Department of Theatre and Dance announces fall season

The UB Department of Theatre and Dance has announced its fall season of dance, musicals and drama, featuring nationally recognized directors and choreographers working with UB faculty and emerging student talent:

Oct. 13-15, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 16, 2 p.m.
Center for the Arts Drama Theatre
$20 Adults | $10 Students/Seniors, plus facility/service fees
Tickets for Zodiaque Dance Company

Zodiaque, UB’s pre-professional dance company, will be back on the UB Center for the Arts Drama Stage highlighting the rich versatility and creativity of the UB Department of Theatre and Dance. The 48th fall program of Zodiaque includes diversified choreography in jazz, tap, modern, commercial and contemporary dance works performed by current UB dance majors. The show is under the co-direction of faculty members Kerry Ring and Michael Deeb Weaver.

Choreographers include Ring, Deeb Weaver and dance faculty members Kurt Adametz, Jenna Zavrel and Tom Ralabate. The concert is punctuated by the contributions of third-year MFA candidate Anna Caison Boyd and alumni choreographers Naila Ansari, MFA ‘20, Jen Apter, BFA ’15 and Joe Celej, BFA ’01.

Oct. 27-29 and Nov. 3-5, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 30 and Nov. 6, 2 p.m.
Center for the Arts Black Box Theatre
$20 Adults | $10 Students/Seniors, plus facility/service fees
Tickets for the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

This Tony-Award-winning contemporary musical about honoring the innocence of everyone’s inner child and the inevitabilities of puberty calls on friendly audience participation and strong, comedic actors to tell the story of this junior, high-stakes academic competition in upstate New York.

"The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" is directed and choreographed by award-winning Guest Artist Terry Berliner. Her work has been seen on-and-off Broadway, in regional theatres and universities across the country. Last season Berliner directed the musical "Violet" for the department, after the original production at Off Broadway’s Playwrights Horizons, where Berliner served as assistant director.

Student designers, performers and industry professionals comprise the creative team of "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee". Musical direction is by Matthew Marco, visiting assistant professor, and features lyrics and music by William Finn ("Elegies: A Song Cycle", "A New Brain", "Falsettos" and "Falsettoland"), book by Rachel Sheinkin ("Striking 12, Blood Drive") and was conceived by Rebecca Feldman with additional materials by Jay Reiss. The cast and designers are students from the Department of Theatre and Dance.

Nov. 11-12, 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 13, 2 p.m.
Katharine Cornell Theatre
$20 Adults | $10 Students/Seniors, plus facility/service fees
Tickets for Emerging Choreographers Showcase

The Emerging Choreographers Showcase is directed by Anne Burnidge, associate professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance, with assistance from graduate student Natasha McCandless and undergraduate student Rebecca Leonard.

This year‘s production will feature new dance works by BA, BFA and MFA dance students Sydney Bowers, Kiara Cieslinski, Alisa Guiffrida, Juliana Guiffrida, Victoria Hyl, Natasha McCandless, Sam Schmeer, Natasha Skidmore and Brennah Woollis, with performances by undergraduate and graduate dance majors.

The concert celebrates diversity in both genre and theme. Pieces range from lyrical ballet, to hip-hop, to contemporary modern and jazz styles. Choreographers investigate ideas such as moving from order to disorder, drowning in one’s own thoughts, insomnia and the juxtaposition of connection-tension, calm-chaos, and death-rescue.

Nov. 17-19, 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 20, 2 p.m.
Center for the Arts Drama Theatre
$20 Adults | $10 Students/Seniors, plus Facility/Service Fees
Tickets for Noises Off

Called “the funniest farce ever written" by Michael Frayn, "Noises Off" presents a manic menagerie of itinerant actors rehearsing a flop called "Nothing’s On". Doors slamming, on and offstage intrigue and an errant herring all figure in the plot of this hilarious and classically comic play. The production will be directed by beloved veteran Buffalo instructor and actor Greg Natale.

The New York Times describes it as, "The most dexterously realized comedy ever about putting on a comedy. A spectacularly funny, peerless backstage farce. This dizzy, well-known romp is festival of delirium."

Dec. 2-3, 7:30 p.m.
Katharine Cornell Theatre
All seats $5, plus facility/service fees
Tickets

The MFA Fall Showcase offers a peek into the creative process of dancemaking, featuring works in various stages of completion from current MFA dance students. The works are often generated collaboratively with other artists, and the showcase offers a space for choreographers to experiment and innovate movement-based performance.

The concert is under the direction of MFA students, with faculty supervision by Ariel Nereson, director of graduate dance.