Happy holidays, TDPS! Have a restful and joyous winter break.
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Monday, December 17, 2018
Congratulations on surviving the Fall 2018 semester! It was a tough one for all of us, and we are grateful to have such a dedicated, passionate, and hard-working team of faculty, students, and staff.
Have a joyous and restful holiday, and we will see you in January!
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In this newsletter:
- Upcoming Events
- Feature Stories
- News
- Opportunities
- Course Announcements
Want to share your news with the TDPS family? Have a story you want featured? Have suggestions to improve the TDPS newsletter and communications?
Tell us about the creative, collaborative, innovative, and entrepreneurial work you're doing!
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Are you a TDPS student, faculty member, or staff member? Show us what a week in your life at TDPS looks like!
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Main and Second Seasons - Spring 2019
Mark your calendars now for Spring 2019!
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Spring MFA Dance Thesis Concert
Choreographed by Ama Law and Shawn Stone
February 8 -10
Ama Law presents
Tides. Where sand meets sea, it rises and falls. Drifting, floating, calls from our ancestors. Join these women on a journey discovering how different and alike we are in this skin.
‘s (apostrophe s) by Shawn Stone consciously explores the dichotomy of consciousness. In researching the research of researching oneself, this dance explores the inner workings of mind through the awareness of body.
Tickets and information
here.
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Second Season
Fuse by Suzanne Creedon and
Hapa by Jenna Gerdsen
February 1-2
Fuse: A dance work that dissects the juxtaposition of minimality and maximality.
Hapa: Pain and labor lie beneath the pleasurable, paradisiacal landscape of Hawaii. This new play weaves the author’s own upbringing in Hawaii with the island-state's imperialist history and tourist based economy.
Tickets and information
here.
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Fearless New Play Festival
Directed by Jennifer Barclay
February 17 / March 7-9
TDPS's Fearless New Play Festival is a three-day celebration of new scripts in development. The festival will kick off with a panel discussion with local theatre professionals. After two weeks of rehearsals, we will present: (1) a keynote speech by nationally renowned Keynote Playwright Sheila Callaghan and a staged reading of her newest play in development, (2) staged readings of new ten-minute plays by current students, and (3) a showcase of new short plays by alumni, followed by a closing night celebration.
Tickets and information
here.
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Hamlet Replayed
Directed by Leslie Felbain
February 22 - March 2
Hamlet is knee-deep in a personal and political quagmire. His father, the king, has been murdered by his uncle Claudius, who has hastily married his sister-in-law to assume the throne. Seeking to avenge his father’s murder, Hamlet sets off a chain of events resulting in death, destruction and a notable absence of justice.
But the politics and scandal in Shakespeare’s classic tragedy are nothing compared to the political discord and global uncertainty of today. This student-driven, devised theater piece, adapted from the Bard’s tale, imagines a new cast of greedy, divisive leaders—and a new generation to challenge those leaders and liberate themselves.
Tickets and information
here.
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Second Season: Shared Graduate Dance Concert
March 29-30
Featuring provocative choreography by MFA in Dance students, this concert is a collection of eclectic new works, serving as an unguarded exploration of these diverse artists' talents and interests.
Tickets and information
here.
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Second Season: I've Been a Woman
By Jordan Ealey
April 12-13
This original theater piece follows two souls who are repeatedly reincarnated in Black women’s bodies during feminist movements of the past, present and future. As these embodied souls reconnect with one another across three distinct time periods, they struggle to reconcile the realities of their race, gender and sexuality within societies that seek to deny their humanity.
Tickets and information
here.
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The Heidi Chronicles
Directed by Scot Reese
May 4-11
In this witty, amusing and heartfelt coming-of-age story, Heidi Holland grows up before our eyes. Starting out as a bright, idealistic college student of the 1960s, the world around her rapidly changes. With feminist guiding principles, she strives to build a fulfilling life and is forced to confront, through her work, friendship and relationships, the true cost of “having it all.”
