{"id":76117,"date":"2020-12-22T12:53:56","date_gmt":"2020-12-22T17:53:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/?p=76117"},"modified":"2022-08-02T14:03:56","modified_gmt":"2022-08-02T18:03:56","slug":"school-of-theatre-embraces-a-season-of-new-work","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/news\/articles\/2020\/school-of-theatre-embraces-a-season-of-new-work\/","title":{"rendered":"School of Theatre Embraces a Season of New Work"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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December 22, 2020<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\"CFA<\/p>\n

In so many ways, 2020 was a year apart from the familiar. Live, in-person events put on hold. Audiences moved from theatres to boxes on screens. Typical tactics revised. With a focus on embracing new work, exploring new mediums, and expanding collaboration, students and faculty of CFA School of Theatre adapted creatively and fearlessly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

School of Theatre’s Fall 2020 season consisted of entirely new works produced in a workshop-style format. Catch a glimpse of the works below, and stay tuned for news about what’s on the horizon for Spring 2021!<\/p>\n

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are you ready to smash white things?<\/em><\/h3>\n

\"Schoolare you ready to smash white things?<\/em> is a break-beat Memory play about another mad woman locked away in an attic. As her Father the Doctor\u2019s party rages on downstairs, we explore the inner-workings of her blood and the story behind each vessel. We are introduced to Esther and her hyper-poetic reality\u2019s displacement at The Party. <\/span><\/p>\n

Written by Ireon Roach and directed by Tatianna Jackson. <\/span>Find the creative team, design team, and cast here.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

honeyhole<\/em><\/h3>\n

\"SchoolAdapted from the myth of Icarus and set in a small town in South Georgia in the hotsweatyheat of a southern summer,\u00a0<\/span>honeyhole<\/em> follows a young queer beauty queen\u2019s journey with self-realization, first love, and her desire to fly away. When new-girl Ellis arrives in town, Lou begins to realize that the thing her mama has always thought would be her ticket to a bigger life outside of a few-stoplight-gossipy-sorta-town, might just be the thing that\u2019s holding her back from becoming who she is, who she wants to be, and what she dreams of doing: hiking the Appalachian Trail like her father once did. <\/span><\/p>\n

Playwright: Erin Davis. Director: Leila Ghaemi. See full credits here.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Jamal the Black Boy Werewolf<\/em><\/h3>\n

\"SchoolJamal Cooper-Harris is just an average almost 13 year old, or so he thinks. When Jamal and his dads hit a wolf one night, everything begins to change. He starts having weird dreams about discovering blackness. But the very blackness that was becoming beautiful in Jamal\u2019s young mind, now is being turned monstrous by those who surround him, and so is he. Jamal The Black Boy Werewolf is a story of how white people go above and beyond to see the monster in us, but the most grotesque monster of all is white supremacy. <\/span><\/p>\n

An audio-musical comedy about race, ages 12 and up. Playwright: Khadija Bangoura. Director: Julia Ty Goldberg. See full credits here.<\/a> <\/span><\/p>\n

Pride And Pride And Pride And<\/em><\/h3>\n

\"School\u201cI want a\u00a0Pride and Prejudice<\/em>\u00a0about how women can be dragons, and soft blankets, and cunning foxes, and cups of tea that never cool down. A\u00a0Pride and Prejudice<\/em>\u00a0where women can be all of these things at once.\u201d<\/p>\n

For my entire existence, Elizabeth Bennet has been lauded as the feminist icon that predates feminist icons. But is she truly reflective of all the steps the world has made? And if she\u2019s not, how much can a playwright do to bend and break a story till it loves them back?<\/p>\n

Written by Mckayla Witt and directed by Emily Trantanella. See full creative team and cast here.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Welcome Home<\/em><\/h3>\n

\"SchoolWelcome Home<\/em> is set in a suburban American Town in the midst of the Gore\/Bush election in the fall of 2000. The story follows, Emery, a woman returning home early after a difficult first semester of college and her family, who she has not communicated with since leaving for school. As the group reconnects, Emery confronts the secrets she has hidden, her aging family, and specifically her relationship with her very strict yet supportive father. In Welcome Home, Emery comes face to face with people who once loved and idolized her, who now find her unrecognizable. Over the course of one night, she learns what it takes to grow up. What is means to be independent, take responsibility, and the ridiculousness of rules. <\/span><\/p>\n

Playwright: Becca Freeman. Director: Sam Theobald.\u00a0 See full creative team and cast here.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Wheelock Family Theatre co-production: Make Way For Ducklings\u00a0<\/em><\/h3>\n

