Duke Players is taking a chance on Friday, getting out of the theater and into the Devil's Krafthouse. Playhouse Shorts, their night of new student work curated by Valerie Muensterman, will be taking the stage from 7:00 to 8:30p on December 1 (right before karaoke.) Following the success of the new works event last spring, which took place on the small stage at The Landing in the Bryan Center, Muensterman has gathered a new collection of short, ten-minute plays by Duke students. Several of the short… read more about Duke Players Boldy Goes to the Devil's Krafthouse »
Students looking for new paths to follow their passion on stage take note! For the spring mainstage production, Theater Studies welcomes a new director from Duke's Dance program and department of African and African American Studies, Professor Thomas F. DeFrantz. Professor DeFrantz, a performance studies scholar, dancer, writer and historian, brings his extensive background in American dance history (read about some of his research here) as well as his experience with the… read more about Off the Map: Auditions for Spring 2018 »
After working intensely on the show with director Jules Odendahl-James since September, the witches of Caryl Churchill's Vinegar Tom are ready to magically appear on stage tonight. The undergraduate cast will transform nightly starting November 9 through November 19, as they slide between time periods, flashing into 1670 and back to 2017. The narrative arc of the show takes place in the 17th century, but performers break out of their 1670s characters to comment through music on the themes of… read more about Witches Fly In for Vinegar Tom »
Duke Players presents their first musical production ever this semester with Once On This Island opening Saturday, October 21. It's a first in other ways too, with director Sophie Caplin's choice to keep the traditional all-black casting for the show. The Duke Chronicle highlights this in their recent article which includes interviews with the cast members who come from all areas of study at Duke. The Duke Players Facebook site has been running bio… read more about Duke Players musical opens October 21 »
Professor Jules Odendahl-James has made the hard choices and selected her cast of nine to fill the roles in Caryl Churchill's Vinegar Tom. The department mainstage starts as a class, so the talented group of actors will be studying the history and context of Churchill's script with Professor Odendahl-James (or Dr. OJ, as she is affectionately known!) Student dramaturg Meg Hancock is helping provide background for the large amount of historical research needed. Assistant stage manager Morgan… read more about Casting Announced for Fall Mainstage »
If you've ever wanted to wander backstage in the Bryan Center, here is your chance! The Theater Studies department is hosting a barbeque with backstage tours on Monday, August 28 from 5:30p to 7:00p. Students can grab a bite and pick up a free t-shirt while investigating the audition and class opportunities offered for fall and spring. Load-in doors will be open for a rare glance into the world of David Berberian, scene shop supervisor. Kay Webb will be on hand to lead visitors through the… read more about Theaters Open Up for BBQ & Games »
The Theater Studies department and Hoof'n'Horn welcome two very special guests to campus this week. Director Kay Matschullat arrives to begin her spring residency directing a brand new musical version of THE AENEID from Tony and Grammy Award-winning composer Duncan Sheik (Spring Awakening, American Psycho) as the spring production for Hoof'n'Horn. On Wednesday, February 15, Sheik himself will be on campus to meet the cast and attend a preliminary rehearsal. Matschullat works… read more about Duke welcomes director Kay Matschullat and composer Duncan Sheik to campus »
With any luck, you saw one of the sold-out performance of their groundbreaking show The Undertaking when the Obie-award-winning theater company The Civilians was on campus in September, 2016. This month, Duke students have the chance to observe The Civilians starting the devised theater process from scratch, and some students will get first-hand experience by participating in a special devised theater workshop on January 21 (scroll down for details.) The Brooklyn-based investigative theater company returns… read more about Devised theater pros The Civilians return to Duke »
The Theater Studies department notes with sorrow that a bright light in the world of arts education has passed. Dr. Anna Upchurch, who worked with the department as Director of Communications prior to moving to England to pursue her doctorate, died in hospital in Leeds, England on Wednesday November 23 after a short illness. Anna had joined the University of Leeds in 2009 as a lecturer in Cultural Policy and over the next seven years did much to raise the profile of cultural policy research… read more about Passing of arts educator Anna Upchurch »
