 1994, makes his Portland Opera directorial debut with Donizetti's ...
Read moreThrough Sunday, February 9
EM Lewis's Reading to Vegetables, Penthouse Theatre
February 26-March 9
Mary Zimmerman's The Arabian Nights, Jones Playhouse
February 27-March 9
Undergraduate Theater Society Presents: A Map of Virtue
Friday, February 28
Theatre from the Inside Out: The Arabian Nights Opening Night Dinner
Student-director Leah Adcock-Starr will share backstage secrets and reveal her process for bringing this lavish production to the stage.
For a full list of upcoming shows and events, visit drama.uw.edu
American Wee-Pie
By Lisa Dillman
Directed by Anita Montgomery
Through February 16
Seattle Public Theater
Anita Montgomery, UW visiting faculty member and Literary Manager and Director of Education at ACT Theatre, directs the Pacific Northwest premiere of Lisa Dillman's American Wee-Pie at Seattle Public Theater - "a heartbreaking new comedy about recession, career second acts, and the sometimes life-altering wonder of a small good thing." With set design by our very own Andrea Bush, MFA '07, and costume design by Candace Frank, MFA '10! Read SPT's interview with Anita here.