September 2016 E-news

Third year PATP student Tré Cotten is currently rehearsing for Lorraine Hansberry's poignant classic, A Raisin in the Sun, where he will play George Murchison, a wealthy man who courts Beneatha Younger. The production opens on September 30th and runs through October 30th, at the Bagley Wright Theatre.

For their production, the Rep has been working with the Lorraine Hansberry Literary Estate and the Schomberg Center for Research in Black Culture to examine and utilize the original drafts of the play, as well as the many notes Lorraine Hansberry wrote during its development.

The production is directed by Timothy McCuen Piggee and also features Brace Evans (BA '91), and the design work of Matt Starritt (BA alum and faculty), Robert Aguilar (BA alum), Melanie Burgess (MFA alum), and Geoff Alm (faculty).

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by Isabel Martin

Almost one year ago now, I asked Professor Andrew Tsao when applications for the School of Drama’s summer study abroad expedition would be posted. As a freshman, I’d heard rumors about a magical trip undertaken by UW drama students to Edinburgh, Scotland, where the international festivals took place. There  these students  gorged themselves on theatre for a month, and I was determined to experience this first hand. Unfortunately, Professor Tsao  replied, the program wouldn’t be going ahead this year as he wasn’t available to lead it due to other commitments and student interest had slackened in recent years. Probably somewhat belligerently, I asked what could be done to make the program happen and he doubtfully suggested I find out if there were any other interested students. 

As it turned out, there were. A whiteboard full of signatures, a petition to the Dean, a small mountain of paperwork, and ten months later eighteen undergraduates, one graduate student, and one professor set off for Scotland. It was an insane and magical month in an insane and magical city. Every  August, the city of Edinburgh plays host to the largest performing arts festival in the world. The population of the city more than doubles as performers and spectators flock to see the hundreds of plays, concerts, exhibits, movement pieces and various other forms of entertainments offered.