UCSD theater and dance department opens 40th season
In a season celebrating its 40th anniversary, UC San Diego Department of Theatre & Dance will present an array of productions with an experimental edge. The 2012-13 season opens Nov. 14 and ends April 27.
“In total, our season features seven exceptional American plays, including four new productions in our spring New Play Festival; as well as two rarely seen classics by Shakespeare and Pirandello,” said department chair Jim Carmody. “We are also presenting a new site-specific dance performance in our Arts in Action series, plus two dance productions featuring new works by faculty and student choreographers.”
Each season (fall, winter, spring) begins with a new group of MFA students, some of the most promising young artists in the nation. Performances take place at intimate venues within the UCSD Theatre District.
The productions for fall are listed below. For the winter and spring shows, visit theatre.ucsd.edu
• “Lumping in Fargo”
What: Lyrics and book by Bryan Reynolds, music by Michael Hooker, directed by Jim Carmody. The script collages several of Shakespeare plays to conjure an epic stormy night in which love and romance blow in with the wind and the rain, turning Leopold Wallersheim’s world inside out. Used to living with only his faithful singing poodle and his antique furniture collection for company, misanthropic Leopold finds himself in a strange new world of alternately thrilling and terrifying emotions.
When: 8 p.m. Nov. 14, 15, 16; 2 and 8 p.m. Nov. 17; 7 p.m. Nov. 18
Where: Arthur Wagner Theatre
• “Elizabeth I”
What: Directed by Kate Jopson, Paul Foster’s play follows a rogue acting troupe as it illegally performs a tale about one of the Western world’s most fascinating monarchs. Irreverent and wild, humorous and witty, the play exposes the absurdity of politics, not only in the Elizabethan Era, but also our own time. The play asks, “In the large scope of the universe, we have just a speck of time — what should we do with it?”
When: 8 p.m. Nov. 16; 2 and 8 p.m. Nov. 17 and Nov. 24; 7 p.m. Nov. 25
Where: Potiker Theatre
• “In the Red and Brown Water”
What: Steeped in ritual and African parables, Tarell Alvin McCraney’s play weaves a tale of passion and pride, humility and heartbreak. It is first in the trilogy “The Brother/Sister Plays.” Swirling in evocative prose, poetry and myth, Oya faces the hardest decision of her life: go to college on a track scholarship or nurse her dying mother? The fallout from her choice sends her plunging into the deep waters of womanhood. Directed by Gregory Wallace.
When: 8 p.m. Nov. 19-20, Nov 29-30 and Dec 1; 2 and 8 p.m. Nov. 24
Where: Mandell Weiss Forum Theatre
• Arts in Action: CONNECTED
What: Dance/happening created by Robert Castro, Patricia Rincon and Natalia Verdi
When: 8 p.m. Nov. 30, Dec. 1
Where: Site TBD
Tickets:
Box Office: (858) 534-4574
Online: theatre.ucsd.edu/subscribe
Season subscriptions: $40-$20