Blogs
This blog post is by Emily Schweich, a junior broadcast journalism major at the University of Maryland.
One might think that puppets are just for kids. Not so. Pointless Theatre, a D.C. company founded by UMD School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies (TDPS) alumni, blends puppetry, theatre, dance, live music and visual art to create unique onstage spectacles for adult audiences.
From October 9 to October 13, Pointless Theatre is in residence at Joe’s Movement Emporium in Mt. Rainier to rehearse for and polish their performances for a showing Saturday, October 11 at 7PM. Pointless Theatre will perform two original twenty-minute pieces, Famous Birds and Nom-noms, followed by a conversation that will allow audience members to share their thoughts and feelings about the work.
“This residency has allowed us to reinvest in our company members, build skills they haven’t had before, and give them the opportunity to flex their directing muscles or design muscles in a low-risk environment,” Whalen said.
If you came to the NextNOW Fest, you might have seen PEARSONWIDRIG DANCETHEATER’s performance of A Curious Invasion on the steps of our staircase. Here are some photos from their performance of A Curious Invasion/Governors Island in the New York harbor in June 2014:
This post is written by Monica Warren, Artist Services Coordinator at The Clarice. What happens to a costume after the show is over? Does it go into retirement? Are there old tutus playing shuffle-board with once worn opera gowns? Do they participate in early morning water aerobics and take fun bus trips to Atlantic City? As fabulous as that sounds, in some cases, they just go back to work. At The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, the Costume Shop holds a host of beautifully crafted and interestingly procured costumes. Recently, some of them were reincarnated by alight dance theater, a local dance company in Greenbelt, MD that was founded by several University of Maryland alumnae.
Dr. Faedra Carpenter, Director of Undergraduate Theatre Studies at the University of Maryland, has been appointed by the Dean of the School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies (TDPS) to be the faculty administrator for the Foxworth Creative Enterprise Initiative.
Dr. Laurie Frederik, associate professor in the University of Maryland School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies and a faculty member in the Department of Anthropology, has been appointed director of the Latin American Studies Center. In addition to her current teaching positions, Frederik will oversee the undergraduate certificate program and activities that give Maryland students access to campus resources about Latin America.
Two University of Maryland faculty recently explored the connection between art and everyday life in Placeholders, a site-specific dance performance and art installation held Saturday, September 13 in the Long Branch neighborhood of Silver Spring.
“Placeholders has been a unique opportunity for me to sink my teeth into a creative process in a neighborhood that’s close to where I both live and work.”
School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies doctoral candidate Adam Nixon recently returned from the University of Warwick, England, where he presented a documentary short at the International Federation for Theatre Research (IFTR) World Congress, held July 28 to August 1.
In an effort to go green, we are switching from thick, comprehensive season guides to smaller, bimonthly calendars. We invite you to view our full season listing online.
For those who prefer browsing the events on paper instead of online, we're happy to share a printable listing of next season's events:
The University of Maryland School of Music is proud to announce that alumnus Lieutenant Colonel Jason K. Fettig will be appointed the 28th director of “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band. A change of command ceremony was held July 12 at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Center in Alexandria, Va.
“It is an incredible privilege to be afforded the rare opportunity to stand in the shoes of the great musicians who have led this special and historic organization over the past 216 years,” said Fettig. “I am excited to continue to diversify and expand the presence of Marine Band in the artistic and educational communities, both at home and abroad.”
School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies alumna Erica Philpot (B.A. Theatre Performance ’13) made her Lincoln Center debut this month in “Tales from the Silk Cotton Tree: Inner Sanctum.”