The Wild Duck opened to last weekend to rave reviews from other faculty members. Department chair Jeff Storer called it "a wonderful collaboration", saying that "performances were strong and the story told with clarity and passion." By careful staging and elimination of unnecessary business, director Jody McAuliffe has pared Ibsen's classic drama down to a very tight 90 minutes of intense emotions. Playwright Neal Bell had this to say after viewing the Sunday performance: "Theater Studies at Duke… read more about The Wild Duck Has Wings »
What does playwright August Wilson have in common with Marvel's Black superhero Luke Cage? Find out this spring when the department of Theater Studies offers Duke students a special opportunity this spring to study and create Black Theater with a local playwright on his way up. Howard L. Craft is an accomplished writer/arts educator and a past collaborator with faculty in the department. His N.C. Arts Council Playwriting Fellowship and a Durham Arts Council Emerging Artist Grant lead to his most recent… read more about Craft Mastering His Art, Sharing With Duke Students »
What does playwright August Wilson have in common with Marvel's Black superhero Luke Cage? Find out this spring when the department of Theater Studies offers Duke students a special opportunity to study and create Black Theater with a local playwright on his way up. Howard L. Craft is an accomplished writer/arts educator and a past collaborator with faculty in the department. His N.C. Arts Council Playwriting Fellowship and a Durham Arts Council Emerging Artist Grant lead to his most recent script, … read more about Craft Mastering His Art, Sharing With Duke Students »
It is unusual for a freshman to arrive at Duke with enough confidence to jump in to directing, but Sonali Mehta is a first-year student whose background already includes acting, directing and working tech. Sometimes the hardest part of directing is getting people excited about your vision so that you can pull a team together to put on a show. Sonali brings experience with the two of the biggest challenges that a director faces: creative problem-solving and community building. She got to work with an ensemble in… read more about New Faces for Duke Players Fall Show »
Award-winning playwright Neal Bell recently saw the just-released, controversial show The Trump Card, as directed by Duke Theater Studies department chair Jeff Storer for regional playhouse Manbites Dog Theater. Created by master storyteller Mike Daisey, The Trump Card dramatically analyzes one of America’s biggest mysteries. Fresh from seeing the opening performance, here are some of Bell’s thoughts on the show: “Saw an amazing magic show this weekend - which pulled off the impossible feat of making me… read more about Theatrically Investigating What Makes Trump Tick »
***OPEN CASTING CALL*** for the Duke Players fall show: The Dining Room by A. R. Gurney, directed by freshman Sonali Mehta. We're looking for versatile actors, as well as people interested in stage management, lights, and/or sound. To sign up and learn more about auditions, visit http://tinyurl.com/dukediningroom. About the Play: "The play is set in the dining room of a typical well-to-do household, the place where the family assembled daily for breakfast and dinner and for any and… read more about 1st-yr Director casting Nov. Show »
Duke students have several first-hand opportunities to engage with Obie award-winning theater artists The Civilians this month. The Civilians, a Brooklyn-based investigative theater company, begin the first installment of a unique three-part residency with performances of their latest piece of work, The Undertaking, on September 29, 30 and October 1. The Undertaking, which uses transcripts of actual conversations with shamans, morticians, philosophers, and mystics as the… read more about Close Encounters with The Civilians »
NY Times theater critic Ben Brantley has designated Duke Theater Studies faculty member Torry Bend’s mixed-media puppet show The Paper Hat Game as a NYT Critics’ Pick, calling it “enchanting” and “an unexpected mitzvah that shakes the urban blinders off our eyes and forces us to see the uncanny beauty and terror of where we live.” http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/27/theater/review-urban-nightmares-as-puppets-in-the-paper-hat-game.html Bend, a set designer, puppet artist and associate… read more about NY Times Rave Review for Duke Faculty Torry Bend's Show »
The Louis Sudler Prize in the Creative and Performing Arts is presented annually by the Duke University Council for the Arts to the graduating senior with the most exceptional record of artistic achievement throughout his or her undergraduate years. We are delighted to announce that graduating senior in Theater Studies and Political Science, Kari Barclay, is the well-deserved recipient of the 2016 award! You’ve probably seen Kari in one of his many roles on campus and in the… read more about Theater Studies major Kari Barclay receives Sudler Prize in the Arts! »
