2022-2023 Season

Fall 2022

Jade Almsberger

The Fox Sisters

Date: September 29th - October 1st / 7:30 p.m.

Location: Welsbacher

Directed by: Faculty: Richard Biever

Description: "The Fox Sisters," based on true events, tells the story of Katie and Maggie Fox, who fool their mother into thinking there are spirits in their home. This deception leads to the two becoming famous and the formation of the religion of Spiritualism.

Program

Immersive Theatre

Date: September 9th / 3:30 p.m.

Location: Wilner Auditorium

Directed by: Guest Artist: Larry Daniels

Description: During Larry Daniels professional career in NYC, he spent 2016-2020 as a company member of Third Rail Project's Bessie Award-Winning immersive theatre production "Then She Fell" an experiential performance combining a hospital ward, the writings of Lewis Carroll, and only 15 audience members. His time at "Then She Fell" developed his interest in teaching and creating immersive work as a means of engaging audiences in a non-traditional format of storytelling. Combining both movement and text to build a world where the audience can become a part of the story is the driving force in his creative projects.

Jade Almsberger

Happy Wright

Date: October 6th - 8th / 7:30 p.m.

Location: Welsbacher

Directed by: Kiralyfalvi Playwight Competition Coordinator: Jeannine Russel; Faculty Mentor: Danette Baker; Student Director: TBA

Description: Happy Wright is a strange person, this much we can say for certain. They love aviation, poetry, and weekends. But when you step into Happy's mind, you will see it is plagued with questions. These questions make the world very confusing. Loosely inspired by Samual Beckett's Happys Days, the show is a portrait of anxiety, bravery, and the help we can give each other when we try.

Program

Carson Ediger

Stupid F##king Bird

Date: November 17th - 20th / 7:30 p.m.

Location: Wilner Auditorium

Directed by: Guest Director: Julie Longhofer

Description: An aspiring playwright rampages against the art created by his mother's generation. A nubile young actress wrestles with an aging Hollywood star for the affections of a renowned novelist. Everyone discovers just how disappointing love, art, and growing up can be. In this irreverent, contemporary, and very funny remix of Chekhov's "The Seagull," Aaron Posner stages a timeless battle between young and old, past and present, in search of the true meaning of it all.

Program

Spring 2023

Ella Kempker

Pippin

Date: February 23rd - 25th / 7:30 p.m. & Feb 26th @ 2:00 p.m.

Location: Wilner Auditorium

Directed by: Faculty: Richard Biever

Description: A young person is struggling with mental health issues and contemplating suicide. After an overdose, they hallucinate a story with characters in their "real world" becoming characters in a dream. This young person becomes "Pippin," the heir to the Frankish throne. In the hallucination and the dream is the quest to find meaning in life.

Program

Devised Theatre and Dance: Social Justice

Date: March 3rd / 3:30 p.m.

Location: Heskett Dance Studio

Directed by: Guest Artist: Sheldon Mba

Description: Sheldon Mba has performed in a wide variety of roles such as Citizen Barlow in August Wilson's "Gem or the Ocean," Guy Jacobs in Pearle Cleage's "Blues for an Alabama Skey," Fish from Matthew Lopez's "The Royale," and Agamemnon from Robert Icke's "Oresteia." He is a specialist in movement, stage combat, improvisation, musical thetare, and Shakespeare. As a dancer, Mba has trained and worked with Baba Chuck Davis, Kristi V. Johnson, Gaspard Louis, and various faculty during his summers at the American Dance Festival.

Compendium

Date: April 21st - 22nd / 7:30 p.m.

Location: Welsbacher

Directed by: Faculty: Dr. Bret Jones

Description: Four separate short films all set in the same futuristic world; each short deals with its own set of characters and situations but are bound by the same universe. Short films include "Defriend" "Blister" "Interface" and "Incarnation." The scripts are written by four different writers: Jillian Terrell, Tina Truong, Jesse Nightingale, and Dr. Bret Jones.

CONTENT DISCLOSURE: Films contain some violence, language, implied drug use, & a suicide attempt.

Wichita Contemporary Dance Theatre Concert and Film

Date: April 27th - 30th / 7:30 p.m.

Location: Wilner Auditorium

Directed by: Sabrina Vasquez with choreography by dance faculty and guest artists Charlotte Boye-Christensen

Description: This dance repertoire concert includes the works of faculty members Cheyla Clawson Chandler, Denise Celestin, Nick Johnson, and Sabrina Vasquez. Chandler will restage the work "Logged in and Buffering." an abstraction of the challenges of relationship and community-building in the age of social media and technology. Johnson will present his mime ensemble masterpiece, "Angels Rising," that explores the often lethal competetive nature of humanity from the beginning of times until after death in. Both Celestin and Vasquez will present new, original works. A new film directed by international guest artist Charlotte Boye-Christensen will explore the both natural and man-made spaces. The new film is in collaboration with Shocker Studios and musician Dr. Kevin Harrison.

Program