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! »
It's time to plan for auditions for our two mainstage shows! Fall brings us An Experiment With An Air Pump by Shelagh Stephenson and spring will feature Bob by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb. Audition info here.An Experiment With An Air Pump is a contemporary consideration of art and science that takes place in the same house, but on the eve of two very different centuries. Furtive romance, farcical commotions and dark secrets infuse this unique examination of women's roles in medical research and the… read more about Audition Info for Mainstage Shows! »
Neal Bell’s play Cold Sweat is currently running in Los Angeles, produced by the theater group Uranium Madhouse. The film In Secret - based in part on his play adaptation of Zola's Therese Raquin - was released in the U.S. in winter last year. Directed by Charlie Stratton, it starred Elizabeth Olsen, Oscar Isaac and Jessica Lange. For a third year, this past spring, he was a guest mentor to an undergraduate playwright in Yale University's Playwrights Festival. This summer he… read more about FACULTY NEWS! »
The Theater Studies CoLab (Collaborative Theater Making) course under the leadership of visiting artists Lisa D'Amour and Brendan Connelly proved to be a huge hit with students spring semester. Both artists are award winners in their fields - playwrighting for D'Amour and sound design for Connelly - and were praised for both their expertise and generosity by students. According to senior Bailey Sincox, "The class was immensely impactful on my journey as an individual and a theater artist. Brendan and Lisa led us in a… read more about CoLab with D'Amour and Connelly »
Get a taste of Theater Studies Professor Ellen Hemphill's technique for teaching voice and body gesture in this trailer taken from a longer training film. Voice and Body Gesture Technique from Jim Haverkamp on Vimeo. read more about Trailer for Voice and Body Gesture Technique »
See where the set magic happens, and hear from the wizard himself, David Berberian! read more about From the Scene Shop! »
Check out this slideshow made for our 2015 graduates, which celebrates the plays during their time at Duke. Duke Theater Studies Graduates 2015 - 4 years in plays from Theater Studies on Vimeo. read more about Four Years in Plays »
Read about the Duke in Chicago summer program here - from Duke Magazine. read more about Planet Duke: A Drama-Filled Summer in Chicago »
Congratulations to Kari Barclay for being chosen for a Humanity in Action Fellowship. Kari was selected as 1 of 43 Fellows out of an extremely competitive pool of 688 applicants from more than 255 universities and colleges across the United States. Kari will join Fellows from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Poland and Ukraine to participate in the Humanity in Action Fellowship in Europe from May 25 to June 28, 2015. Intensive and demanding, the Humanity in Action Fellowship… read more about Kari Barclay Wins Fellowship »
Congratulations to the winners of our 2015 awards, presented annually by the faculty of the Department of Theater Studies: Harold Brody Award for Excellence in Musical Theater Elena Lagon John M. Clum Distinguished Theater Studies Graduate Award Kelly McCrum Alex Cohen Award for Summer Initiatives in Theater Hunter Stark Harmony Zhang Dale B.J. Randall Award in Dramatic Literature Jamie Bell Mike Myers Kenneth J. Reardon Award for theater design, management or production Austin Powers Dana Marks Award for Outstanding Acting… read more about Theater Award Winners »
Looking for a Triangle area internship? Check here. And check here for other info listed on the Duke Career Center site. read more about Arts Internships »
Check our trailer and plan to attend! Tickets at the Duke Box Office. Enron Promotional Video from Jon Haas on Vimeo. read more about ENRON Runs Through Sunday! »
Basketball captain and theater studies major Quinn Cook brings some fun to the arts when an artstigator calls on him in Cameron. read more about The Artstigatorshake »