Ellen Hemphill, director of Archipelago Theatre and Duke faculty member, has chosen a wide-open comedy for this spring’s mainstage production, BOB: a life in five acts by San Francisco playwright Peter Sinn Nachtrieb. In Nachtrieb’s words, “BOB chronicles the highly unusual life of Bob and his lifelong quest to become a ‘Great Man. BOB is a comedic exploration of American mythology and values, the treacherous pursuit of happiness, and discovering what it means to be truly… read more about Bringing BOB to Duke: an amazing exchange of energy »
The Saturday March 5 showing of An Indictment will be in the afternoon, starting at 2:00pm. Because, wow, the Duke-UNC game start time got moved to Saturday night, March 5 so it can be on TV! But we were presenting the staged reading of Kari Barclay's original script An Indictment that night! The show must go on, but not against those odds. read more about Indictment matinee added »
Applications for Theater Studies departmental awards http://theaterstudies.duke.edu/academics/student-awards are now being accepted. Some awards (the Alex Cohen Award, the Forlines Family Theater Studies Grant, and the Reynolds Price Award) require student submissions and those are due by February 26th, 2016. Seniors in the department are especially encouraged to apply, but all are welcome to submit applications or scripts. read more about Department Student Award Applications now open! »
Theatre Aspen, one of the West’s most highly regarded theater companies, announced today that it wants Duke students to apply for its Summer 2016 theater apprentice program. Excitingly, Duke alumnus David Lambert has fully funded two apprenticeship positions specifically for Duke students. The apprenticeship offers a unique opportunity for theater lovers of all stripes: technicians, designers, music directors, aspiring arts administrators and educators, and performers. Apprentices will have the opportunity to work with… read more about Summer apprenticeships in Aspen! »
Auditions for the Duke Players' spring show, The Braveness of Jane, will be held in the Clum Room, BC 128, Fri. Jan. 15 and Sat. Jan. 16 from 5:00p to 8:00p. Be prepared to read from the provided sides. (See Facebook event for sides and sign-up sheet: https://www.facebook.com/events/616194521852366/ ) Actors may bring monologues and any other performance pieces (stand-up, dance, clowning, spoken word) to use in their audition. Actors, dancers and puppeteers needed! read more about Duke Players AUDITIONS »
MUSICAL THEATER WORKSHOP SHOWING The students of Tommy DeFrantz's THEATRST 211 class extend their practice into relationship with an audience! Hear songs from Gypsy, A Chorus Line, Carousel, The Pajama Game, and songs by Irving Berlin! Free, includes post-show reception. 6:30 PM Tuesday December 1 in Sheafer Theater read more about SINGING OUT IN SHEAFER »
Maybe you want to learn the arts of Playmaking (380S) or Writing The Musical Book (216S)? Ever wondered what exactly Performance Studies (202S) is? Dive into a special topic like PERFORMING OBJECTS in Design (390S-3) or SPEAKING IN TONGUES in Reading Theater (190S-1) or perhaps PLAYING DOCTOR: Medical Education, Research, & Theaters of Empathy (290S-1)! We've got the amazing Mike Wiley teaching… read more about NEW COURSES IN THEATER STUDIES »
The students in "Telling Stories for Social Change" class taught by Madeleine Lambert and Lynden Harris are running a blog for their class. Read what they're up to here! read more about Blogging for Social Change »
Theater Studies is looking forward to Manual Cinema's visit, both for residency activities and the presentation of Mementos Mori, their latest multimedia feat. Join us in Sheafer Theater Friday, September 11th at 8 pm to see the group Time Out New York Times calls "talent incarnate." tickets.duke.edu Ben Brantley of The New York Times, in a Critics Pick article, recently referred to the Chicago-based performance collective as “the uncanny coven of young sorcerers who operate under the name Manual… read more about Manual Cinema's September Visit »
Auditions for Duke Players' fall show, Comic Potential, will be held Sept. 1 (7 to 9) , Sept. 2 (7:30 to 9) in Brody Theater, and auditions for Antic Shakespeare Company's upcoming season will be held Sept. 6 between 3 and 5 pm in Brody. Email jaybirdandronicus@gmail to sign up for a time for Antic Shake! And for Duke Players: Sign up here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10k9jX2rHfj2R7yWRfPb0qFBBs2ITGIk…; Please prepare a two-minute monologue, preferably comic (here are two monologues from the show if you… read more about Auditions for Duke Players and Antic Shake! »
Students in Jody McAuliffe's Chicago program have been busy this summer. Their final project, HEAD SPACE, is a performance of original, immediate work grounded in experiences and perspectives. read more about Duke in Chicago StARTup Project »
Just two more showings of the Duke Players Orientation Show - this Friday and Saturday night in Brody Theater, preceded by free pizza on the Branson porch! read more about Two more nights of O-Show! »