From celebrated playwright Wendy Wasserstein, this endearingly funny play is a Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner, newly resonant for a generation experiencing feminism through the lens of #MeToo and #TimesUp.
Tickets and information
here.
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UMoves: Undergraduate Dance Concert
Directed by Adriane Fang
May 10-12
Encouraged to nurture their authentic artistic voices, undergraduate dance students from TDPS set new works of art into motion in this concert of original choreography. Paired with faculty and graduate student mentors and in collaboration with student designers, these short works span multiple dance styles and are as diverse as the students themselves.
Tickets and information
here.
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Call for Second Season 2019-2020 proposals
Take some time over the winter break to put together your Second Season proposal!
Second Season is an excellent opportunity to showcase original work, direct a play that you feel our community needs to see, or re-create that dance piece that really speaks to you. Second Season is open to both undergraduate and graduate students.
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Corbin Bleu and Lisa Helmi Johanson visit TDPS
A couple weeks ago,
Corbin Bleu (of
High School Musical fame!) and
Lisa Helmi Johanson, who are currently starring in Arena Stage’s
Anything Goes, visited Lisa Nathans’ acting class. Our students were beyond excited to meet these stars! They also had an opportunity earlier in the semester to visit the
Anything Goes cast on set and see a preview of the show, providing a sneak peek into this reimagining of a classic musical theatre production.
On campus, Corbin and Lisa generously offered advice to our students about the importance of resilience, defining one’s own pathway for success, creating a work/life balance, and working towards inclusion and diversity in the arts.
Thanks to Lisa Nathans for bringing these artists to our School to inspire them and give them a taste of what to expect in the professional world.
Read the full story
here.
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***FEATURED ALUMNA***
Dancing about architecture:
Tzveta Kassabova '09 opens new arts space in Detroit
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Who says dance has nothing to do with architecture?
Tzveta Kassabova (MFA Dance ‘09) opens Andy Arts in Detroit to show the reciprocal relationship between the performing arts and architectural design to promote civic engagement.
Read the full story
here.
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Student plays selected for the Fearless New Play Festival
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Congratulations to these student playwrights whose plays have been chosen for the Fearless New Play Festival!
- Bread & Roses by Yiwen Feng
- Dakota by Olivia Litteral
- Delilah Revisited by Jared Strange
- Standardized by Jasmine Mitchell
- Twenty Down by Jamie Bokman
- Pleonasm by Jordan Resnick
- I Don't by Jordan Ealey
- Szia Ruth by Amber Smithers
For more information about the Fearless New Play Festival and to reserve free tickets, visit
here.
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Congratulations to
Isiah Johnson, who has been our dance accompanist for over 40 years! We celebrated with cake and sweet words of appreciation.
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Congratulations to PhD student
Patrick Crowley, who was awarded the
Anne Warren Leadership Award for his tireless efforts getting students to the polls in this last election!
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Congratulations to History/Theory professor
Caitlin Marshall on receiving an Elevate grant from the University of Maryland for teaching development! She will use the grant to develop an online course and spearhead TDPS' future online course development.
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Four UMD dancers performed
Unbroken, directed by
Dr. Susan L. Wiesner (Motion Analysis Digital Humanities Librarian), at
The African American Digital Humanities Conference (AADHum) in October. The performance was the final plenary session and took place in the Frederick Douglass courtyard, surrounding the statue. Quotes that are embedded in the concrete and surrounding space of the Frederick Douglass statue formed the basis for the movement, which was choreographed by the students. The participants were called to the space by the sounds of drumming produced by William Gofigan, who also accompanied the dance.
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Have news you want to share?
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- Capital Fringe Festival is hiring a Production Manager and Box Office Manager for the upcoming festival in July 2019. Check out the job descriptions and application information on their website.
