Boston University College of Fine Arts presents 25th Fringe Festival
BU Opera Institute and School of Theatre collaboration produces new works of opera and theatre by Missy Mazzoli, Kamala Sankaram, and Andrew Hinderaker in the Joan & Edgar Booth Theatre
September 28, 2021 – Boston University College of Fine Arts (CFA) School of Music: Opera Institute and School of Theatre announce the Fall 2021 Fringe Festival, now in its 25th year. For these two and a half decades, Fringe Festival at Boston University has celebrated and amplified new works, shown in spare and minimal productions. The festival’s mission is to produce new or rarely performed significant works in the opera and theatre repertoire, bringing performances and audiences together in unique theatrical settings.
The 25th annual Fringe Festival presents two new operas in October: The Infinite Energy of Ada Lovelace by Kamala Sankaram and Rob Handel, and Proving Up by BU College of Fine Arts and BU Tanglewood Institute alumna Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek. Colossal, a play by Andrew Hinderaker directed by CFA Assistant Professor of Movement Yo-EL Cassell, closes the festival the first weekend of November.
Artistic Director of BU Opera Institute and Director of Opera Programs William Lumpkin is eager to kick off the season of performances. “After over a year of our performance opportunities being hindered by the pandemic, we are beyond excited to return to the studio and to our performance space to offer these compelling operas and play for the 25th annual Fall Fringe Festival,” says Lumpkin. “The energy of our students is invigorating, and we are eager to share their extraordinary talents with you, our devoted audience!”
All 2021 Fringe performances will be in the Joan & Edgar Booth Theatre at 820 Commonwealth Ave., Brookline, MA. Tickets $15. Learn more at bu.edu/cfa/fringe.
The Infinite Energy of Ada Lovelace
Music by Kamala Sankaram, libretto by Rob Handel (2019)
Allison Voth, music director
Emily Ranii, stage director
October 15 – 17, 2021
Ada, Countess of Lovelace and Lord Byron’s daughter, has been asked to help Charles Babbage with his work on the Difference Engine. Can she pursue her love of mathematics while upholding her reputation? Duration: 40 minutes
Proving Up
Music by Missy Mazzoli, libretto by Royce Vavrek (2018)
William Lumpkin, conductor
Nathan Troup, stage director
October 22 – 24, 2021
Based on a short story by Karen Russell, Proving Up is a surreal and haunting commentary on the American dream as experienced by the Zegners, a fictional family of 1860s homesteaders. The Zegners are a family that does everything “right” and are still undermined by forces beyond their control. Duration: 75 minutes
Colossal
Written by Andrew Hinderaker
Directed by Yo-EL Cassell
November 4 – 6, 2021
A star football player – a pro prospect, one of the most graceful runners in the world, and a man in love with a teammate – struggles to move forward in the wake of a catastrophic spinal cord injury. With full-contact choreography, this play about love, ability, and extraordinary feats of strength tackles definitions of masculinity and the male body as vehicles for language, violence, and silent expression through dance, football, and disability.
BU Opera Institute will also present two Spring 2022 productions: If I Were You (Jake Heggie/Gene Scheer) and Mozart’s Così fan tutte. Stay tuned for updates at bu.edu/cfa/opera/news.
If I Were You
By Jake Heggie/Gene Scheer
February 24 – 27, 2022
Joan & Edgar Booth Theatre
820 Commonwealth Ave, Brookline, MA 02446
William Lumpkin, conductor
James Petosa, stage director
Così fan tutte
By Mozart/DaPonte
April 22 – 23, 2022
Tsai Performance Center
685 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, MA 02215
William Lumpkin, conductor
Nathan Troup, stage director
BOSTON UNIVERSITY
Founded in 1839, Boston University is an internationally recognized institution of higher education and research. With more than 34,000 students, it is the fourth-largest independent university in the United States. BU consists of 17 schools and colleges, along with a number of multi-disciplinary centers and institutes integral to the University’s research and teaching mission. In 2012, BU joined the Association of American Universities (AAU), a consortium of 62 leading research universities in the United States and Canada. Learn more at bu.edu.
BOSTON UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS
Established in 1954, Boston University College of Fine Arts (CFA) is a community of artist-scholars and scholar-artists who are passionate about the fine and performing arts, committed to diversity and inclusion, and determined to improve the lives of others through art. With programs in Music, Theatre, and Visual Arts, CFA prepares students for a meaningful creative life by developing their intellectual capacity to create art, shift perspective, think broadly, and master relevant 21st century skills. CFA offers a wide array of undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs, as well as a range of online degrees and certificates. Learn more at bu.edu/cfa.
BOSTON UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS SCHOOL OF MUSIC: OPERA INSTITUTE
The Opera Institute at CFA School of Music is an intensive, highly selective two-year performance-based training program for emerging operatic artists. A professional faculty and renowned guest artists provide personal support and training in all areas pertinent to a career in opera, including voice, acting, languages, and movement styles. Additionally, the Opera Institute also selects undergraduate and graduate singers from the School of Music who demonstrate true operatic potential and have mastered an intermediate integration of acting, vocal, and movement skills for the Opera Theater, Opera Workshop, and Opera Project programs. More at bu.edu/cfa/opera.
BOSTON UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS SCHOOL OF THEATRE
The School of Theatre at Boston University College of Fine Arts offers conservatory-style education for the study of acting, stage management, design, production, and all aspects of the theatre profession within the setting of a major research university. The School of Theatre seeks to provide students with opportunities for artistic growth through a rigorous curriculum, professional connections, and an emphasis on collaboration and new work.