Campus News

The Campus News, June, 2008

Regent University. The WaterTower Theatre has selected Regent professor Eric Harrell’s original performance piece, An Inch of Rope, for production in their Out of the Loop Festival. The festival is designed to give voice to theatrical works that are considered “out of the loop” of traditional theatre fare. This will be the professional premiere of Harrell’s play. An Inch of Rope is both written and performed by Harrell, a professional director and actor (AEA, SAG) as well as Head of the MFA Acting Program at Regent. The WaterTower Theatre is a professional, union-affiliated theatre in Dallas, Texas. Learn more about Regent University.

Skidmore College. Alum Kelly Van Zile appears in BACKSTAGE in an article entitled "When Actors Decide to Quit Their Day Jobs" In the same issue there's an article about Skidmore Theater friend Rocco Sisto who's currently appearing in Iphiginia 2.0 at the Signature Theater in NYC. The play is written by Chuck Mee who was a guest of our when we did one of our plays. Some juniors will remember seeing Rocco as Petruchio in Taming of the Shrew at Shakespeare & Co. Learn more about Skidmore College!

New York Film Academy. Cameras start rolling at Abu Dhabi film school! The New York Film Academy in Abu Dhabi, which opened its doors in February, is the latest addition to a multilayered push by the oil capital to reinvent itself as a regional hub for culture and film. The film school, which maintains branches in Europe and the U.S., has been seeking to expand into the Middle East for some time, according to John Sammon, former director of education at the NYFA programme at Universal Studios near Los Angeles and head of the new school here. “We’ve always looked at laying down roots in the Middle East and when the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage approached us, it just seemed like the most logical thing to do,” Sammon said. “There’s a lot going on in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, in terms of investments in film and cinema – Warner Bros., Abu Dhabi Media Co. and Harvey Weinstein have all invested here. We’re their project” Learn more about New York Film Academy

Seton Hill University. Seton Hill Theatre Program Presents “Side By Side by Sondheim”, April 25th to May 3rd. The Seton Hill student cast of “Side By Side by Sondheim” includes Jeffrey Gettemy of Latrobe, Pa.; Adriana Gissendanner of Clairton, Pa.; Matt Henderson of Irwin, Pa.; Laura Stracko of Nazareth, Pa.; and Darcy Wood of Orlando, Fl. The Seton Hill student technical staff includes Laura Barron of Grove City, Pa. as stage manager; Chelsea Bloam of St. Marys, Pa., and Nate Errett of North Huntingdon, Pa. as assistant stage managers; Natalie Moretti of Cheswick, Pa., as assistant choreographer; and Jamie Torres of Conemaugh, Pa. as assistant director. Learn more about Seton Hill University

Willamette University. University Hosts Urban Earth, Art and Music Festival The 10th annual Wulapalooza, Willamette University’s free music, art and Earth festival, will be held Saturday, April 26, on Brown Field. Associated Students of Willamette University present the festival, which begins at noon with the main music stage opening at 5 p.m. This year’s featured performers are Mobius Band from New York, and Portland bands The Blow, Blitzen Trapper and Panther. Other stages will feature performances from local and student-organized bands, a student art show and other activities. Each year Wulapalooza includes a fundraiser for a local charitable foundation. This year the event will sponsor the Marion-Polk Food Share. The event is free, but canned food or monetary donations for the food share are welcome. Learn more about Willamette University

Eckerd College. Professor Cynthia Totten has received a Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (Region IV) Meritorious Achievement Award for Excellence in Direction 2007 for directing A Midsummer Night's Dream. This award signifies Region IV recognition for Eckerd College's Theatre program by the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, a national professional theater organization based in Washington, D.C. that involves 18,000 students from 600 colleges and universities nationwide. Professor Totten's version of the Shakespeare classic was re-imagined with swing, hip hop, Latin, and line dancing. Learn more about Eckerd College

Indiana University. Guest Artists Announced! We are happy to report that we are looking at a stellar year of guest artists. We will be hosting Jeff Daniels, David Alan Anderson, Robert O'Hara, and Suzan-Lori Parks this year, and more artists will be adding their names to the list soon. Jeff Daniels will be here in late September for a discussion with our students, Robert O'Hara will be here in February to work with us on his play American Ma(u)l, and Suzan-Lori Parks will be our Collins lecturer in April. We look forward to welcoming our guest artists to our theatres! Learn more about Indiana University!

Arizona State University. The ASU Herberger College School of Theatre and Film brings entertainment lighting guru Fred Foster to the Tempe campus on April 10. Foster, whose originally scheduled visit was postponed due to inclement weather, will speak at 3 p.m. in the Lyceum Theatre. Foster recently was awarded The Wally Russell Lifetime Achievement Award, one of the entertainment-lighting industry’s highest honors. Learn more about Arizona State University!

Auburn University. The 2007-2008 Auburn University Theatre season opens with a BANG! The melodramatic lure of the Old West will spring to life on the mainstage of the Telfair Peet Theatre with a dramatization of a bloodthirsty dime novel just like the ones your great grandfather used to read in secret! Tom Taggart’s rootin’ tootin’ melodrama, Deadwood Dick or the Game of Gold, directed by A.U. Theatre Professor Daydrie Hague rides into town September 27-30 and October 2-5, 2008 with all performances at 7:30PM except for the Sunday, September 30 Mattinee performance at 2:30 PM.

University of Miami. Grammy winning singer - song writer John Mayer talked with Department of Theatre Arts students at the Jerry Herman Ring Theatre about his work and his music. The session was recorded for broadcast on MTV. Several music theatre students were selected to attend his concert as his guests. The lucky students met with Mayer backstage prior to his concert, Winter Tour '07, at the University of Miami. Their evening at the concert and the accompanying events were taped for MTV.