Winter quarter is thesis quarter. The School of Drama is excited to present the thesis productions of our third-year MFA directing candidates. At this end of this month, Leah Adcock-Starr puts her twist on William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. And in March, Tina Polzin stages Brendan Behan's The Hostage. These are also the thesis shows for our incredible MFA design students: John Bernard (lighting designer for The Hostage), Melinda Hare (costume designer for The Hostage), Maya Ogasawara (costume designer for Twelfth Night), Jared Roberts (scenic designer for The Hostage), and Julia Welch (scenic designer for Twelfth Night). Both casts feature the talents of first, second, and third-year MFA actors, as well as undergraduate students. We look forward to seeing you at the theatre!
Yellow Face
by David Henry Hwang
directed by Elizabeth Wu
Jan 22-Feb 1 at 7:30pm
Cabaret Theatre
When Tony-award winning playwright, David Henry Hwang, protests the casting of a white actor as the lead Asian character in the musical Miss Saigon he becomes a poster boy for Asian American rights in the 1990s. But in a comical twist of fate, he mistakenly casts a white actor, Marcus G. Dahlman, in the lead Asian role of his own play. As he attempts to pass Marcus off as a Siberian Jew, D.H.H. is forced to question the constitutions of race, identity, and nationality in this fun mockumentary of the playwright's life.
Twelfth Night, Or What You Will
by William Shakespeare
directed by Leah Adcock-Starr
Jan 28-Feb 8 at 7:30pm
Meany Studio Theatre
Beloved for its rebellious portrayal of gender ambiguity, William Shakespeare’sTwelfth Night, or What You Will is a comedy about a cross-dressing shipwreck survivor who finds herself at the center of a not-so-ordinary love triangle. Third-year MFA directing candidate Leah Adcock-Starr takes this delightfully comic tale of mistaken identities and weaves it into the jazz-infused world of 1920's New Orleans.
Join us on opening night, January 30, for a "Twelfth Night" Night at the UW Club. MFA directing candidate Leah Adcock-Starr and Department of English Associate Professor Colette Moore share the story and themes of Twelfth Night as it relates to Carnival, Mardi Gras, and the Big Easy. Details online.
Elizabeth Wu, a senior double majoring in drama and English, has written about her experience directing David Henry Hwang's Yellow Face for the Undergraduate Theater Society. In her first post on the UW Drama blog, she reflects on facing her fear in the rehearsal room.
"The best gift I have given myself so far during this process is the acceptance of my own fear. No one could have prepared me for the terror that comes with being a first-time director. I was a bundle of nerves the day I met David in Brooklyn, my anxiety was through the roof when I began production meetings with my design team, and when the eight wonderful undergraduate actors I had cast for the show stared at me from across the table at our first read through all I could think was: What am I doing here? Who the hell put me in charge of these people?"
Read the full post over here.
Tennesse Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire is the inaugural production of the newly formed theatre company, Civic Rep. Directed by L. Zane Jones, associate professor at UW Drama and founding member of Civic Rep, this Streetcar features several other theatre artists with ties to UW Drama: Robert Bergin (MFA ‘12) is Steve, Ali Rose Panzarella (MFA ‘14) is costume designer, Robin Hall Smith (BA ‘13) is the Doctor, Josh Langager (current BA) is the Young Man, Michael Hanley (current BA) is stage manager, Andrew Swann (current BA) is co-sound designer, and Sam Read (Director of External Relations) is Mitch.
There are just four shows remaining, this Thursday through Sunday. Read more about the production and buy tickets online.
The Seagull Project presents The Three Sisters at ACT—A Contemporary Theatre, opening January 20. UW Drama is represented by professor Mark Jenkins, John Abramson (PATP '97), Hannah Victoria Franklin (PATP '09), Tyler J. Polumsky (BA '08), Julie Jamieson (BFA '80), Alexandra Tavares (PATP '05), Jennifer Zeyl (MFA '03), and Doris Black (MFA '97).
The Flying Carpet Theatre Company, founded by Adam Koplan (MFA '02), received an NEA grant in support of its 2015 tour of Alpin Hong: Chasing Chopin.
Yesenia Iglesias (PATP '14) can be seen at Seattle Children's Theatre in the world premiere of Mwindo, opening January 22.
Desdemona Chiang (MFA '09) directs Measure for Measure at Seattle Shakespeare, through February 1. Scott Ward Abernethy (PATP '12) is Pompey. Andrew D. Smith (MFA '05) is the lighting designer.
Upcoming Events and Performances
UTS Presents: Yellow Face
January 22-February 1
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Twelfth Night, Or What You Will
January 28-February 8
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Twelfth Night Night: Dinner Event at UW Club
January 30, 5:00pm
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D. Soyini Madison: Beauty, Praxis, and Performance Ethnography
Lecture presented by the Performance Studies Research Group
Friday, March 6 at 4:00pm
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UTS Presents: Cabaret
February 26-March 8
The Hostage
March 4-15
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Banner Photo Credit: Claire Fort as Viola in Twelfth Night. Photo by Mike Hipple.