\"SchoolCo-commissioned by Adventure Theatre, MTC (Glen Echo, MD) and Wheelock Family Theatre (Boston, MA) this virtual workshop of the new musical adaptation of the classic children\u2019s book by Robert McCloskey will be shared with audiences and creatives of both theatres. On a quest for a home for their new duckling brood, Mr. and Mrs. Mallard visit one Boston landmark after another. Together, they teach their ducklings how to live in harmony with the humans of Boston Public Garden and be kind.<\/p>\n

Written by Michael Bobbit & Sandra B. Eskin with Music & Lyrics by William Yanesh. Directed by Emily Ranii<\/a> with Music Direction by Dan Rodriguez. See full credits here<\/a><\/span> and read more in this BU Today<\/em> feature<\/a>!<\/p>\n

Boston Playwrights’ Theatre co-production: BEASTS<\/em><\/h3>\n

\"SchoolBEASTS<\/em> is a character driven play that explores the chaos of American womanhood through the dark underbelly of a relationship between Fran, a pregnant suburbanite and her older sister Judy, an irreverent artist with a propensity for disruption. When Judy hears that Fran\u2019s husband, Jim is on a business trip she decides to pay Fran a visit. The friction between these siblings is palpable and continues to intensify as Judy unearths confounding secrets and infringes upon the relationship that Fran has with her Doula, Amelia, an elitist earth mama who\u2019s been Fran\u2019s only female friend since relocating back East. The world of the play begins in realism and ends in magical realism; as their environment starts to mirror the anarchy of their psychological labyrinthine world: a giant tree falls in the middle of the living room, the walls of the house cave in, raging wolves howl in the distance. Form and logic disintegrate into another realm as Fran and Judy unwittingly fight through pain to arrive at a moment of love which is devitalized when Jim returns home. <\/span><\/p>\n

Director: Kelly Galvin, Assistant Director: Kevin Bradley. Playwright: Cayenne Douglas. Full credits here.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Boston Playwrights’ Theatre co-production: Gone Nowhere<\/em><\/h3>\n

\"SchoolAt an old cabin in rural Minnesota, something is lurking in the corn.\u00a0 In the wake of his father\u2019s death, straight-laced Riley has left his fiancee and the big city behind to search for peace by visiting his old friend.\u00a0 Luckily Hunter knows the cure for grief \u2014 old stories, the great outdoors, and plenty of beers.\u00a0 But soon, it becomes clear that Hunter is running from his own demons, and no one will be spared a battle.\u00a0 They spiral through a reckoning of biblical proportions, and neither of them will emerge as the same man, if they make it out at all. They\u2019re running from society, but something between them can\u2019t be outrun.<\/p>\n

Directed by Noah Putterman, written by Daniel C. Blanda. Full credits here.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Boston Playwrights’ Theatre co-production: Lorena<\/em><\/h3>\n

\"SchoolA Tabloid Epic spins out of the media hailstorm surrounding Lorena Bobbitt, who became a sensation after she used a kitchen knife to cut off her abusive husband\u2019s penis in 1993. The tacky dystopia of American pop culture tumbles onto the stage in a series of funhouse vignettes that know no bounds, while The Playwright desperately tries to protect Lorena from the play which has clearly gotten out of her control. Then, a twist ending re-contextualizes Lorena\u2019s outsized epic through the lens of a quieter sexual assault story that\u2019s all too common. <\/span>LORENA<\/em> merges the personal with the political to reckon with our cultural sins, and bring Lorena\u2019s story into the present day. <\/span><\/p>\n

Director: Erica Terpening-Romeo, Playwright: Eliana Pipes. Find the creative team, design team, and cast here.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Boston Playwrights’ Theatre co-production: Rx Machina<\/em><\/h3>\n

\"SchoolRx Machina<\/em>\u00a0unpacks big pharma\u2019s impact on everyday American culture and illuminates the search for humanity in a healthcare system that views patients as consumers and pain as profitable. An ambitious pharmaceutical sales representative\u2019s relentless pursuit of a rigidly principled pain management doctor leads to an intoxicating, forbidden relationship that comes with a cost. Ethical boundaries are blurred in a literal manifestation of doctors being in bed with drug reps that forms a love triangle fueled by money, sex, and power. Set in 2010, right before the second wave of the opioid epidemic that created the landscape of widespread addiction we know it as today,\u00a0<\/span>Rx Machina<\/em> explores who gets to get better and who gets left behind. <\/span><\/p>\n

