DENTON (UNT), Texas – A diverse array of productions will be presented for the 2014-15 season by the Department of Dance and Theatre at the University of North Texas.
The season includes six mainstage productions and one First Stage Series performance, which is produced and directed by students. Susan Sargeant, an award winning director and artistic director of Wingspan Theatre, will direct Once in a Lifetime, while professional director George Boyd will helm The Diver's Wife. Award-winning guest designers this year are Rodney Dobbs and Randall Wright.
"As part of our academic mission to engage and enlighten, our season is full of thought provoking plays and a hilarious comedy for all," said Marjorie Hayes, managing director of theatre production and associate professor of acting and directing.
The dance program offers two concerts this season: the New Choreographers Concert, with two separate programs of two concerts each at the end of the fall semester, and the Faculty Dance Concert, which takes place at the beginning of the spring semester.
"Both shows are guaranteed to bring you wide variety and a visceral and moving experience," said Shelley Cushman, artistic director and professor of dance.
Audience members can purchase tickets at the box office, which is open from 1 to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday and one hour before each performance at the Radio Television Film and Performing Arts Building. For more information, call 940-565-2428, email dat-boxoffice@unt.edu or visit the Department of Dance and Theatre online.
Parking is free directly behind the RTFP Building Friday through Sunday. For more information about parking on the UNT campus please visit: UNT Parking and Transportation online.
Mainstage Productions:
Doubt: A Parable by John Patrick Shanley
7:30 p.m. Sept. 25, 26, 27 and 2 p.m. Sept. 27, 28
Studio Theater, Radio Television Film and Performing Arts Building
Directed by Andrew Harris, professor of dance and theatre
Tickets cost $7.50 for students, UNT faculty/staff and senior citizens and $10 for adults.
The Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play focuses on a priest accused of molestation and the nun who doubts his innocence. "Stark staging frames dueling personalities that lead everyone to questioning the very foundation of their faith in themselves and their world," Harris said.
Bent by Martin Sherman
7:30 p.m. Oct. 30, 31, Nov. 1, 6, 7, 8 and 2 p.m. Nov. 2, 9
University Theatre, RTVF Building
Directed by Timothy Wilson, professor of dance and theatre
Tickets cost $7.50 for students, UNT faculty/staff and senior citizens and $10 for adults.
Two homosexuals attempt to escape persecution in Nazi Germany. This production is rated R for provocative language and imagery.
New Choreographers Concert
Concert "A": 8 p.m. Nov. 21, 2 p.m. Nov. 22 and Concert "B": 8 p.m. Nov. 22, 2 p.m. Nov. 23
University Theatre, RTVF Building
Artistic director: Shelley Cushman, professor of dance
Tickets cost $5.
Advanced choreography students will perform their original works.
Faculty Dance Concert
8 p.m. Feb. 12, 13, 14 and 2 p.m. Feb. 15
University Theatre, RTVF Building
Artistic director: Shelley Cushman, professor of dance
Tickets cost $7.50 for students, UNT faculty/staff and senior citizens and $10 for adults.
Faculty members Shelley Cushman, Teresa Cooper, Sue Collins and Whitney Geldon, along with featured guest artist Carl Flink of the Minneapolis-based Black Label Movement, will present original contemporary dance works.
The Diver's Wife by senior theatre major Lauren Belmore
7:30 p.m. March 11, 12, 13 and 2 p.m. March 14
University Theatre, RTVF Building
Guest directed by George Boyd, whose credits include directing Lily Tomlin in Broadway's "Appearing Nitely," as well as off-Broadway and Texas Shakespeare Festival productions
Tickets cost $5.
A woman has difficulty separating fantasy from reality after a tragic loss.
Once in a Lifetime by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart
7:30 p.m. April 23, 24, 25, 30, May 1, 2 and 2 p.m. April 26, May 3
University Theatre, RTVF Building
Guest directed by Susan Sargeant, award-winning artistic director of Wingspan Theatre.
Tickets cost $7.50 for students, UNT faculty/staff and senior citizens and $10 for adults.
The comedy takes place in Hollywood in 1927, when the movie industry is on the cusp of the talkies revolution. "The characters are on a collision course of physical comedy, biting wit and snappy one-liners," Sargeant said.
First Stage Series:
Booby Trap by Ed Monk
7:30 p.m. Nov. 13, 14, 15
RTVF Room 127
Directed by Mary M. Thames, senior theatre major
Tickets cost $5.
A soldier reflects back on his life when a landmine he sets off is on the verge of explosion.