- Want cheap tickets to the Kennedy Center? Join the MyTix Student rush program to get tickets to performances for $10 or $20. All elementary through undergraduate students are eligible to sign up for Student Rush. Student Rush tickets are made available for purchase two weeks before a performance, and students are able to purchase up to two tickets at this reduced price so that they can bring a parent. For more details and to sign up, visit their website.
- Bates Dance Festival will soon announce their 2019 Summer Festival line-up. BDF is an international professional dance training program with multiple work-study, internship and scholarship opportunities in admin, dance education, social media, community engagement, technical production, and videography. Applications for technical production and videography internships are highly encouraged. The Technical Production Internship is intended for young designers with a strong interest in dance production and stage design. The focus of the Videography Internship is on camera work and video editing necessary for proper documentation and promotional materials related to dance. For more information, contact Kendra Portier (TDPS Dance artist-in-residence) or visit the Bates Dances Festival website.
- Prince George’s Community College is hiring a full-time dance program coordinator. For more information and to apply, visit the job listing.
- American Dance Festival is now accepting applications for their 2019 Arts Administration and Production Internship Program. More details on their website. Also find out more about their summer staff positions in Arts and Administration and Production and their summer dance intensive programs by checking here.
- BlackRock Center for the Arts in Germantown, MD, is accepting resumes for a full-time Technical Director (TD). The TD will work in tandem with Operations Manager to train rotating overhire crews to implement and facilitate this quality work for all events. Compensation ranges between $35-$40K + benefits with future merit increases. Please forward cover letter, resumes or personal CV, and three recommendations to brad@blackrockcenter.org.
- The Shakespeare Theatre Company is seeking a General Manager and Major Gifts Officer as well as individuals with a love of the arts for a position with flexibility to work from 8 hours to up to 29 hours per week depending on scheduled events. Hiring for the other positions: retail and concessions lead, retail attendant, and publicist. More information at their website or email employment@shakespearetheatre.org.
- Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park is inviting students to apply for the Bruce E. Coyle Acting Internship Program for the 2019-2020 season. In-person auditions will be held in Cincinnati and New York City in late January and early February; video auditions are due on January 15. For more information, visit their website.
- Chesapeake Shakespeare Company is offering internship opportunities that give students hands-on experience in the professional world. They are currently seeking interns for the Winter, Spring, and Summer of 2019 in: Costume, Directing, Development, Marketing, Education, and General Theatre. For more information and to apply, visit their website.
- Are you interested in an internship or future career in arts management? Check out the Road Trips to the Real World program, offering an employer site visit to the Wolf Trap Foundation to the Performing Arts to learn about their paid internship and apprenticeship programs on January 10 from 10am- 12:30pm. Please visit the EACE website for more information and to register.
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Winter Intensive Opportunities
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Interested in a participating in a dance intensive during winter break?
Bates Dance Festival/ Gibney Connect
January 7-11, 2019 in New York City
Scholarships and workstudy available
Dance Forward: Winter Dance Intensive 92Y
January 14-19, 2019 in New York City
David Dorfman Dance Winter Intensive
January 2-7, 2019 in New York City
Paul Taylor, American Modern Dance, The Taylor School
2019 Winter Intensive
December 27th ,2018- January 6, 2019 (single week options)
Information and registration
here.
ADF NYC Winter Intensive
January 4-11th, 2019
Doug Varone and Dancers Winter Intensive
January 7-12, 2019
Hunter College, New York City
Information and registration
here
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Next Spring,
Dr. Susan Wiesner will be teaching a graduate seminar on the
Performing Arts and Digital Humanities called “Creative Ambiguities: Embodiment, Text, and the Digital Humanities” (MITH741). The course will take place on Tuesdays from 2-5PM in the MITH seminar room in Hornbake Library. Check
Testudo for more information.
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Have an opportunity you want to share?
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Do you have news to share with the TDPS community?
The School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies
advances and transforms the research and practice of the performing arts
through a commitment to excellence and innovative education.
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Kate Spanos, Coordinator of Marketing & Communications
Renee Gerardo, Graduate Assistant
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