Directed by Blair Cadden. Written by Caity-Shea Violette. Full credits here.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

InMotion Theatre: The Poets<\/em><\/h3>\n

\"SchoolThis fall, InMotion Theatre presented The Poets<\/em>, a physical response to Nino Rota\u2019s acclaimed score of Federico Fellini\u2019s masterpiece La Strada<\/em>, as well as other numerous acclaimed compositions from his repertoire. <\/span><\/p>\n

The story told through the eyes of clowns, will highlight how movement \u2014 through various theatrical forms and approaches \u2014 can convey what it means to be human and find true love\u2014 in and toward life. <\/span><\/p>\n

Conceived, written, and directed by Yo-EL Cassell<\/a>. See full credits here<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Design Intensives<\/h3>\n

\"SchoolThe Design Intensives provided opportunities for a team of designers to explore a piece, chosen by the collaborative, thoroughly in all of its aspects and do all the necessary work needed by each individual to evolve into a fully involved participant in a collaborative project.<\/p>\n

Five collaboratives, made up of a Scenic, Costume, Lighting and Sound designer, were mentored by a practicing theatre professional from outside of the School of Theatre. The Collaborative along with their mentor created a project that the group, through discussion, spent the semester investigating and working on. The projects could involve an existing play, text of some sort, or piece of literature, as well as something devised by the students. The work chosen must have value and meaning for all participants involved, and reflect upon, examine or reveal something vital for a current audience. Final projects include:\u00a0<\/span>Sonderous Stories<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>The Kids Table<\/a>.<\/p>\n

See the design groups here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Turn Table Project – Design Works by Hand<\/h3>\n

\"SchoolThe Turn Table Projects challenged the craft and skill of the D&P students, designed especially for them by their primary advisor. These projects may or may not intersect with any of the above projects. <\/span><\/p>\n

For example, some of the scenes from the new plays or moments of projects could perform on the turntable above for a \u201cshort-showing.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

See the complete list of designers here.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Aurora Borealis<\/em><\/h3>\n

\"SchoolBoston University College of Fine Arts School of Theatre, in collaboration with the Department of Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, presents the 19th annual <\/span>Aurora Borealis: A Festival of Light and Dance<\/em>. Aurora Borealis is a vibrant exploration of the relationship between light and form with a focus on collaboration and experimentation, featuring dance and movement pieces by faculty and students. <\/span><\/p>\n

Co-Artistic Directors: Micki Taylor-Pinney<\/a> and Yo-EL Cassell. Lighting Designers Kevin Dunn and Maximilian Wallace. Sound Design: Jennie Gorn.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Alternative R&P Projects<\/h3>\n

\"SchoolSea Wall<\/i>\u00a0is a delicate monologue, completely devastating and beautifully powerful.\u00a0<\/span>Alex\u2019s story, spoken directly to the audience, begins full of clear light and smiles, as he speaks about his wife, visiting her father in the South of France, having a daughter, photography, and the bottom of the sea. His tone is natural, happy and engaging, with flickers of questions about belief and religion glimpsed under the surface. But his contentment falls away into deep and heart-breaking grief, crumbling to pieces with a vividness that is incredibly moving. <\/span><\/p>\n

Playwright: Simon Stephens. Alex: Liam Krikov. Project Advisor: Christine Hamel<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Sophomore Acting Project: Stop Kiss<\/em><\/h3>\n
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\"SchoolAfter Callie meets Sara, the two unexpectedly fall in love. Their first kiss provokes a violent attack that transforms their lives in a way they could never anticipate. <\/span><\/p>\n

Directed by Judy Braha<\/a>. Playwright: Diana Son. See full cast list here<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Find more details and credits from the Fall 2020 workshops at bu.edu\/cfa\/school-of-theatre-archive-production-credits<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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CFA SCHOOL OF THEATRE<\/h5>\n

The School of Theatre at Boston <\/text>University College of Fine Arts offers <\/text>conservatory-style education for the <\/text>study of acting, stage management, <\/text>design, production, and all aspects <\/text>of the theatre profession within the <\/text>setting of a major research university. <\/text>The School of Theatre seeks to <\/text>provide students with opportunities <\/text>for artistic growth through a rigorous <\/text>curriculum, professional connections, <\/text>and an emphasis on collaboration and <\/text>new work. Learn more at\u00a0<\/text>bu.edu\/cfa\/theatre<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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