News & Updates
The School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies is cultivating teaching artists. Watch the video above to learn more about the MFA Candidates, why they chose to pursue graduate-level studies at TDPS and how their passions and art intersect.
It was during a flamenco class at the University of Maryland that School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies professor Karen Kohn Bradley and Dr. Jose Contreras-Vidal realized they shared a common interest in movement analysis. Curious about the effects that dancing has on the brain, the duo ultimately decided to take their mutual interest to the next step and conduct experiments into what changes happen in the brain when a person dances.
Their project, which Bradley calls “Your Brain on Dance: The neural symphony of expressive movement” explores ways the body expresses personality, emotions and beliefs through movement, and the ways in which movement changes the brain. Bradley and Contreras-Vidal selected a number of skilled dancers to don an EEG brain cap. This enabled them to examine the effects that dancing has on the brain.
Bringing to life one of the most beloved (and most produced) operas in the history of the art form is a daunting task but, in the capable hands of the School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies’ scenic designer and MFA candidate Jake Ewonus, La Bohème springs vividly to life. I sat down with Jake to ask about his experiences designing the show.
It’s been said “Everything is designed. Few things are designed well.” But well-designed things are a joy to experience, and that’s what you’ll find at the 2013 MFA Design Exhibition, which can be enjoyed in two different locations this year.
How do you get to the Kennedy Center Stage? Practice, practice, practice. And it helps to be one of the lucky students who work with UMD School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies professor Scot Reese.
An educator knows they’ve genuinely connected when their students create a Facebook fan page for them with over 50 members. The “Scot Reese Appreciation Society” is such a site, and is testament to the impact this dynamic professor has had on his students and colleagues.
In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the academic excellence and lives of multi-ethnic students at the University of Maryland, School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies (TDPS) professor Scot Reese is being awarded the 2013 Office of Multi-ethnic Student Education Academy of Academic Excellence "Excellence in Service" medal for Outstanding Faculty.
Theatre is alive and well in Washington, DC, and in particular at the UMD School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies (TDPS). Three of TDPS’s own were lauded at the 29th annual Helen Hayes Awards celebration, one of the country’s most prestigious cultural honors which recognizes and celebrates outstanding achievement in over 80 professional theatres around Washington.
This post is by Megan Piluk, a Senior Dance and Communication double major.
I recently saw Graham Brown’s work Apple Falling, as part of the Shared MFA Dance Thesis Concert at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. It almost seemed as if a play was unfolding in front my eyes.
The University of Maryland is saddened by the news that alumna and world-celebrated puppeteer Jane Henson died Tuesday at her home in Connecticut at the age of 78 following a battle with cancer. Ms. Henson was the widow of puppeteer Jim Henson.
This post is by Matt DeCaro, a Senior Business major.
Sarah Ruhl’s play Dead Man’s Cell Phone, which UMD’s School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies recently brought to life at the Clarice Smith Center, is a fascinating portrayal of relationships in the technological era. Ruhl explores love and death in a peculiar fashion, often reaching into the absurd. The play may have taken some wild plot turns, but its exploration of technology’s role in love was pretty interesting.
The play didn’t cause me to reevaluate the amount of time that I spend on my phone or Facebook, but it did push me to think about how I maintain my relationships.